HP Envy 34: An Intel-based PC (11th-generation Core i5, i7, i9) with Nvidia (GeForce GTX , RTX /) graphics, built around a 34-inch 5K 21:9 display.
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Image: Cliff Joseph / ZDNet
Apple surprised many people when it recently discontinued the 27-inch iMac, which had been its main desktop offering for creative users for more than a decade. Its replacement, the new Mac Studio, provides impressive performance but the Mac Studio's high price and lack of integrated display may leave many users looking elsewhere for a more affordable all-in-one (AIO) alternative.
So there's no better time for HP to upgrade its Envy all-in-one, which now steps up from 32 inches to an imposing 34-inch display with 5K resolution and wide-screen 21:9 aspect ratio, along with an impressive design and a versatile set of features that make it an attractive option for creative users. The Envy 34's wide-screen display will also appeal to many office workers as an alternative to a dual-monitor setup, providing a compact and versatile desktop PC for remote working.
4.5
/ 5
Very good
34-inch 5K display
Plenty of customisation options
Good performance
Versatile design
Accessible RAM and SSD slots
Display doesn't swivel
No internal expansion slots
$2,289.99 at HP Inc
HP's website proclaims that the Envy 34 is "designed by creators for creators". But if you just need an all-in-one PC for general office work then there's an entry-level Envy 34 configuration that costs $1,799.99. This runs on a Core i5- processor with Nvidia GTX graphics, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. However, creative users can step up to the Core i7 model reviewed here, which provides a Core i7- processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD for $2,289.99.
A high-end model with a Core i9- processor, Nvidia RTX graphics, 128GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD will set you back $4,279.99, but there are further customisation options available (in the US), including: Windows 11 Pro ($70), secondary SSD storage up to 2TB ($429), and a Wi-Fi 6/Bluetooth 5.2 update ($10).
And, to make it clear that HP is going after Apple's creative users, the company also offers discounts on several Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions.
The standout feature of the Envy 34 is, of course, its striking 34-inch wide-screen IPS display, which offers 5K resolution ( x pixels, 163.4dpi) in a 21:9 aspect ratio. It's clear, bright (500 nits) and colourful, and provides plenty of room to juggle multiple apps and windows on-screen simultaneously. The display also supports 98% of the DCI-P3 colour standard that's widely used in professional video editing, and the 5K resolution means that you can view 4K video at full size and still have some room left for the editing tools in Adobe Premiere or other editing apps.
The Envy 34 looks surprisingly compact, with very narrow bezels on all sides of the screen. It lacks the bulky border that runs along the lower edge of the iMac display, as HP has managed to move the stereo speakers to the sides of the screen (where they look rather like slots for an old-fashioned DVD drive). Designed by Bang & Olufsen, the 2W speakers are surprisingly powerful given the need to fit inside the Envy's slimline profile. The higher frequencies get a little frazzled if you push the volume all the way up, but the Envy 34 is fine for listening to music while you're working, or for handling audio on video calls.
HP pays impressive attention to detail with the Envy 34. The setup process is very straightforward as, rather than using Bluetooth, HP's keyboard and mouse automatically pair with a wireless receiver that's built into the PC. They're both ready to go as soon as you insert the (non-rechargeable) batteries and power on the PC. The only disappointment here is the annoying plethora of bloatware and adware loaded onto the Envy, with Dropbox, ExpressVPN and McAfee all popping up to pitch their wares within the first few minutes.
And, while Apple's new Studio Display has been criticised for not allowing you to adjust the height of the screen unless you pay an extra $300/£400 for an adjustable stand, the Envy 34's screen glides smoothly up and down, and tilts with no more than finger-tip pressure.
Rear ports (left-right): 3.5mm audio in/out, 2x Thunderbolt 4/USB 4, 4x USB-A, HDMI, RJ-45 Ethernet, power in. Also shown is the rear cover removed to give access to the RAM and SSD slots.
Image: Cliff Joseph / ZDNet
It's a shame that the stand doesn't swivel too - but that's probably because HP has built a few extra features into the stand as well. The back of the screen houses two Thunderbolt 4 ports and four USB-A, one HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet and combined audio in/out. However, the metal column that supports the screen also provides two additional USB-A ports, one USB-C and an SD card slot -- all within easy reach, so you don't have to stand up and reach behind the screen every time you want to connect anything (as I still have to do with my office iMac on a daily basis).
The base of the display stand includes a Qi wireless charger, while the supporting column adds extra ports (SD card reader, USB-C, 2x USB-A).
Images: Cliff Joseph / ZDNet
The USB-connected 16MP webcam attaches magnetically, and can be moved to different positions around the screen.
