Teguar TM-5040-22

Impressive 22-inch All-in-One PC designed and optimized for medical and similar deployments
(by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer)

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Teguar is a catchy name, and an increasingly familiar one as the Charlotte, North Carolina, based company is a hard-charging, rapidly growing provider of industrial and medical computers.

Launched in 2010 by a Swiss native with years of experience in industrial computer systems, Teguar prides itself in combining American adaptability and technological leadership with Swiss precision, quality, and attention to detail. In this article we're taking a detailed look at one of the company's medical All-in-One PCs, the 22-inch Teguar TM-5040-22.

The question might come up why a company that specializes in advanced industrial and medical computer solutions offer All-in-One PCs? Isn't that consumer and business territory served by Apple, Dell, HP, Lenovo and such? The answer is that those home and office desktop All-in-Ones are all practical and very popular, but they are just not tough, durable, and versatile enough for medical, clinical and similar environments.

But aren't industrial panel PCs filling that role? To some extent they are. But those systems, as the name says, are industrial designs primarily used in panel-mount configurations. They can be mounted and used in other ways, but they are industrial and with a well-defined purpose. All-in-One PCs, on the other hand, are designed for mounted or standalone use in various environments and for various purposes. While the backside of industrial panel PCs is usually hidden from view and thus primarily designed for functionality, All-in-One PCs feature finished, attractive design both front and back.

Medical All-in-Ones, for example, may be used on desks, in labs, at bedsides, in common areas and also mounted on medical carts. Medical carts are essentially mobile computer workstations on wheels that include whatever's required for a specific workload. They are popular in healthcare settings because they allow staff to access computing resources that may not be available on tablets or handhelds bedside or in other work areas. That makes medical cart workstations ideal for mobile data collection, charting, dispensing of medication, review of records and physicians' orders, telehealth applications and more, and the TM-5040 models fit right into that spot

Medical and industrial vs consumer All-in-One computers

All-in-Ones make sense in many applications because they combine the traditional "tower" PC and its desktop monitor into one slender package, saving space and reducing cabling. But how do medical and industrial All-in-One computers vary from consumer or business versions?

• Ruggedness and quality — Consumer tech is generally designed to look sleek and trendy, and be as light as possible. Medical and industrial computing equipment is built to last under heavy use, and it also must be easy to clean and disinfect, especially in healthcare settings.

• Mounting options — Consumer All-in-Ones have integrated stands but no other mounting options. Medical and industrial All-in-Ones like the Teguar TM-5040-22 may be mounted in various ways, both stationary or on medical carts. Industry standard VESA hole patterns in the back allow access to an almost infinite variety of mounting arms, brackets, clamps, etc.

• Plentiful I/O — Consumer and office All-in-Ones generally have the common I/O ports but no more. Medical and industrial settings may require multiple LAN jacks, various types of USB and video ports, legacy serial ports, and more. And if a customer needs something different or unusual, a company like Teguar can likely provide it.

• Easy access to expansion — Consumer All-in-Ones are pretty much closed systems that are difficult to open and service. Medical and industrial All-in-Ones offer easy access to the interior with slots, sockets and ports.

• Silent, fanless operation — Almost all consumer All-in-Ones need fans, which means distracting noise, unwanted airflow, and filters that need cleaning. Fans also tend to get clogged and they may fail. Medical and industrial All-in-Ones like the Teguar TM-5040-22 use passive cooling via their metal housings and don't need a fan.

• Small size — Since they are designed for desktops, most consumer All-in-Ones are big machines, with screens generally in the 24-27 inch range. Medical and industrial settings often may not need such big displays, especially not on carts. The Teguar TM-5040-22's 21.5 inch screen is big enough for its intended purposes, but not so large as to become difficult to fit and move. And other models in the TN-5040 go down to as low as 15.6 inch screens.

What else sets medical and industrial computers apart from consumer and office tech? That would be the materials used. In virtually any medical settings, infection control is a major issue. Bacteria and infectious debris can hide anywhere. The pandemic has shown that whatever can be done to minimize the risk of spreading infection must be done. For medical gear that means the use of antimicrobial coatings and materials, minimizing cracks and crevices where infectious agents may accumulate, and IP65-rated full flush touch screens may be required that can handle frequent cleaning, spills, and splashes. PCs used in such settings should also also have 4KV isolation so potential electric shocks won't transfer to users, patients, or connected devices and peripherals.

