Updated: AOpen MiniPC – Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
by Jarred Walton on March 3, 2006 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
System Setup
In order to show how the MiniPC performs, comparison results are provided using a few other systems, all running integrated graphics; the one exception is that we did throw in a Sempron system with a 6600 graphics card, just to show what even a moderate GPU adds to the picture. All units were equipped with 2x512 MB of RAM, except for the MiniPC, which was running a single 512MB DIMM. The benchmarks that we'll run generally don't need 1GB of RAM, but dual channel support and 512MB DIMMs did get us there anyway. (As I've said in my Buyer's Guides, 256MB DIMMs are a dead end, and consequently, I don't have any floating around anymore.) Here are the specific systems used.
Please note that the systems tested are not meant to be apples-to-apples comparisons. This is a quick look at a few of the most common platforms on the market, including some that are very likely to compete with the AOpen MiniPC for market share. If that seems unfair, then you should also take into account that every one of the systems tested will cost roughly the same as or less than the MP915-B that we're reviewing. At a roughly equal price, it then becomes a matter of determining where your priorities lie: size or performance.
It's difficult to find anything other than Pentium M/Celeron M processors in computers as small as the MiniPC right now - you can find some of VIA's processors in such systems, and of course there's the Mac Mini - so remember that the smaller case size is arguably the most important factor in this comparison. If you don't care about small cases, you really won't have good reason to buy the MiniPC.
When it comes to small, though, we really are talking small: the MiniPC is about 1/5 the total volume of the next smallest SFF PC, the AOpen MZ855/915! Going to more typical SFF designs, the MiniPC is less than 1/8 the volume of the Shuttle G5 chassis. Finally, compared to your typical ATX case like the Antec SLK-1650, you could fit 27 MiniPCs in the space of such a case. Not that you'd want to, but at least you should have some grasp of how small the AOpen system is in comparison to more common computers.
In order to show how the MiniPC performs, comparison results are provided using a few other systems, all running integrated graphics; the one exception is that we did throw in a Sempron system with a 6600 graphics card, just to show what even a moderate GPU adds to the picture. All units were equipped with 2x512 MB of RAM, except for the MiniPC, which was running a single 512MB DIMM. The benchmarks that we'll run generally don't need 1GB of RAM, but dual channel support and 512MB DIMMs did get us there anyway. (As I've said in my Buyer's Guides, 256MB DIMMs are a dead end, and consequently, I don't have any floating around anymore.) Here are the specific systems used.
| AOpen MiniPC Configuration | |
| Motherboard: | AOpen i915GM |
| Processor: | Pentium M 740 (1.73 GHz 2MB Dothan) |
| RAM: | 1 x 512MB PC2-4200 (4-4-4-11) |
| Hard Drive: | WD 2.5 inch 60GB PATA |
| Graphics: | Intel GMA900 |
| Chipset/Video Drivers: | Intel Chipset INF 7.2.2.1006; Intel Graphics v14.18 |
| Operating System(s): | Windows XP Professional SP2 |
| AOpen MZ855-II Configuration | |
| Motherboard: | AOpen i855GME |
| Processor: | Pentium M 755 (2.00 GHz 2MB Dothan) |
| RAM: | 2 x 512MB Corsaire Value PC3200 (2.5-3-3-8) |
| Hard Drive: | Seagate 7200.7 80GB PATA |
| Graphics: | Intel Extreme 2 |
| Chipset/Video Drivers: | Intel i855 6.3.0.1007; Intel Graphics v14.18 |
| Operating System: | Windows XP Professional SP2 |
| ASUS Athlon 64 Configuration | |
| Motherboard: | ASUS A8N-VM CSM (939) |
