The ABS N Series desktop PC for business was conceived and designed right here at Newegg, by PC enthusiasts with decades of computer building under their belts. For those unfamiliar with ABS, the company has been around since 1991 and is the PC house brand for Newegg.
The concept is simple. Find the sweet spot where performance and value intersect. Provide features and specs that suit day-to-day business use, and come in priced below the competition. The ABS N Series does just that. Let’s take a look.
Build information and specifications
Here is what ABS chose for the build:
CPU: Intel Haswell i5 4590 (Quad-Core, 3.3 GHz)
Motherboard: ASUS ITX H81M-A
Case: Rosewill R206 ITX Slim
Power Supply: FSP Sparkle Power 400W
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO
Memory: Kingston DDR3, 1600 MHz
Video Card: Intel HD Graphics 4600
Keyboard/mouse: Logitech Keyboard bundle
Software: Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)
There are five variations of the ABS N Series depending on drive size and how much RAM comes pre-installed.
- ABS N Series B5467-1 (4 GB DDR3, 120 GB SSD) – $649.99
- ABS N Series B5467-2 (8 GB DDR3, 120 GB SSD) – $679.99
- ABS N Series B5467-3 (4 GB DDR3, 250 GB SSD) – $699.99
- ABS N Series B5467-4 (8 GB DDR3, 250 GB SSD) – $729.99
- ABS N Series B5467-5 (8 GB DDR3, WD Black dual 120 GB SSD/ 1 TB HDD) – $739.99
One convenient aspect of the ABS N Series is how it accommodates legacy monitors with one port each for HDMI, DVI, and D-SUB inputs. These are shown above on the rear panel, along with two USB 3.0 inputs, four USB 2.0 inputs, and a RJ-45 Ethernet port.
The front panel is rather minimalist with one microphone jack, one headphones jack, and two USB 2.0 inputs. There is a DVD/CD optical drive.
Should you wish to expand the hardware, there is an empty PCIe 16x slot on the motherboard ready for a RAID controller, additional GPU, or SSD expansion card.
Software to try out for free
ABS N Series PCs come with one-year subscriptions to Symantec Norton Internet Security, and a one-month trial of Microsoft Office 2013. After that month of Office 2013 runs out, it might be worthwhile to try a free month of Office 365 to see which feels like a better fit.
How does the ABS N Series match up against other desktop PCs?
Perhaps the most comparable desktop PCs are the popular Dell OptiPlex and HP EliteDesk models. The N Series tends to come in at a slightly lower price point for the same hardware specifications—usually by between $30 and $40—and includes a newer, more powerful processor when similar SKUs are compared side-by-side.
Other comparable models include the HP ProDesk Mini PC and the Lenovo X315.
At the end of the day, the ABS N Series provides a small office a cost-effective business PC capable of snappy performance for running the Microsoft Office Suite and undertaking light production work, and will not need to be upgraded for several years.