Note that the TM-5040-22 is not only one in three models in the company's TM-5040 series, but also one of a large number of medical and industrial panel and All-in-One computers that Teguar offers. Display sizes start at small 10-inch models all the way up to 30+ inches. While consumer All-in-Ones are general purpose computers and must be equipped to handle a wide variety of personal, business and office workloads, medical and industrial systems are often procured for very specific workloads. Which means they are offered with a variety of CPU, I/O, power, environment, and mounting options.

While Teguar offers over two dozen different medical computers, medical monitors and displays, medical tablets and medical cart computers, the table below shows the Teguar TM-5040 Series of medical/industrial All-in-One lineup as of early 2023.

Teguar TM-5040 Series Medical/Industrial All-in-One PCs

Company	Teguar	Teguar	Teguar
Model	TM-5040-16	TM-5040-18	TM-5040-22
Screen size	15.6"	18.5"	21.5"
Screen resolution	1366 x 768 (opt. 1920 x 1080)	1366 x 768 (opt. 1920 x 1080)	1920 x 1080
Screen pixel per inch	100 dpi (opt. 141 dpi)	85 dpi (opt. 119 dpi)	102 dpi
Screen aspect ratio	16 : 9	16 : 9	16 : 9
Screen luminance	220 nits	250 nits	250 nits
Touch	PCAP	PCAP	PCAP
Intel CPU	6th Gen Core i5 or Celeron	6th Gen Core i5 or Celeron	6th Gen Core i5 or Celeron
RAM	4-32GB in 2 DDR4 SO-DIMM	4-32GB in 2 DDR4 SO-DIMM	4-32GB in 2 DDR4 SO-DIMM
Cooling	Passive - Fanless	Passive - Fanless	Passive - Fanless
Mass storage	1 x 2.5" SATA (32GB-1TB)	1 x 2.5" SATA (32GB-1TB)	1 x 2.5" SATA (32GB-1TB)
Storage M.2	1 x M.2 half-size Type E	1 x M.2 half-size Type E	1 x M.2 half-size Type E
Serial	2 x RS232	2 x RS232	2 x RS232
Expansion	1 x mPCIe half-size, 1 x M.2	1 x mPCIe half-size, 1 x M.2	1 x mPCIe half-size, 1 x M.2
USB	4 x 3.0	4 x 3.0	4 x 3.0
LAN	2 x RJ45	2 x RJ45	2 x RJ45
HDMI	1 x HDMI Type A	1 x HDMI Type A	1 x HDMI Type A
Speakers	2 x 2 watt	2 x 2 watt	2 x 2 watt
Camera	2MP webcam	2MP webcam	2MP webcam
IP rating	IP65 Front Bezel	IP65 Front Bezel	IP65 Front Bezel
Enclosure	Aluminum, anti-bacterial	Aluminum, anti-bacterial	Aluminum, anti-bacterial
VESA Mount	Yes (VESA 75)	Yes (VESA 75)	Yes (VESA 75)
Size (mm)	396 x 245 x 48	464 x 284 x 48	536 x 328 x 48
Weight	9.9 lbs (4.5 kg)	15.0 lbs (6.8 kg)	17.6 lbs (8.0 kg)
Power Input	12-48V DC	12-48V DC	12-48V DC
Battery	NA	NA	NA
Product specs	TM-5040-16	TM-5040-18	TM-5040-22
Product page	TM-5040-16	TM-5040-18	TM-5040-22

At first sight, and even second, other than display size the three model in Teguar's TM-5040 Series of medical/industrial All-in-One computers don't differ much in performance or functionality. All have the same processor, RAM and mass storage options, all are fanless designs, all have capacitive multi-touch displays, all have exceptionally rich I/O, and all have cast aluminum anti-microbial housings. So what sets them apart?

There's display size. 15.6, 18.5, or 21.5 inch. 15.6-inch is like a large laptop, 21.5-inch like a small desktop. The difference isn't great, but it still matters. The smallest of the three weighs under ten pounds, the largest almost 18 pounds. That's very noticeable if a system is on a cart or is moved around a lot.

All three can be had with full HD resolution. But it's standard only in the largest model; the two smaller models come with 1366 x 768 pixel resolution. In graphics-heavy applications, resolution can matter a great deal. So whether it's 85 dpi or 141 dpi can be the difference between fuzzy and crystal-clear in an application.

Processor performance can be crucial. While many industrial panel PCs have clearly defined workloads with consistent and very predictable performance requirements, that's rarely the case in All-in-Ones with more general workloads that may range from simple all the way to very complex. That's why Teguar offers all three machines with either an Intel Core or an Intel Celeron processor. Our review machine came with the more powerful Core processor, which, overall, will be significantly faster as a system equipped with the Celeron chip option.

