ASRock Core 100HT-BD : Bringing HTPCs to the Mainstream Market [UPDATED : Noise Issue]
by Ganesh T S on July 19, 2010 9:34 PM EST- Posted in
- Home Theater
- Arrandale
- ASRock
- Media Streamer
- Core i3
- HTPC
HTPC enthusiasts are often concerned about the quality of pictures output by the system. While this is a very subjective metric, we have decided to take as much of an objective approach as possible. Starting this month, we will be evaluating all our HTPCs and media streamers with the HQV 2.0 test suite. This test suite consists of 39 different streams divided into 4 different classes. The playback device is assigned scores for each, depending on how well it plays the stream. Each test was repeated multiple times to ensure that the correct score was assigned. The scoring details are available in the testing guide [PDF]. In the table below, we indicate the maximum score possible for each test, and how much the Core 100 HT-BD was able to get.
| Core 100HT-BD : HQV 2.0 Benchmark | ||||
| Test Class | Chapter | Tests | Max. Score | Core 100 |
| Video Conversion | Video Resolution | Dial | 5 | 4 |
| Dial with Static Pattern | 5 | 5 | ||
| Gray Bars | 5 | 3 | ||
| Violin | 5 | 3 | ||
| Film Resolution | Stadium 2:2 | 5 | 0 | |
| Stadium 3:2 | 5 | 5 | ||
| Overlay On Film | Horizontal Text Scroll | 5 | 3 | |
| Vertical Text Scroll | 5 | 5 | ||
| Cadence Response Time | Transition to 3:2 Lock | 5 | 5 | |
| Transition to 2:2 Lock | 5 | 5 | ||
| Multi-Cadence | 2:2:2:4 24 FPS DVCam Video | 5 | 0 | |
| 2:3:3:2 24 FPS DVCam Video | 5 | 0 | ||
| 3:2:3:2:2 24 FPS Vari-Speed | 5 | 0 | ||
| 5:5 12 FPS Animation | 5 | 0 | ||
| 6:4 12 FPS Animation | 5 | 0 | ||
| 8:7 8 FPS Animation | 5 | 0 | ||
| Color Upsampling Errors | Interlace Chroma Problem (ICP) | 5 | 2 | |
| Chroma Upsampling Error (CUE) | 5 | 2 | ||
| Noise and Artifact Reduction | Random Noise | SailBoat | 5 | 5 |
| Flower | 5 | 5 | ||
| Sunrise | 5 | 5 | ||
| Harbour Night | 5 | 5 | ||
| Compression Artifacts | Scrolling Text | 5 | 3 | |
| Roller Coaster | 5 | 3 | ||
| Ferris Wheel | 5 | 3 | ||
| Bridge Traffic | 5 | 3 | ||
| Upscaled Compression Artifacts | Text Pattern | 5 | 3 | |
| Roller Coaster | 5 | 3 | ||
| Ferris Wheel | 5 | 3 | ||
| Bridge Traffic | 5 | 3 | ||
| Image Scaling and Enhancements | Scaling and Filtering | Luminance Frequency Bands | 5 | 5 |
| Chrominance Frequency Bands | 5 | 5 | ||
| Vanishing Text | 5 | 5 | ||
| Resolution Enhancement | Brook, Mountain, Flower, Hair, Wood | 15 | 15 | |
| Video Conversion | Contrast Enhancement | Theme Park | 5 | 5 |
| Driftwood | 5 | 5 | ||
| Beach at Dusk | 5 | 2 | ||
| White and Black Cats | 5 | 5 | ||
| Skin Tone Correction | Skin Tones | 10 | 0 | |
| Total Score | 210 | 133 | ||
The Core i3-330M GPU scores 133 out of 210 on the HQV 2.0 test. In comparison, AMD claims 168 for the 4200 IGP and 179 for their low end 5450. We will be evaluating AMD's claims down the road, but Intel does need to step up its driver quality in order to improve upon the above score. We will also be using this score to compare the capabilities of various media streamers and other HTPCs in later reviews.
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GreeneEyez - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Have fun bitstreaming HD audio from the Mac Mini or playing back Blu ray disks/ISOs...ganeshts - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
GeorgeH,It is not possible for any home built mini-ITX box to be within the power envelop of this unit.
This uses an Arrandale processor which isn't available for purchase by the general public.
Further, as you rightly observe, the MacMini has worse specs, but looks better. Companies like ASRock provide the best bang for the buck, and in this pursuit, industrial design takes a back seat. However, things are going in the right direction, and I am sure the execution next time around will be much better from all perspectives.
softdrinkviking - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
i need a tv tuner in or connected to my htpc.you say that the 100HT-BD's chipset cannot support an internal TV tuner, but that it has a smaller power envelope than a chipset which can.
in that case, you would also have to factor in the extra power used by your external TV tuner box.
you would also have to compare the cost of that box versus the cost of a tuner card.
if all things are equal (you break even), then the all-in-one solution (a beefier htpc) would be the obvious choice.
tmservo - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
As others mention, since the MacMini doesn't do Bluray, and doesn't bitstream DTS-MA or DD-HD, it's not really a great HTPC. It's LPCM support also troubled, and it doesn't matter since it doesn't do Bluray. The MacMini simply isn't a very good HTPC at all. It might compete against something like an ION.. except you can get an ION with BD at 1/2 the price. Apple has to give up rejecting the "bag of hurt" that is bluray, because as long as they keep their phobia of it, they aren't in the HTPC market at allComputer Bottleneck - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
It will be interesting to see your future evaluation of the AMD IGP in the HQV 2.0 benchmark.As far as this product goes I really liked reading your technical explanation of how Asrock integrated what is basically a laptop mainboard into the Mini-ITX form factor.
alaricljs - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Can I suggest in that HTPC centric features chart that under SPDIF you specify optical/copper instead of just yes/no?ganeshts - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Thanks for your suggestion, alaricjls.The SPDIF is optical, and I will update the article shortly.
dbone1026 - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Hey Ganesh,Excellent job with the review. Honestly I am surprised by some of the comments regarding an expansion slot, which to me defeats the whole purpose of ASRock making this HTPC in such a small form factor. Aside from USB tuners I know many people who use network tuners (i.e HDHomeRun) so in many cases there is no need for any sort of internal tuner. If want to strap on multiple tuners then why not just a MicroATX or ATX case as that is not the intention of this ASRock..
I honestly think the biggest challenge with the ASRock 100HT is the price. Newegg has it listed at $649 (without BR drive) and no O/S. The mini-ITX HTPC I built which was only slightly larger and was easily $100 less with better specs (using core i5). Hopefully we start seeing prices drop soon.
jabber - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
I've been rolling out the dual core Atom ones for small office/home PCs. The customers love them over the old big black/grey boxes.Low power and small desk presence are a big win.
Very nicely made too.
Built about sixteen of them and not one issue so far.
erictorch - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
The core i3-330m processor is available for ordering from www.superbiiz.comIf the reviewer reads this comment, can they comment on whether AHCI support is available in the BIOS menus? This is necessary to get the full performance out of a SSD. A lot of laptop bioses don't have AHCI selectable.