The rest of the specification comprises 8GB of RAM and a Blu-ray drive. The average Delta E of 3.1 is good, too, a fact backed up the screen’s consistently accurate colours in our real-world tests. Both monitors delivered mediocre brightness just below 200cd/m2, but the AOC’s impressive black level made for a measured contrast ratio of 989:1 – better than the Chillblast’s 731:1, and resulting in deep, punchy images. That touch layer necessarily adds a little grain to the panel, and it’s glossy too, but underneath there’s a good quality TFT, every bit as good as the LG Flatron IPS screen we saw with the Chillblast Fusion Flash. And there’s no denying the AOC’s touch layer works well: it’s accurate and responsive.
The extra interactivity is somewhat wasted on Windows 7, with Microsoft’s Touch Pack the only prod-specific software included, but you could argue it’s an early way to future-proof your new PC against Windows 8. The monitor is AOC’s E2239FWT, and it comes with a 22in diagonal and a 1,920 x 1,080 native resolution. We were therefore surprised to see a touchscreen monitor arrive with Palicomp’s latest PC, the Touch Diamond.
The unstoppable smartphone market has seen touchscreens go mainstream, but when it comes to PCs they generally only come on all-in-one devices.