Does that matter in real life? Is the higher cost of the Core processor option justified? It does matter and the cost is justified IF the expected workload requires it. If the expected workload is predicable and not compute-intensive, the Celeron chip may be the way to go.

All three machines support storage either via 2.5-inch SATA solid state disks or via half-size PCIe-based storage modules. PCIe is faster but more expensive. SATA is slower but costs less. Both can be used at the same time.

Now let's take a closer look at the TM-5040-22 All-in-One computer Teguar sent RuggedPCReview.com for evaluation.

Teguar TM-5040-22 — Industrial-grade All-in-One

When you see Teguar's 22-inch TM-5040 All-in-One system for the first time you're impressed with how sleek and elegant it looks. All modern with flush glass covering the entire front and with a visual one-inch bezel area surrounding the display underneath the glass. Reminiscent of a very large modern tablet down to the round little camera hole sitting in the bezel atop the LCD. Then you look at it from the side and marvel how slender the TM-5040 is for an industrial-grade computer. The system case with the display and the electronics is just a bit over an inch thick, and when counting the slightly protruding backside that's primarily there to accommodate the standardized interface ports it's still less than two inches thick.

The compilation of pictures below shows the TM-5040-22 from the front and all four sides:

Then you might pick up the system and you instantly see why this is industrial-grade. We're talking 18 pounds of all metal and glass. If you'd have to rate trust-inspiring quality and solidity on a scale of 1 to 10, where today's consumer All-in-Ones might rate a two or at most a three, this one is a solid ten.

There are no visible ports. Not on top and not on the sides that show ventilation slots and nothing else. There are, of course, ports. They are all facing down and are kept out of view with an easily removable metal cover. All I/O cables go through a single 5-1/2 inch slot for a neat and clear appearance. On the bottom, next to the cable slot, is a discrete spring-loaded on-off button.

Below is a look at the backside of the Teguar TM-5040-22, with the metal port cover removed. In the center you can see the screw holes for VESA 75 mounting. Note the clear labeling of the interface ports. The small square protrusion at the bottom contains the spring-loaded on-off switch.

Opening up the Teguar TM-5040-22 is required to replace or upgrade components such as RAM, solid state or rotating mass storage, wireless communication modules, or similar. Doing so requires undoing a dozen Philips head screws, each capped by a small rubber plug, and then lifting off the back cover. There's just one wire between the back plate and the main part of the housing, that for the on/off switch.

Now you get to see the inside of the Teguar TM-5040-22. The first impression is how very strong and impressive the main part of the housing is. Just a heavy-duty slab of cast aluminum, providing more than ample room for all electronics and wires, as well as supplying generous shielding, structure, and support. There's none of the claustrophobic crowding found inside most consumer All-in-Ones, and certainly none of the ever-present fear of breaking some of the tiny connectors or wimpy plastic parts inside consumer gear.

Although the system's motherboard measures a generous 10 x 6 inches, it almost gets lost inside the spacious housing of the TM-5040-22. All I/O is edge-mounted facing down. The two RAM slots are easily accessible, as are the half-size M.2 2280 and mPCIe slots (unused in our eval system) to the left of the RAM. Those can be used for extra storage and a Wifi/Bluetooth module, or whatever else is needed. To the right of the motherboard is the garage for the 2-1/2 inch SATA solid state disk, in our system a Transcend SSD452. There are actually two SATA data and power plugs, so, though not on the spec sheet, a second SATA SSD might be able to go in there.

Below is a look at the inside of the back plate. Nothing fragile or flimsy here. We're talking all ADC12 die-cast aluminum alloy 383. The square in the center is pressed against the heat transfer material on top of the Intel Core processor's mounting case. This way, the heavy back plate acts as a big passive heatsink and heat dissipator. This computer never gets hot.

The next image presents a look at the Teguar TM-5040-22's backside facing down. Ports are, from left to right, the cutout for the optional COM3, RJ45 LAN, cutout for an optional pair of USB connectors, Mic in and Line out, dual USB 3.0 Type-A, RJ45 LAN, another duo of USB 3.0 Type-A, COM1 and COM2, HDMI, DC in, and an additional cutout.

As far as ruggedness goes, while the Teguar TM-5040-22 can be a mobile device, it is not one that's being carried around like a tablet. Hence no drop specs and such. The TM-5040-22 is designed to be used in a temperature range from 32 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit, and its front panel is IP65 rated. That means the front panel can handle low-pressure jets of water from all direction, making it easy to clean and disinfect the front of the unit. Teguar specifically lists almost 30 cleaners and disinfectants that can be used on the computer's chemical-resistant exterior.

