ASRock's High-End Vision 3D 252B HTPC Review
by Ganesh T S on May 7, 2012 6:15 AM EST- Posted in
- Home Theater
- Sandy Bridge
- HTPC
- GT 540M
- NVIDIA
Before proceeding to the business end of the review, let us take a look at some power consumption numbers. We measured power drawn at the wall when the unit was idle, one hour after subjecting the unit to Prime95 and Furmark simultaneously and when playing back a 1080p24 Blu-ray movie from the optical drive with HD audio bistreaming. In all cases, the Wi-Fi was active (no wired Ethernet). A wireless keyboard and mouse was also connected to the unit.
| ASRock Vision 3D 252B Power Consumption | |
| Idle | 20.1 W |
| Prime95 + Furmark (Full loading) | 109.2 W |
| 1080p24 Blu-ray Playback using CyberLink PowerDVD 12 | 33.2 W |
We are a little worried about the full loading power consumption being more than what the power supply is rated for, as this was not something we observed in the review of the first generation Vision 3D. [Update: Many readers have pointed out that the efficiency of the PSU has to be taken into account. If the efficiency is lower than 82.4%, then, the observed consumption numbers are fine]. That said, it is highly unlikely that users will stress the unit to that extent in day-to-day usage.
The thermal solution used in the Vision 3D 252B is the same as the one used in the Vision 3D 137B. We had already covered the thermal performance in detail in the previous review, and I found no discernible difference in the actual performance of the two units. Full loading produces less than 35 dB of noise, and this is as good as what one can get with an actively cooled system.
We have had the Vision 3D 252B review unit in-house for more than five months, and it has actually served as a testbed in a number of our reviews. ASRock's units have always been reliable in my experience, and the Vision 3D 252B has been used as the primary HTPC in my setup ever since it came in. From this standpoint, the Vision 3D 252B deserves our recommendation as much as the original Vision 3D 137B.
So, why did we have this inordinate delay in publishing the review of the Vision 3D 252B? Simply put, ASRock had made us set our expectations quite high after the Vision 3D 137B. Instead of delivering on the same scale, what we have with the Vision 3D 252B is just an evolutionary update. This is further weakened by the fact that the GT 540M and the first generation's GT 425M belong to the same family, with the former just being an overclocked version. The memory type and bus width are also the same, as is the number of shaders. Increasing the primary disk drive size (from 500 to 750 GB) and the amount of RAM (from 4 to 8 GB) was just keeping up with the latest industry standards. In addition, to really get excited about the Vision 3D 252B, SSDs as primary disk drives or at least as a caching drive should have been utilized. When Zotac can introduce a mSATA SSD in their low-end offering (ZBOX Nano XS), it is not clear why ASRock didn't go in for something similar.
In conclusion, the ASRock Vision 3D 252B is an ideal alternative to the Vision 3D 137B, but the updates are not revolutionary enough for us to give it the same plaudits as what we gave to the first generation version. That said, if ASRock can get the pricing down on this to somewhere around the $750 - $850 range, the system would definitely win in the price-performance aspect. We hope ASRock builds upon its solid foundation to deliver a more attractive system down the line. With Ivy Bridge and Kepler, things are looking good. Now, it is just up to ASRock to design a HTPC oriented motherboard for the next generation version later this year.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
60 Comments
View All Comments
BPB - Monday, May 7, 2012 - link
Hook this up with an HDHomeRun Prime and you have one heck of a DVR. It will do lots more than any of the other items you mentioned.But, the point about the Mac Mini is a good one, you can just buy one of those, load Windows for $100, and you're good to go (sans blu-ray).
Southernsharky - Monday, May 7, 2012 - link
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...HP Pavilion dv6-6c50us Notebook Intel Core i5 2450M(2.50GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory DDR3 750GB HDD 5400rpm BD Combo Intel HD Graphics 3000
In stock.
Was: $799.99
Now: $759.99
Ok yes it only has 6gb of memory, but it also has a quad core processor... and of course a screen and that sort of thing.... And oh yeah... its 759.99.
