ASRock CoreHT Server Edition Review
by Vivek Gowri on February 16, 2012 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
- Intel
- ASRock
- Media Streamer
- HTPC
Take a Look Inside
As with the CoreHT 252B, the Server is built around notebook internals. Let’s break it down.
CPU/GPU: Intel Core i5-2410M/HD 3000
The i5-2410M is a 32nm mobile Sandy Bridge part, clocked at 2.3GHz with a maximum turbo frequency of 2.9GHz. It’s a dual-core, 4-thread part that has a 35W TDP and a maximum clock of 1.2GHz for the on-die HD 3000 graphics core.
Chipset: Intel HM67
Interestingly, the motherboard has HM65 printed on it and the chipset even has a sticker on it identifying itself as an HM65 part. This would make any kind of RAID problematic, because the HM65 chipset doesn’t have an onboard RAID controller. This appears, however, to be a simple problem of mislabeling, because the chip is pretty clearly based on the Cougar Point HM67 platform (as identified in CPU-Z), with the two hard drives set up in RAID 0. Functionally, the only difference between HM65 and HM67 is the inclusion of the onboard RAID controller. Otherwise, the board is basically the same as the the one found in the CoreHT-252B.
Storage: 2 x 500GB 7200RPM, RAID 0
The star of the show here, the hard drive array, is made up of two 2.5” 500GB 7200RPM SATA hard drives arranged in a RAID 0 configuration to form a single 1TB volume. The two drives aren’t matched, with one being a Hitachi HTS7250 and the other being a Western Digital WD5000, but the specs are very similar. We will cover performance shortly, but it’s quite good.
Beyond the main features, there are two SoDIMMs of 2GB DDR3 1333 for a total of 4GB system memory, along with an Atheros AR9287 wireless card and the same Phillips Lite-On DS-4E1S Blu-ray combo drive as the 252B.
A special mention for the media center remote—it’s the same one as the CoreHT 252B, but I didn’t dislike it as much as Ganesh did. It feels light in hand, but not of poor build quality, and it’s relatively compact given the number of buttons on it. This leads to rather small buttons, but it’s something you can adjust to unless you have huge hands. Personally, I prefer remotes closer in form and function to the Boxee remote and such, but I found the CoreHT remote to be decent.
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legolasyiu - Thursday, February 16, 2012 - link
Aopen has HTPC called Digital Engine 67 (DE67) that can have same performance with 24/7 up-time and industrial grade design. Mini PC 67 (MP67) is good comparison with this unit. I hope Anandtech can test it some day.ASRock has 2x500GB HDD which will be fast HDD performance.
ZRohlfs - Thursday, February 16, 2012 - link
Since when is an HTPC server going to have all of 1 terrabyte?Secondly, why is there no SDD?
This is just an expensive poor excuse for an HTPC, especially since the CPU cannot properly perform the video tasks it needs too.
/sigh
cknobman - Thursday, February 16, 2012 - link
Then no llano no bueno. HTPC needs to be able to handle media better than Intels pathetic integrated gpu.Waste of build materials and a waste of time reviewing it.
pirspilane - Thursday, February 16, 2012 - link
My Core 100HT is a nightmare. It has been defective since day one, and ASRock can't fix it. I am on my fourth RMA and they have just issued a fifth one. They've replaced the motherboard twice, and each time it would not boot straight out of the box. It will not boot even with nothing installed except the out of date drivers from their CD. It has blue-screened and hung on boot since I got it.Their technical support is incompetent (I'm being generous here). Once, they suggested the problem was caused by my TV. Then they said it was a problem with the video card even though it doesn't have one. Then they blamed it on Windows Update. Taking them at their word (which I don't recommend), you cannot update Windows 7 to SP1 or this will break the computer.
Don't even dream of installing an SSD unless you're eager to break the Guiness Book of BSOD Records.
faizoff - Thursday, February 16, 2012 - link
That does indeed sound like a nightmare. It's one of the reasons why I'm considering building my own HTPC. Not sure what to do yet.pirspilane - Thursday, February 16, 2012 - link
I just got off the phone with them and they are going to replace the entire unit and pay for shipping both ways. So while their tech guy is frustrating to deal with, the customer service people are more helpful.pirspilane - Friday, February 24, 2012 - link
I called them to find out the details about the replacement unit they promised to send, and they said they didn't have a replacement unit to send me.In other words, they were BSing me to get me sucked back into letting them try to fix it again.
Their technicians cannot fix their products. Twice, they have asked me what repairs I want them to make on the unit. I guess that's so they don't have to take responsibility for diagnosing and fixing it.
shiznit - Thursday, February 16, 2012 - link
raid 0 in a server?siniranji - Thursday, February 16, 2012 - link
if the cabinet has the heatsink kind of look and some nitrogen based cooling (like thin client) required. Moreover the look seems like amatureish./ needs amd / nividia graphics toogamoniac - Thursday, February 16, 2012 - link
Vivek, I skimmed over a few times but didn't notice any dimensions or measurements of the unit (I apologize if you did include it). It would also be nice if you can place another object (coin, ruler) in the picture to give us an idea of the actual size of the HTPC. Thanks.