Image: HP Inc
There's a Qi wireless charging pad on the base of the stand, and rather than building a webcam into the body of the display, HP provides a separate camera that connects via USB, and has a magnetic base that lets you attach it anywhere around the edges of the screen. The 16MP camera supports p or p video (x) at 30 frames per second (fps), and provides a clear, sharp image that will present you well in video calls. It also has a useful sliding privacy shutter.
And although the Envy's all-in-one design means that there are no internal expansion slots, there is a magnetic panel on the back of the display that's easily removed, giving quick access to the RAM slots and SSD drive bays.
The Envy 34 clearly outguns the now-discontinued 27-inch iMac for graphical performance, although there's less difference when it comes to CPU performance.
The last Intel-based 27-inch iMac, which was available until the end of March, had a similar price to the Envy 34, costing $2,299 for its mid-range configuration. The iMac's Core i7 processor was pretty respectable, scoring 1,359 (single core) and 7,530 (multi core) in the Geekbench 5 CPU test. The Envy 34 only does slightly better on CPU performance, recording 1,637 (single core) and 7,595 (multi core). The current 24-inch M1 iMac, meanwhile, delivered scores of 1,745 (single core) and 7,700 (multi core) in native M1 mode.
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However, the Envy's RTX GPU wins hands-down on graphics performance, scoring 82,800 in the Geekbench 5 Compute test, compared to 42,100 for the 27-inch iMac. Admittedly, the new Mac Studio does even better, scoring 100,000, but that's for the top-of-the-range model with Apple's M1 Ultra processor with 64 GPU cores and a $4,999 price tag that doesn't include a display.
The Envy 34 also beats the 27-inch iMac in the more demanding Unigine Valley graphics test, breezing ahead to 85fps, while the Intel iMac scored just 58fps. The Valley test isn't compatible with the Arm-based M1 chips used in the latest Apple Silicon Macs, but the Mac Studio scored an impressive 209fps using the 3DMark Wildlife Extreme benchmark, while the Envy 34 could only manage a modest 70fps.
While the Envy 34 isn't quite in the high-end workstation class, it's certainly a worthy alternative and successor to the 27-inch iMac for creators and power users, providing stronger performance, a larger display, and a more versatile design for a similar price.
HP Envy 34 All-in-One Desktop specifications
OSWindows 11 (Home or Pro)CPUIntel Core i5-, i7-, i9-GPUNvidia GeForce GTX (4GB), Nvidia GeForce RTX (6GB), Nvidia GeForce RTX (8GB)RAM16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GBStorage512GB, 1TB, 2TBScreen34-inch WUHD ( x , 163.4ppi, 21.3:9) IPSWirelessBluetooth 5 or 5.2, Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) or Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)Ports & slotsrear: 3.5mm audio in/out, 2x Thunderbolt 4/USB 4, 4x USB-A, HDMI, RJ-45 Ethernet, power in ' stand (side): SD card reader, USB-C, 2x USB-ACamera16MP (detachable, moveable)Audiodual 2W speakers (tuned by B&O)Dimensions817.2mm x 368.4mm x 223mm (32.2in. x 14.5in. x 8.78in.)Weight11.05kg (24.4lbs)Pricefrom $1,799 (Core i5, GeForce GTX , 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD)Although Apple has discontinued the Intel-based 27-inch iMac, it's still available via the company's Certified Refurbished scheme. At the time of writing there are devices costing between $1,299 (Core i5) and $5,349 (Core i9) on Apple's US website. If you don't mind a smaller screen, Apple's M1-based 24-inch iMac headed up ZDNet's recent best-list for AIO PCs. Another AIO that creators should consider is Microsoft's Surface Studio 2, although we'd recommend waiting to see whether a version 3 appears later this year.
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The Avant Gaming All-in-One systems by AVADirect are, to put it mildly, weird.
The company sent me a decked out loaner to see what they were like in practice, and after spending a few weeks with the system I can both see the appeal while stating that the target audience is likely very, very small.
The Avant systems are gaming PCs built into a 34-inch curved WQHD monitor with a 21:9 aspect ratio and native resolution of by . It's easy to set up and get running; you screw the system into the heavy metal base, you connect a single power cable to the wall, and you're done. There is no tower to connect to the monitor. You don't have to juggle multiple cables. A USB webcam attaches to the top of the system, but it can be removed if you'd like to get that USB port back.
The hardware also comes with a wall mount for people who are more confident than I am about their wall mounting skills.
The power button is located on the bottom right of the system, along with two USB ports, a four-in-one card reader, an audio output and a microphone input on the rear of the system. The rest of the connections, including things like the HDMI port that would allow you to connect a head-mounted display or additional monitor, are located on the bottom of the screen, in a recessed cavity. It's not the easiest thing in the world to connect things by feel, and the heavy all-in-one display can make in a bit tricky.