Economy or performance

As mentioned above, with Teguar's TM-5040 Series All-in-Ones suitable both as general purpose PCs for medical deployments but also as dedicated purpose systems for industrial use, it made sense to offer the line with different processors. That's because general purpose systems may encounter a mix of simple and complex applications whereas the maximum performance requirements of dedicated system are more predictable.

Because of that, Teguar makes the TM-5040 Series available with either an Intel Core i5-6300U processor for potentially higher performance requirements, as well as an Intel Celeron 3955U for lower, more predictable loads. Our review unit came with the Core i5-6300U dual-core processor with four threads, a standard clock speed of 2.4GHz and a maximum "turbo" speed of 3.00GHz. The optional Celeron 3955U is also a dual-core chip but does not support hyper-threading. Its maximum processor frequency is 2.0GHz and there is no turbo boost. The Thermal Design Power (TDP) of both chips is 15 watts.

The Core i5-6300U is a significantly higher performance chip than the Celeron 3955U, and and Intel charges almost three times as much for it. Note, however, that while Intel generally uses the "Celeron" brand for its low-end Atom-based architecture chips, "Celeron" is also used for some much more powerful Intel Core-based chips, and the 3955U is one of those. In fact, both processors belong to Intel's "Skylake" 6th generation of Core processors. "Skylake" was one of Intel's milestone chip generations, and several subsequent generations of Core processors were all based on the Skylake architecture.

What does the choice of processor amount to? Mostly performance. Expect a noticeable performance difference between the i5-6300U and the Celeron 3955U, and some deployments may require the extra Intel technologies that only the higher-end chip offers. To give you a better idea of where a variety of chips used by Teguar stand in terms of performance, the table below shows the benchmark results of the TM-5040-22 as well as a number of other Teguar products we've tested over the past couple of years.

Teguar TM-5040-22 vs various Teguar products

Performance	Teguar	Teguar	Teguar	Teguar	Teguar
Model	TM-5040-22	TP-5593-22	TP-3345-16	TB-3445	TRT-5280-12
Type	AIO	Panel	Panel	IPC	Tablet
Year tested	2022	2022	2021	2021	2021
Processor	Intel Core	Intel Core	Intel Pentium	Intel Celeron	Intel Core
Processor Model	i5-6300	i3-7100	N4200	N3350	i7-8550
CPU base/turbo Speed	2.40/3.00 GHz	2.40 Ghz/no turbo	1.10/2.50 GHz	1.10/2.40 GHz	1.80/4.00 GHz
Cores/Threads	2/4	2/2	4/4	2/2	4/8
PassMark 6.1	2,298	1,960	1,336	1,211	3,042
PassMark 9	2,604	2,037	1,339	879	3,688
PC Mark 10	2,916	2,652	1,697	1,206	3,856
- PC Mark Essentials	6,704	6,119	4,214	3,478	7,991
- PC Mark Productivity	4,462	4,184	2,331	1,892	6,120
- PC Mark Digital Content	2,251	1,979	1,353	725	3,181
PC Mark Drive	870	840	731	NA	NA
3DMark Time Spy	376	384	189	NA	452
Geekbench 5 Single Core	795	598	318	323	1,080
Geekbench 5 Multi Core	1,213	5,253	1,155	609	3,429
Geekbench 5 Open CL	4,471	5,167	2,529	720	5,742

Some commentary on the above benchmarks: the results don't mean that one system is "better" than the other. They simply show what general performance level can be expected from certain processors, so that customers can make informed decisions as to what is actually needed for a certain application or deployment.

The above shown results do not surprise. Intel Core is at a distinctly higher performance level than anything with none-Core based Intel Pentium and Intel Celeron branded chips. It can get tricky with the Pentium and Celeron names because it's not immediately obvious whether a particular Pentium or Celeron processor belongs to the higher power Core family or the lower power Atom family. The Celeron 3955U available for the TM-5040 Series IS Core-based, whereas the Celeron N3350 that's in Teguar's TB-3455 IPS is not. So always check processor datasheets.

You'll note that the highest scoring device listed above is Teguar's TRT-5280-12, a 12-inch tablet computer. That's because it's based on a high-end quad-core processor. Quad-cores only became available with Intel's 8th gen of Core mobile processors, and they will almost always outperform earlier dual-core designs.

TM-5040-22 medical/industrial All-in-One — Summary

With their trio (for now) of TM-5040 Series of All-in-One computers, Teguar offers an elegant, very polished, and rock-solid line of multi-purpose Windows computers nominally listed for medical/healthcare environments, but suitable also for various manufacturing and industrial deployments.

