Okay, let me start by acknowledging that you must pay a premium if you want a smaller form factor. Understood. I have been building SFF PCs for years, so I get it...just as I get that smaller production runs of these cases and components also contribute to the higher price....and yes, this thing uses less juice. Great. That said. 600 hundred? For Atom? No dice. Not for me...and not for most folks looking for something for the living room.
I have looked forward to the Ion-based nettops and netbooks since January, but they are really turning out to be useless to me - either too anemic for video that doesn't use the GPU or too ridiculously expensive to justify the cost.
Here's a hint PC makers - I can get any number of media players in the 100-200 bean range...including the awesome Popcorn Hour A110...and another advertised on this site earlier in the week for 100 beans...and both are 100% silent without a fan *or* HD.
Need more capability for the living room? Try the PCH C200. Really want a low power nettop that runs windows? Great, there are any number of units in the 200-300 bean range...but they are anemic for video...and so is this. Dual core? Whatever. Flash doesn't use the second core. Ion GPU? Many video technologies on the web don't use the GPU.
Really want an HTPC with balls? This thing isn't it...and certainly isn't worth 600 unless you place an extreme premium on size.
Instead, I can get a baseline Dell Inspiron 537s with 2GB of RAM, a 320 GB hard drive, and DVD RW for $269:
- Dual core E5200
- ATI Radeon HD 4350 512MB (supports dual monitors and HDMI)
And bring the price to a whopping $359. Upgrading RAM or HD is minor expense on their site...or cheaper from newegg...but I am keeping those items at their default config since they equal or exceed the specs for this ASUS box.
Sure, it's not as small, but it is still fairly compact...and the HTPC community says it's the one to beat for a pre-built.
$600? Um, I'll pass thanks. Let me know when it is $350. Perhaps $400...but a dime more and it is no dice.
@ScubaSteve: I actually picked up some of the Dell Studio Hybrids (HDMI and DVI out, plenty of USB, 3GB RAM, *real* processor, 160GB HD, laptop components for low power and quient, etc.) refurb for about the same price. It works quite well as a media PC.
Waste is a relative term when you're looking for something ultra small that doesn't eat up a ton of electricity AND boots up quickly. There's a reason why new tech costs a bit more than old tech, in case you haven't noticed.
Haveing it mounted like that takes up way for vertical space than it should. Can it just be on its side like a DVD player? or just standing up like a tower?
@Jesustron: If it's like the last one, you can affix it to the back of a flatscreen and I'm pretty positive you can lay it flat. This is just the pretty way.
Dang. I am getting behind on computer species. We have: Desktop, Laptop, Netbook, Smartbook, Nettop. Then related portable items are: PMP, Smartphone, ...
OK, what did I leave out?
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars What a deal!, August 31, 2009
By suneohair "suneohair" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
First let me say, Amazon is great. It only took two weeks to be delivered! And that is with overnight shipping! Crazy fast!
I got in on this supercomputer when it was only $106,414.89. That is a monster deal. It is only $300 and something right now, that is a sucker's price. Who will know you bought a supercomputer if you only paid like $300? Plus it runs better when you pay more.
The atom processor is great. I can't even see it cuz it's an atom! It runs so fast and once I swear it split.. and when it did it encoded a 3 hour 1080P video in 3ms! Yes, that is milliseconds! I heart atoms. Don't believe me? Well, how much did you pay for this supercomputer? If you only paid $300, you don't get these features. See what you get when you pay $106,414.89?
The only I don't is why this isn't pre-loaded with unix of XP. I mean, shouldn't you run a supercomputer OS?
10/05/09
Until then I'll stick with my arduino based robots.
10/05/09
10/05/09
Father, give me legs.
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/02/09
I have looked forward to the Ion-based nettops and netbooks since January, but they are really turning out to be useless to me - either too anemic for video that doesn't use the GPU or too ridiculously expensive to justify the cost.
Here's a hint PC makers - I can get any number of media players in the 100-200 bean range...including the awesome Popcorn Hour A110...and another advertised on this site earlier in the week for 100 beans...and both are 100% silent without a fan *or* HD.
Need more capability for the living room? Try the PCH C200. Really want a low power nettop that runs windows? Great, there are any number of units in the 200-300 bean range...but they are anemic for video...and so is this. Dual core? Whatever. Flash doesn't use the second core. Ion GPU? Many video technologies on the web don't use the GPU.
Really want an HTPC with balls? This thing isn't it...and certainly isn't worth 600 unless you place an extreme premium on size.
Instead, I can get a baseline Dell Inspiron 537s with 2GB of RAM, a 320 GB hard drive, and DVD RW for $269:
[www.dell.com]
And customize with:
- Dual core E5200
- ATI Radeon HD 4350 512MB (supports dual monitors and HDMI)
And bring the price to a whopping $359. Upgrading RAM or HD is minor expense on their site...or cheaper from newegg...but I am keeping those items at their default config since they equal or exceed the specs for this ASUS box.
Sure, it's not as small, but it is still fairly compact...and the HTPC community says it's the one to beat for a pre-built.
$600? Um, I'll pass thanks. Let me know when it is $350. Perhaps $400...but a dime more and it is no dice.
Your mileage may vary.
10/02/09
While the link works, here's one w/ Bluray for $639: [outlet.us.dell.com]
10/02/09
10/02/09
10/02/09
Its a nettop, not a piece of modern artwork.
10/02/09
10/02/09
09/17/09
OK, what did I leave out?
09/17/09
09/01/09
I'll be saving to build something similar to the one Engadget built... some day.
09/02/09
09/16/09
09/01/09
08/31/09
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars What a deal!, August 31, 2009
By suneohair "suneohair" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
First let me say, Amazon is great. It only took two weeks to be delivered! And that is with overnight shipping! Crazy fast!
I got in on this supercomputer when it was only $106,414.89. That is a monster deal. It is only $300 and something right now, that is a sucker's price. Who will know you bought a supercomputer if you only paid like $300? Plus it runs better when you pay more.
The atom processor is great. I can't even see it cuz it's an atom! It runs so fast and once I swear it split.. and when it did it encoded a 3 hour 1080P video in 3ms! Yes, that is milliseconds! I heart atoms. Don't believe me? Well, how much did you pay for this supercomputer? If you only paid $300, you don't get these features. See what you get when you pay $106,414.89?
The only I don't is why this isn't pre-loaded with unix of XP. I mean, shouldn't you run a supercomputer OS?
08/31/09
they must think they are Best Buy or something.
08/31/09
08/31/09
08/31/09
Anyone seen the trailer for her new movie that's coming out yet?
::drool::
08/31/09
What does this has to do with anything?
08/31/09
09/01/09