You can crack this thing open and go to town on upgrades, but be aware that even opening it is a bit of a pain
'It's a sleek form factor; it's compact and it's an all-in-one,' Travis Bortz, executive vice-president of AVADirect told Polygon. 'It's great for your college students, great for your dormitories, great for when space is of the essence.'
It's an interesting contradiction: You definitely save space by removing the need to have a separate tower as well as a monitor, but that monitor is both incredibly wide (great!) and surprisingly deep (eh). There's no getting around that; it's not like it's possible to cram a competitive gaming PC with a modern GPU into something the size of an iMac, and AVADirect offers systems with some serious power behind them.
There's also the selling point that this isn't using super-custom parts. You can open the beast up to upgrade components or tweak your configuration ... in theory.
'Is it upgradeable? Yeah, sure,' Bortz said. 'As it relates to whether a consumer is capable of upgrading, it comes down to their knowledge base and how familiar they are with the hardware and how technical they are.'
You access the components by popping off the the back plate, but doing so takes finding and removing 11 screws, some of which are a bit fiddly to get to. It's not a huge problem, but this is not a system you're going to want to open up every week if you want to poke around.
This is what it looks like when the back removed:
So I mean, yeah. You can work on it. But it won't be easy, and everything is crammed pretty tightly into the case. Here's another angle:
Yes, you can crack this thing open and go to town on upgrades, but be aware that even opening it is a bit of a pain. That being said, moving around the case in practice is much easier than the pictures would suggest; the cables are all bundled securely and can simply be shifted out of the way if you'd like to unseat the RAM or remove the CPU's cooler.
'It comes down to knowledge base,' Bortz explained. 'You could probably upgrade it, but not every person would be able to.' With a little bit of exploration and fiddling, I was actually pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to disconnect
The neat thing is that none of these components are specialized for this build. 'Most all-in-one (AIO) computers use parts designed for laptops to achieve their compact share,' the official website states. 'The AVADirect 34' All-in-One uses full-powered components from desktop PCs so you won't have to sacrifice performance with this appealing form factor.' If you're willing to put in the elbow grease needed to upgrade this thing, it's very possible.
To get a sense of how subjective this sort of thing can be, I showed these pictures to my boss, and he was delighted at how little space the build uses and said it looked fun to work on. He is a bit over-zealous in his love of small cases, but he's unlikely to be alone in loving the idea of full-sized components in such a small all-in-one.
Another interesting detail, shown below, is that the GPU connects to the 'monitor' portion of the system via an external cable ... which is a bit long, so it loops around and covers the other two ports.
This is nice for cleanliness ' there are no cables hanging down due to the L-shaped connector on both ends of the included HDMI cable ' but it's a pain in the butt if you'd like to use the monitor with other inputs. If you don't mind a bit of dangle, you can easily replace the included cable with a standard HDMI cable as well.
The novelty of this system lies in its ability to take up the minimal amount of space while giving you a massive screen and a lot of gaming power if you're willing to pay for a powerful GPU. You pay for that efficiency of space; systems start at $1,799.
The loaner system AVADirect sent me to test included a Skylake Intel Core i7- CPU, an Nvidia Geforce GTC Founders Edition GPU and 16GB of RAM, which would run you $3,110 if you purchased it today.
It's a beast, but pushing the newest games at a resolution of by takes a pretty significant amount of power. Running games like Doom at a 21:9 aspect ratio is also a whole new experience; being able to see things in your peripheral vision helps you to feel much more locked into the game's experience. It's a neat middle ground between a standard monitor and virtual reality.
There are also built-in speakers, and they sound as good as you'd expect speakers built into a computer case would sound. They're not bad, but if you're serious about sound, you'll want to invest in standalone speakers or at least a good headset. The system itself is a bit on the loud side, but it's nothing that will bother you once you're wearing a headset or using even moderately powered speakers. Those fans have to do a lot of work to make sure the densely packed components don't melt, even with a water-cooled CPU, and all that mechanical movement is taking place literally behind the screen.
The system itself is a bit thicker than it looks from the front, but it's impressively svelte, considering everything that's packed in.
You can also just buy a 21:9 monitor if you want to enjoy widescreen gaming, and you can cram components into a small case if you want to save room. This is a system that asks you to pay a premium to keep everything together, which leads to a few minor annoyances while in use. But it is cool, especially if you want something that can be set up or torn down quickly. You basically just have to plug it in and go. This would make for a hell of a LAN box, even though the system is a bit on the heavy side and can be awkward to carry.
The Avant Gaming All-in-One an interesting product, and I'm a bit curious about what people in the comments think of it. This is a great example of a gaming PC and monitor in a single piece of hardware, but I'm not sure if that's something people have ever asked for.
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