HDMI media pc on the cheap?

[nickfil]

Acer Aspire Revo is the best bang for the buck. I just wish the case looked a little nicer

That is pretty nice for $200.

Exactly. Trust me, I've been keeping an eye on this market for about 6 months now -- just waiting to pull the trigger myself.
The other nice one is ASRock Ion, but they usually start at $400-$500

do you know how the acer aspire revo handles mame or older pc games like system shock 2?

[nickfil]

Spore (after a rather long install process) plays great, with only a few minor slowdowns, and we'd imagine games like World of Warcraft would be very well suited to the system. Unfortunately, while a game like Team Fortress 2 "runs," we'd hardly call it a livable solution without some severe downgrading in graphics and framerate issues.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/28/acer ... vo-review/

reading the review and some others online it seems like you are better off getting something stronger. The revo just isn't quite there.

[fastbilly1]

Nickfil that was for the atom230 version of the Revo. The dualcore (atom330 version) should be capable of running it. Coupled with the nivida ion (a 9400m) it is a capable little machine.

I own both a atom 230/gma950 netbook and a atom 330/gma950 nettop these are not the best machines by any stretch of the imagination, had I known Ion was around the corner I would not have built the nettop. Think of the 330/950 box as a gaming pc from 02. It can run SystemShock 2, UT99, Tribes 2, and Halflife really well, UT2k4 decently, and can run up to PSX/N64 emulation fairly well. Ofcourse some games on the PSX/N64 just dont work, but overall Ive been pretty impressed. It can run Red Alert 3 at about 9 fps. Pretty much anything from 03 or before will run fine on it. Right now mine is a jukebox/internet radio, but I can easily see turning one of the boards into an emu box.

In talking with others who have the 330/ion combo they can run L4D2 at 640x480 and low settings at a very playable framerate. And games like CoD4 at a decent graphical setting. I was going to build four of my own, but the 330 revo cost a negligible amount more and comes with a keyboard. Decisions decisions

[jp1]

Reviews seem good on this version of the unit. The included wireless keyboard/mouse is a nice bonus if they are any good.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6883103235

It is slightly higher than I was looking to go but it does have a lot more to offer as well.

[fastbilly1]

jp1 if it is not dire to have this within the next few months Nivida said the Ion 2 was supposed to at the end of last year. Rumor is now by end of Q1 this year. I dont know any specifics about it apart from when it drops either itll be worth the cost of the upgrade or the price of the older ones will fall.

[racketboy]

Spore (after a rather long install process) plays great, with only a few minor slowdowns, and we'd imagine games like World of Warcraft would be very well suited to the system. Unfortunately, while a game like Team Fortress 2 "runs," we'd hardly call it a livable solution without some severe downgrading in graphics and framerate issues.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/28/acer ... vo-review/

reading the review and some others online it seems like you are better off getting something stronger. The revo just isn't quite there.

Well, I'm not planning on doing any gaming on it other than emulation -- we're mostly talking media performance here. So as long as it can run 1080p video well, we're good.

[jp1]

Yeah, I'm not particularly interested in gaming on it. Maybe a few popcap games and some flash games or some emulation that Wii virtual console doesn't cover. It's all about media for me. I tried streaming with playon but it looks like garbage on the Wii.

[jp1]

Thanks for the recommendations guys.

I ended up going with this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product

I put Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate on it and went with 2GB of 800mhz ram and a 250GB HD all for less than $300.

I'm pretty happy with the performance and stability so far. The size of the unit is remarkable too. I only wish it could be overclocked.

Ordered up the new (dog ugly) Lenovo multimedia remote to use with it as well.

It seems to be a generic version of this...

http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/view ... n-the-ope/

At over $100 cheaper.

[racketboy]

Thanks for the recommendations guys.

I ended up going with this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product

I put Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate on it and went with 2GB of 800mhz ram and a 250GB HD all for less than $300.

I'm pretty happy with the performance and stability so far. The size of the unit is remarkable too. I only wish it could be overclocked.

Ordered up the new (dog ugly) Lenovo multimedia remote to use with it as well.

It seems to be a generic version of this...

http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/view ... n-the-ope/

At over $100 cheaper.

Ooh! Hadn't seen that unit before -- nice find!
How is the noise level?

[jp1]

If you are really picky it may be a problem. I sit about 10-12 feet away and if the TV volume is even on a minimal level I can't really pick up the fan noise. If I walk closer or mute the tv though it is audible.

It is supposed to stay a little cooler and run the fan less if you run it without an internal HD...I haven't tried that though.


Overall, I'm quite satisfied with the unit. For the price I haven't seen anything comparable. It handles 1080p really nice.

EDIT: Here is the magnetically attached DVD-RW drive (If only it were Bluray)

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/6 ... urner.html