Equipped with capacitive multi-touch displays, the three TM-5040 Series models -- available with 15.6, 18.5 and 21.5-inch displays -- offers a wealth of onboard connectivity, both state-of-the-art and legacy, all combined in a down-facing I/O block in the back of the unit. For mass storage, the TM-5040 models support both standard 2.5-inch SATA rotating or solid state media, or M.2 storage modules.

The entire case, front and back, of the TM-5040 line is entirely made of cast aluminum, lending the systems solidity, strength and rigidity far in excess of any consumer All-in-Ones, while also providing plenty of passive cooling for silent fanless operation.

Despite their industrial-grade construction and materials, the line looks elegantly refined with flush glass fronts that has integrated web cams. Teguar lists the line's housing as having antibacterial properties, and the straight-forward, simple design allows for quick and effective cleaning.

Equipped with a choice of either an Intel Core i5 processor for demanding workloads or an economical Intel Celeron chip for more predictable lower-power operation, the TM-5040 Series carries 60601-1 4th Edition certification for medical equipment and systems safety in various healthcare environments. Optionally available is a multi-function Device Box with a Smart IC Card reader, RFID, scanner, and external line-out, mic-in jacks. Also available is a 3-track MSR reader.

With its elegant appearance, comprehensive connectivity, configurability, and impressive rock-solid cast aluminum/glass design, the Teguar TM-5040 line makes for a very attractive medical All-in-One computer for all sorts of healthcare settings, and beyond. — Conrad H. Blickenstorfer, January 2023

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Teguar TM-5040-22 Medical All-in-One Computer Specs

Added/changed	Full review 01/2023
Type	Medical All-In-One Computer
Processor	Intel Core i5-6300U (dual core - four threads) Intel Celeron 3955U (dual core)
Processor speed	Intel Core i5-6300U: 2.40 GHz (Max 3.00 GHz Turbo Speed) Intel Celeron 3955U: 2.00 GHz (no turbo)
TDP	Both 15 watts
Thermal	Fanless passive cooling
OS	Windows 10 Professional, Windows 10 IoT, Linux
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 6520
Memory	4G to 32GB DDR4 SO-DIMM in two SO-DIMM sockets (2 x TLA 4GB DDR4-2666 in review unit)
Display type	LED-backlit TFT LCD with 250 nits luminance
Display size/res	21.5" 1920 x 1080 pixel (102 ppi)
Digitizer/Pens	Projected capacitive multi-touch
Keyboard	Optional
Storage	2.5-inch SATA hard drive or SSD and/or M.2 2280 SATA SSD (2.5-inch SATA3 Transcend SSD452 256GB in review unit)
Multimedia Pocket	None
Expansion slots	1 x M.2 2280, 1 x mPCIe
Housing	Glass, cast aluminum; anti-bacterial housing; VESA 75 mountable.
Temperature	32° to 104°F (0° to 40°C)
Humidity	20 to 85% non-condensing
Vibration	NA
Spill Resistance Class	IP65 (front bezel)
Chemical resistance spec	Est: Approved cleaning agents: 3M HB Quat, Acetone, Actichlor, Alcohol, low concentration Ammonium Nitrate, Antigone, Betasept, Bleach, Caviwipes, Chloride, CIDEX, Control III Disinfectant Germicide, Dispatch Disinfectant Cleaner CLH69101, Incidin, Isopropyl Alcohol, LpH se, MikroBac, Mikrozid, Peridox, Puregreen 24 Disinfectant, SDW 70C, Sodium Hypochlorite, SporeClear, Trigene, Viraguard, Virkon, and Windex
Certifications	FCC Class B, IEC 60601-1 4th Edition
Size	21.1 x 12.9 x 1.9 inches (536 x 328 x 48 mm)
Weight	17.6 pounds as tested (8.0 kg)
Power	12-48V DC
Data collection	Available on request: expansion module with RFID, Smart Card reader, 1D/2D barcode scanner and magstripe reader
Camera	2MP frontal webcam
Communication	Optional 802.11 b/g/n WLAN card and Bluetooth 4.0
Interface	4 x USB 3.0, 2 x RJ-48 plug with adapters for DB9 RS232 support, 2 x RJ45 gigabit LAN, 1 x HDMI, 1 x audio in and out, 2 x 2 watt speakers; optional isolated I/O: RS232, RJ45 LAN, USB
Price	Inquire
Web page	Teguar TM-5040-22 web
Product brochure	Teguar TM-5040-22 spec sheet (PDF)

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Teguar — 1-800-870-7715
www.teguar.com