| Processor: | AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (2.00 GHz 512K L2 Venice) |
| RAM: | 2 x 512MB OCZ R2 Platinum PC3200 (2-2-2-7-1T) |
| Hard Drive: | Seagate 250GB 7200.8 SATA |
| Graphics: | NVIDIA GeForce 6150 |
| Chipset/Video Drivers: | nForce 430/410 822; ForceWare 81.98 |
| Operating System: | Windows XP Professional SP2 |
| ASUS Sempron Configuration | |
| Motherboard: | ASUS K8N4-E Deluxe (754) |
| Processor: | AMD Sempron 64 3100+ (1.80 GHz 256K Palermo) |
| RAM: | 2 x 512MB Generic PC3200 (2.5-3-3-10) |
| Hard Drive: | Hitachi 250GB T7K250 SATA3.0Gbps |
| Graphics: | GeForce 6600 PCIe |
| Chipset/Video Drivers: | nForce 4 AMD 6.70; ForceWare 81.98 |
| Operating System: | Windows XP Professional SP2 |
| Biostar 350G Pentium D Configuration | |
| Motherboard: | Biostar 350G Proprietary |
| Processor: | Intel Pentium D 920 (2 X 2.80 GHz 2MB Presler) |
| RAM: | 2 x 512MB OCZ PC2-6400@DDR533 (3-3-3-8) |
| Hard Drive: | Western Digital 250GB WD2500KS SATA3.0Gbps |
| Graphics: | Intel GMA-950 |
| Chipset/Video Drivers: | Intel Chipset INF 7.2.2.1006; Intel Graphics v14.18 |
| Operating System: | Windows XP Professional SP2 |
| Biostar 350G Pentium 4 Configuration | |
| Motherboard: | Biostar 350G Proprietary |
| Processor: | Intel Pentium 4 506 (2.67 GHz 1MB Prescott) |
| RAM: | 2 x 512MB OCZ PC2-6400@DDR533 (3-3-3-8) |
| Hard Drive: | Western Digital 250GB WD2500KS SATA3.0Gbps |
| Graphics: | Intel GMA-950 |
| Chipset/Video Drivers: | Intel Chipset INF 7.2.2.1006; Intel Graphics v14.18 |
| Operating System: | Windows XP Professional SP2 |
| HP DX5150 Configuration | |
| Motherboard: | HP DX5150 (ATI Xpress 200 chipset) |
| Processor: | AMD Athlon 64 4000+ (ClawHammer) |
| RAM: | 2 x 512MB Samsung PC3200 (3-3-3-8-1T) |
| Hard Drive: | Samsung 160GB SP1614C SATA |
| Graphics: | Xpress 200 IGP |
| Chipset/Video Drivers: | Intel i915 7.2.2.1006; ATI Catalyst 6.2 IGP CCC |
| Operating System: | Windows XP Professional SP2 |
| Shuttle XPC SD31P Configuration | |
| Motherboard: | Shuttle SD31 Proprietary |
| Processor: | Intel Pentium D 820 (Smithfield) |
| RAM: | 2 x 512MB Crucial Ballistix PC2-5300@DDR533 (4-4-4-8) |
| Hard Drive: | WD 74GB Raptor SATA |
| Graphics: | Intel GMA-950 |
| Chipset/Video Drivers: | Intel Chipset INF 7.2.2.1006; Intel Graphics v14.18 |
| Operating System: | Windows XP Professional SP2 |
Please note that the systems tested are not meant to be apples-to-apples comparisons. This is a quick look at a few of the most common platforms on the market, including some that are very likely to compete with the AOpen MiniPC for market share. If that seems unfair, then you should also take into account that every one of the systems tested will cost roughly the same as or less than the MP915-B that we're reviewing. At a roughly equal price, it then becomes a matter of determining where your priorities lie: size or performance.
It's difficult to find anything other than Pentium M/Celeron M processors in computers as small as the MiniPC right now - you can find some of VIA's processors in such systems, and of course there's the Mac Mini - so remember that the smaller case size is arguably the most important factor in this comparison. If you don't care about small cases, you really won't have good reason to buy the MiniPC.
When it comes to small, though, we really are talking small: the MiniPC is about 1/5 the total volume of the next smallest SFF PC, the AOpen MZ855/915! Going to more typical SFF designs, the MiniPC is less than 1/8 the volume of the Shuttle G5 chassis. Finally, compared to your typical ATX case like the Antec SLK-1650, you could fit 27 MiniPCs in the space of such a case. Not that you'd want to, but at least you should have some grasp of how small the AOpen system is in comparison to more common computers.
