ASUS M3400 Review – Cool All In One Workhorse PC with Everything You Need in the Box

There’s still a need for all-in-one PCs especially for those who need a computing solution with a large display for general duties and the ASUS M3400 all-in-one PC fits the bill nicely with a circa-RM3,099 price tag with everything you need in one box but does it really perform? Here’s our ASUS M3400 review where we put it to the test!

ASUS M3400 Review – Build and Design

The ASUS M3400 all-in-one PC combines a large FullHD display with an integrated AMD Ryzen 5 series processor in a slim, attractive looking monitor housing along with a bundled wireless keyboard and mouse.

The keyboard itself is a full-sized model with a numeric keypad that pairs up via Bluetooth. The bundled wireless mouse itself is a fairly standard model with a scroll wheel and a left/right set of mouse buttons in a teardrop shaped plastic shell. Along with the PC, mouse and keyboard, you also get the obligatory power cable with a 90W AC charging brick as well as the obligatory quick start guide and warranty card.

The ASUS M3400 is exceptionally easy to set up and is relatively portable as AiO PCs go. After you’ve plugged in the PC to the mains you’re off at the races into the Windows 11 setup screen. At this stage in time, you will likely need a wired mouse and keyboard though or you’d have no way of interacting with the M3400 though it’s smooth sailing after you’ve paired up the bundled wireless mouse and keyboard.

In terms of design, what you get is essentially a large 23.8-inch monitor with an AMD Ryzen 5 5500U processor paired with DDR4 RAM, storage and integrated Radeon graphics shoehorned into a slim 48mm thin chassis. 

The 23.8-inch display itself has Full HD resolution at 1,920 x 1080 pixels with a relatively conventional 16:9 aspect ratio and a wide 88% screen-to-body ratio on account of slim side and top bezels. The bottom bezel features a slightly larger housing that has a built-in 720P webcam and a set of stereo speakers as well as microphones for video calls.

Of note is that the display is rated for 100% sRGB colour gamut reproduction though it’s not officially rated for 100%DCI-P3 or other accredited colour calibration standards for colour accuracy.

The screen brightness only maxes out at about 250 nits which combined with its dearth of color accuracy credentials means that it’s less than ideal for content creators. The display is also only rated for a 60Hz refresh rate which predicates its use for professional gaming though the hardware is also less than ideal for anything other than basic computing.

To prop the display up, our ASUS M3400 review unit has an integrated pedestal that flares at the base with a stylised U-shape that’s pleasantly stable while looking fairly stylish. While the monitor itself can tilt up and down somewhat, it isn’t able to swivel left and right and it’s not able to raise or lower it’s height. 

The rear of our ASUS M3400 unit is done up in a matte black polycarbonate finish that has a textured crossthatched pattern and has a power button along with the vast majority of the available ports. Arrayed neatly in a row is a separate HDMI 1.4 -in port and HDMI 1.4-out port, an Ethernet port, a quartet of USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports and a rounded DC-IN port for charging the M3400. 

On the lower right of our ASUS M3400 review sample where you’d typically find the power button in a conventional display is a function button, a 3.5mm jack and a USB 2.0 port for connecting peripherals. 

This collection of ports covers the basics but it lacks any USB-C ports which means more recent hardware gets left out. On the bright side, it does have a sufficiently generous number of USB Type-A ports to handle almost all the foreseeable peripherals you may need to plug into the PC like a wired PC, keyboard, dongle and whatnot with plenty of ports left to spare. Other mod-cons include fast WiFi 6 (802.11ax) as well as Bluetooth 5.0.

Overall build quality is fair though the odd placement of the webcam at the base of the monitor as well as the inability to pivot left or right nor adjust the height of the display are oversights in its design. 

ASUS M3400 Review – Benchmarks and Performance

In terms of hardware, our ASUS M3400 review sample came with the following:

Price	RM3,099
Display	23.8-inch LED-backlit NanoEdge FHD display, 1,920 x 1080 pixels, 60Hz, 100% sRGB colour gamut, 88% screen-to-body ratio
Processor	AMD Ryzen 5 5500U CPU
Graphics	AMD Radeon graphics
OS	Windows 11 Home
Memory	8GB DDR4 RAM / 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD
Connectivity	3.5mm combo jack, USB 2.0 Type A,RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI out 1.4, 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0
Size/Weight	540 x 409 x 48mm / 5.4kg

The provided Ryzen 5 5500U processor with its integrated Radeon graphics is a solid midrange choice though the modest 8GB DDR4 RAM and middling 512GB of storage mean that it has a mission profile that’s limited to light computing duties like web browsing, paperwork, video calls and content consumption. The lack of a dedicated graphics card also means that it is not intended for actual gaming duties but it’s also a rare option in any case for an AiO PC.

There’s some modest upgradability as our ASUS M3400 review sample does have an additional SO-DIMM slot for RAM and the existing 8GB DDR4 3,200MHz RAM stick can be swapped out with something larger along with space for an additional 2.5-inch SATA storage bay that you’ll have to do it on your own as there is no existing configuration sold with more RAM.

Like other ASUS devices of recent vintage, our ASUS M3400 review sample came with their MyAsus management app that lets you select performance profiles. Seeing as it lacks a battery, you’re only able to select either Whisper mode for silent running or Performance mode where it dynamically adapts power and fan settings for best performance. In Performance mode, the ASUS M3400 managed to attain the following synthetic benchmarks at its fullest potential:

3DMark TimeSpy	781
3DMark TimeSpy Extreme	340
3DMark Firestrike	2,115
3DMark Firestrike Extreme	478
3DMark Firestrike Ultra	977
3DMark Nightraid	9017
Geekbench 5 Single Core	1060
Geekbench 5 Multi Core	4,380
Geekbench 5 OpenCL	11,201
Geekbench 5 Vulkan	11,485
PCMark 10 Extended	3,518
Cinebench R23 Multi core	6,263
Cinebench R23 Single Core	1,149 points 5.45x MP ratio

When put to the test our ASUS M3400 review sample was able to adequately handle light computing tasks like web browsing and paperwork via Google Docs and Microsoft Office as well as light photo editing though anything more demanding like handling a current gen game or video editing is beyond its capabilities.

On the bright side, the provided cooling solution is more than sufficient and even under heavy benchmark stress tests, the cooling fans remained relatively silent.

Where it delights though is in watching movies where its wide, relatively vibrant display and decent stereo speakers are able to get a Netflix viewing party up and running in short order.

While its not considered as something suitable for content creators like video editors and professional photographers, the display has sufficiently vibrant colour rendition to make the likes of Squid Games’ vivid hues pop onscreen and the new Love, Death and Robots episodes like Jibaro look luscious indeed. The provided webcam at the base of the display is serviceable but unremarkable though the low position offers awkward angles in video calls.

Should you buy the ASUS M3400 All-in-One PC?

If you need a static setup for light computing tasks and enjoying movies without having to chunk out for additional speakers, a mouse and a keyboard, the ASUS M3400 All-in-one PC looks like a tempting proposition.

However, the modest hardware out of the box means that you need some level of technical expertise and additional cash to upgrade it but the option is nonetheless there. For those who are happy with a smaller screen and more portability, ASUS and other other brands have viable laptop options around the same price range in their line-up.

ASUS M3400 review sample courtesy of ASUS Malaysia. For more details please visit https://www.asus.com/my/Displays-Desktops/All-in-One-PCs/Everyday-use/ASUS-M3400/