Its even got the 750gb HD.......
ganeshts - Monday, May 7, 2012 - link
That would compare with the Core HT 252B we reviewed earlier (There is no dGPU in that model).Add the dGPU, and the laptop cost would turn out to be similar to that of the system here. The only difference is the screen (we have analyzed this in the first generation Vision 3D review), and the reason the laptop turns out cheaper is because of the economies of scale (more laptops are bound to be sold compared to the number of such HTPCs).
Wurmer - Monday, May 7, 2012 - link
I agree with many posters here, 1190.00 $ for an HTCP is way too much money. I've built a few by mostly salvaging parts from older computers. Some may argue that I don't get the best power efficiency by doing is so but I certainly save a bundle of cash in parts. Anyways, you don't need a super powerful rig to play Blue ray and store media. A good mid end rig of three years ago is plenty good for HTCP usage. I got some parts on the cheap so my next HTPC will include an AMD x3 455, 8 gig of rams and cheap MSI board, GT 430. The only thing I'll be spending cash on this time around is a dedicated HTPC case from Lian Li (200.00$) which should last me many years. The only real thing that is expensive with that kind of built is the storage since the last year or so HHD prices have gone through the roof and if you use you HTPC quite a bit then you need some serious storage space.philipma1957 - Monday, May 7, 2012 - link
Yeah I agree I even set about building a htpc/gamer with new parts.an intel 2500t 210 or a 2500k for 210 I have both.
a crucial ssd 199
a wd 2tb hdd 99
a passive gpu card hd7750 140 or a hd6870 with a fan for 150 I have both,
a mobo 130
samsung ram 80
a cheap rosewill case 25
a seasonic psu 110
a samsung bluray 65
total 1058
add soft ware and a tuner and you are at 1.2k all new parts. functionally it is just better.
It will game that gpu gets 7.4 on wei and if you sub a hd6870 you can game at almost all games. I know I have a hd6870 and it runs hotter uses more power but gamers better and gets a 7.8 for wei.
now if you are in an apartment and are really tight for space this unit makes sense over my build.
If you have rack space this unit does not make sense at least to me it doesn't. my wei scores are 7.3 for the cpu and 7.4 for the gpu. and 7.8 for all other. if you swap the 2500k and the hd6870 you get 7.8 for all score . same price but more watts used. this all fits in a 14 by 14 by 7 inch case.
I can't see using the asrock unless space is really really really tight.
Scannall - Monday, May 7, 2012 - link
A Mac Mini with an i7 and a real video card is $4.00 less. And a better machine.Wurmer - Monday, May 7, 2012 - link
I've considered the mac mini but the IGP Intel 3000 is a bit weak and the one with the optional AMD GPU is not much more powerful. When the Mac mini gets Ivy bridge and Intel 4000 IGP things will be more interesting I think.justniz - Tuesday, May 8, 2012 - link
This unit comes with an IR receiver.Why are most manufacturers still producing/supporting IR remotes instead of wireless remotes?
Wireless remotes have many advantages and no disadvantages, such as better range, including through walls, they still work in bright sunlight, and theres no need to point the remote at the receiver.
The ergonomics of remotes is limited by the need to point them. Without that limitation their whole design could be improved.
JSt0rm01 - Tuesday, May 8, 2012 - link
for $99 you can get a apple tv that while it has way less raw "features" Has the ability to stream content from your main system and stream from the internet all in 1080p with 5.1 digital audio output. I dont see how these feature sets are worth $900 more then the feature set of a apple tv or roku.---------------------------------
Also, after being a member of the anandtech forums for 10 years I was permanently banned by the moderators there because they wanted to censor a website (ffdt.info) that had conversation that was critical of their moderation. I find that the free flow of all information on the internet is critical. For a tech website such as this to limit the flow of information is offensive the core of these beliefs and its all because certain people in positions of illusory power deem that information detrimental to their positions.
axellslade - Tuesday, May 8, 2012 - link
I just built a brand new HTPC but I can't seem to be able to find the VESA mounting holes on the side of my HAF X. And it's weighting like a ton. I think I did something wrong.