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JarredWalton - Friday, March 3, 2006 - link
"...*original* Mac Mini...."The Core Duo version was officially launched this past week.
mlittl3 - Friday, March 3, 2006 - link
Jarred,Since the article was posted today, I don't think anyone is going to care about the original Mac Mini. The computer industry moves and it moves fast. If Aopen's mini is better than what Apple put out in the past, then Apple has solved that problem with the new Mac Mini. That is the important issue today.
JarredWalton - Friday, March 3, 2006 - link
I Aopen had sent this to me in the past week, I wouldn't have bothered with the review. I've been putting this unit through it's paces for a lot more than a week, so the launch of the new Mac Mini is a non-factor. I mentioned it, I suggested it's a better choice right now (at least, I feel I did), and I really wouldn't recommend this model to anyone unless it were to sell for $650 or less. (Core Solo is for all intents and purposes equal to Dothan, so if it matches the Core Solo priced Mac Mini it would be fine.)JarredWalton - Friday, March 3, 2006 - link
First word: "I" should be "If..."Update #2: I'm betting not many people bothered reading the whole article, so they missed the comments on page 10 implying that the new Mac Minis are clearly faster. ("...with the recent launch of the Intel-based Mac Minis, that advantage is going to be short-lived.") I've updated the conclusion to make more specific mention of the Core Duo Mac Mini priced at $800.
Sunbird - Friday, March 3, 2006 - link
Looks like they followed my http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=937">advice on the styling (I can dream cant I?) and its not silver and blue.I like it.
Sunbird - Friday, March 3, 2006 - link
A question though:Is all the hardware OSx86 compatible?
Then you could enjoy the best of both worlds on one little box...
plinden - Friday, March 3, 2006 - link
I'm afraid I'm going to have to sound like an Apple fanboi now, but AOpen are still playing catchup with Apple:So to compare the specs:
Processor: Intel socket 479 (Celeron M to Pentium M 740) - Intel Core Solo/Duo
RAM: 1 X DDR2 SO-DIMM (Maximum 1GB of RAM) - 2 GB RAM Max
Hard Drive: 2.5" PATA Notebook HDD - Same HD
Graphics: 915GM (Intel GMA900) - Intel GMA950
Optical Drive: Slim CD/DVD slot load - same or similar, i.e. combo or superdrive
Expansion Slots: 1 X Mini-PCI (for WiFi) - no expansion slot but WIFI and bluetooth included by default
Audio: Realtek ALC655 AC'97 2CH (Speaker/Headphones + Microphone) - S/PDIF output
Power Suply: 65W (19V, 3.5A) External Adapter - 85W power supply
Internal connections from motherboard to HDD and ODD
Front Ports: None. Power Button, HDD Activity LED, ODD Eject Button - same
Rear Ports: 2 X USB2.0 - 4xUSB2.0
2 X 3.5mm Audio (speakers and microphone)
LAN (GbE) - same
1 X DVI-D and 1 X TV-Out (S-VIDEO, Composite, Component) - 1xDVI, no TV out
1 X Optional WiFi Antenna wireless G included
All for $599 - $799 (for 512MB RAM).
Despite the moaning over on Mac forums, this is still a much better deal than the MiniPC.
mlittl3 - Friday, March 3, 2006 - link
The hard drive in the Mac Mini is SATA not PATA.JarredWalton - Friday, March 3, 2006 - link
Which is basically what I say in the conclusion. This MP915 has been done for about three months now, and available on the market for just over a month (and a bit longer in Europe/Asia). MP945 will go up against the new Mac Mini, but the real question is whether or not it can come close to matching Apple's price. I'd like $850 with Core Duo 1.86 GHz (or higher), XP Home, 60+ GB HDD, DVD+RW, and 1GB RAM standard. I've said as much to AOpen, so we'll see if they can do that or not.JarredWalton - Friday, March 3, 2006 - link
Ack!Bold off Let's see if that works.... :p