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
Most users of the Core 100 HT-BD will probably not need to play around with the BIOS. That said, the unit carries the AMI L1.32 BIOS, and does provide a good set of features for the enthusiasts to play around with.
First off, we have the OC Tweaker option, which has more features compared to the overclocking Windows utility that ASRock supplies. There is a Turbo30 option to increase the system performance in a transparent manner. In our testing, we found that overclocking doesn't deliver any improvement for HTPC workloads, so we didn't test this aspect too much. One point of note is that the GPU easily overclocks to 900 MHz from the stock 667 MHz. This improved the Windows Experience Index score sometimes (depending on the Intel graphics driver version).
In the 'Advanced' section of the BIOS, most users would be interested in the Instant Flash utility which enables BIOS updates from a flash driver without booting into Windows. Of more usefulness is the 'Good Night LED' feature which turns off the really bright blue LED in the front when the unit is in 'Standby' mode.
The 'H/W Monitor' section allows one to modify the CPU and chassis fan settings. The default 'Auto' option worked very well, and managed to keep the unit idling around 45C. The BIOS page seemed to always indicate a higher temperature compared to the Windows utility. On booting into the OS and entering into 'Idle' mode, the power saving options kick in, bringing down the temperatures.
The Boot section allows you to choose the boot device and boot order. Booting from USB devices is indeed possible, but the menu entry in the BIOS appears only if the USB device is connected to the unit.
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ganeshts - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
erictorch,Thanks for informing me about eWiz carrying the mobile processor. We searched on the usual haunts (Amazon and Newegg), and neither of them carried the processor
I perused further, and it looks like the i3-330M is the only i series processor they have (The i7 mobile they carry has no GPU die in the package and its TDP is 45W).
In any case, I couldn't find a mobo based on the HM55. Are you aware of any with the PGA 988 socket?
By the way, I did see AHCI is selectable in the BIOS, but didn't personally verify whether it works. I will get back to you here in a couple of days if it doesn't :)
erictorch - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
I stumbled upon this list of mini-itx motherboardshttp://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php...
with froogle.com I was able to find the
IEI KINO-QM57A $320
IBASE MI953F $440
DFI CP100-NRM $400
I was also able to find the i5 mobile CPU through pricewatch.com
ganeshts - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Thanks for the links, erictorch.At $320 for the board, a build similar to the Core 100 is going to be pretty costly.. We had budgeted $140 for the board.
I wonder how many end users actually end up doing builds based on these mobos.
But you are right! It is possible to do such a build on one's own if the necessary efforts are taken. However, most people will go in for the Clarkdale builds because they are much more cost efficient.
spddemon - Wednesday, July 21, 2010 - link
That is very true, ganeshts; however, I would love to see what the end result would be with one of those boards instead of a clarkdale...I am more than willing to spend a couple hundred more for a true low powered system providing my performance and functionality were not hindered.
I was targeting a Core i3 530 but if the performance per watt of the 330 is close to the 530 then it could be a great trade off.
I will have to add this info to my build sheet and see where it goes.. I have sifted the hardware down quite a bit, but I still have a lot of products to research before i start..
Riccardo - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Hi Ganesh,Good work on this review - I really appreciate the HTPC focus on this one. I look forward to seeing it used again in relevant reviews. Thanks!
Pessimism - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
I'd pay an extra $5 for a remote that doesn't look so cheesy and cheap. They aren't the only company at fault though. I see a LOT of slick looking devices with cheap, tacky, flimsy looking remotes that don't match up with the look of the device whatsoever.OblivionLord - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
I'm thinking that people would be more inclined to believe your point of using a USB capture card if they knew the real benefit of it compared to a typical PCI Capture card. The only real physical drawback with the USB card is that you need a second one if you want a dual tuner setup.The other problem is that the quality of the captured video produced by a USB card is inferior to a PCI capture card. This is what I've come to believe since I've never owned a USB card for this purpose.
Perhaps you should do a comparison of a few USB capture devices vs PCI capture cards. This will show the truth.
pcfxer - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
I'm surprised that you chose A-weighting for the measurement of the machine. I'm also surprised that you used the Radioshack and took the 53dB as a "solid" measurement. I have the same SPL meter and its accuracy does not live in the 50dB range. It is far more accurate and stable (if you've used this to get any meaningful information you'll know what I mean) 65+dB.That said, I am fully aware of the noise required to gain measurement on that darn thing. That "HTPC" is effing LOUD! Even inside my case I get the good old Lo A-weighted/C-weighted.
ganeshts - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
pcfxer,Thanks for your feedback. I will keep this in mind for future reviews.
Shadowmaster625 - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Mainstream Market? For $700? I got news for you... there may be millions of mindless drones rushing out to buy iCrap, but this is way above and beyond mainstream for a HTPC. It only costs $100 to build a HTPC. Anything more than that and you may as well go on ebay and buy a notebook with a damaged LCD and use that as a HTPC (assuming it has hdmi out of course).