ASRock ION 330

[mvallevand]

I thought I'd share this photo showing for comparison my new ASRock ION 330, the PCH A110, and my two year old HTPC in an Antec NSK 2400 case which was a good form factor at the time!

$400 CDN though no Windows, keyboard or mouse.

Martin

[sub]

I've been quite tempted to get one of these ASRock ION 330's too. How quiet is it? The fans worry me a little.

[mvallevand]

It is quiet (much quieter than the Antec) but not silent. If I turn off all the sound you can tell it is in the room. I did the full Windows 7 RC install from DVD (which was flawless) in the media room with my wife in the room this evening and it wasn't the least bit distracting.

Martin

[sub]

Thanks - good to know. I've read in a review that it has two fans. I wish they were 100% passive.

I'm wanting to replace an aging P4 machine that was passive, and pretty much silent (very very faint whirr from HDD). I really want to replace it with a PC equally as quiet. I might wait a bit longer to see what ION based devices are released in the next few months.

[mvallevand]

I definitely think it is best to wait. I mainly bought this to see what the buzz over the ION was all about and whether I should give up on media extenders. Even after 2 hours I know this is not the machine for me. I don't know if you ever used a netbook, but I always sensed they are good ideas that lose out by being underpowered, and this continues that. I haven't had any problems with 1080p, but it doesn't come with a premium feel that I hoped over the PCH.

I guess I was also a bit underwhelmed with Win 7 too, as a long time Vista user this isn't much of a jump. I do like the Windows built in h264 and mpeg-ts support and after adding the haali splitter I am all set for a Win 7 update to GB-PVR.

Martin

[imagn]

Martin

any chance you can give an update on how GBPVR is on the ion. I am thinking about getting one and wanted to know how it playback was and how setting it up was (I.E. codec issues ect. or was it basically plug and play)

[mvallevand]

Martin

any chance you can give an update on how GBPVR is on the ion. I am thinking about getting one and wanted to know how it playback was and how setting it up was (I.E. codec issues ect. or was it basically plug and play)

I never installed GBPVR because I only wanted to test Win 7 and the only files that really need the power of the ION are h264 and since GBPVR doesn't support what looks to be great built in h264 support in Win 7 yet I wanted to wait.

It might not be a popular opinion here, but I am not a huge fan of the GBPVR PC client, I've always had more success with the MVP and the PCH for LiveTV which is my # 1 reason for using a client. For just playing videos on a PC I tend to use mpc hc and with evr it is quite good. With the haali splitter for mkvs WMP was ok too, but I still continued to have the same ongoing woes with generic DirectShow for advanced HD audio through HDMI that I have had for years, and that is why I go back to mpc.

The biggest complaints with the ASRock, I knew before buying it. With no svideo/component I don't consider it a complete client solution. The lack of front panel USB turns out to be a bigger nuisance than I expected and I would still prefer an eSATA port and coax SPDIF. Other than that, I have two problems probably due to the lack of mature drivers. I can not use real power management and I could not put the machine to sleep so a full shutdown after years of flawless sleep support on Vista is annoying. The other driver problem is more than annoying but hopefully will be a driver fix too. If my HDMI monitor wasn't on, on several occasions the PC would boot with a blank screen and I'd get that Windows message that I didn't power off successfully etc. I hate that message since I always wonder if my drive has not become a time bomb.

A better/shorter answer might be interpreted from how I am using it now. I have removed the internal drive and using it in another machine, and I am now playing around with XBMC Live. I am strongly considering coding GBPVR access from XBMC through another port of emulation mode.

Martin

[mvallevand]

Well it looks like this is already obsolete http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/01/nvidi.../#comments

Martin

[sub]

lol - dont you just love technology.

I've been putting off one of these small atom purchases for about 9 months, and this is another good reason for me to put it off a bit longer.

I dont really need one though, so its been hard to justify buying one when I know a better one is on the way. I'll never buy one at this rate

[trummel]

We wanted something that would make a proper PC for the kitchen (with Word, IE, and RDP so I can access my office PC) and be able to stream TV. I bought an Acer Aspire B3600 to play with, its an N270 Atom with Ion chipset and clips nicely onto the back of an LCD screen. It comes as standard with VHP. Cost was about 200 GBP.

H.264 TS files recorded with GBPVR from BBC HD play really nicely in the bundled Cyberlink PDVD8. Full screen 1080p runs blemish free with about 30% CPU.

I installed GBPVR in client mode. The Video stutters slightly when ever there is a screen overlay, but settles nicely once the overlay goes off. I cant seem to get the audio to play throuhg the HDMI cable though. It's fine in PDVD, but Ive tried every combination of codec and renderer to no avail.