Digital Trends

With configurations costing upwards of $8,000, this system may be out of reach for most consumers. But taking all of the high-end components and custom features into account, the price is quite reasonable.

We really were torn when deciding on a final score for this product. If we were rating this purely on gaming performance and the coolness factor, it would be a 9/10 — the one knock being the sub-standard RAM that they included. But we also considered the Tek Panel as an HTPC as well, since it is the configuration that makes the most sense - even though our test rig wasn't outfitted with the All-In-Wonder.

When looking at the Tek Panel 300 as a complete home theater and gaming system, it fell short in a few important areas: The keyboard, mouse and speaker selection just doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the high-end components and the protruding optical drive takes away from the aesthetic appearance of the unit. The on/off switch issue also hurts the overall score. While Hy-Tek can take pride in their ability to tie the two different systems into one switch, their use of a toggle switch instead of a momentary pushbutton really causes some headaches. The aforementioned “identity crisis” also hurts its final score, just because it might be hard for someone to justify buying the Tek Panel if they don't have the perfect place to put it. But let's be honest here, the engineering ingenuity and raw power of the Tek Panel 300 do outweigh the few issues we had with it.

Put the Tek Panel 300 in front of any serious gamer and you'll need a towel and a squeegee to wipe up all the drool. The fact that Hy-Tek could squeeze all of these high-end components into a slightly thicker-than-normal LCD casing is a testament to their engineering and design prowess.

If you're looking for the ultimate gaming PC or are a consumer that wants the best of everything, look no further Tek Panel 300 — until they start shipping the Tek Panel 370.