ASRock's High-End Vision 3D HTPC Reviewed
by Ganesh T S on October 3, 2010 10:20 AM EST
We reviewed the performance of the Vision 3D from the standpoint of a HTPC, and it has turned out to be the best SFF HTPC we have ever reviewed, hands down. For anyone in the market for a high end HTPC with a small form factor and low power consumption, the Vision 3D is the perfect choice. Its feature set makes it one of the most future proof PCs to have ever graced our doors.
Within a span of two years, ASRock has managed to get in three different systems catering to the entry level, mainstream (mid-range) and high end small form factor HTPC space respectively. The competition in this space is heating up, with the Dell Zino 410 HTPC slated to ship around the same time as the Vision 3D. However, by catering to consumers on the leading edge (3D Blu-Ray and HDMI 1.4a), ASRock is able to justify the premium pricing that they are demanding for the Vision 3D.
3D technology is yet to become mainstream for many of us at AnandTech, and we are secretly hoping that glasses-free 3D tech comes in before the present tech is able to go mainstream. However, the marketing push by nVidia and other consumer electronic companies, it looks like the present 3D technology is here to stay. But, this is again a story for another article on another day. So, let us wrap up this review with the pros and cons of the Vision 3D:
Pros
- Quantum leap in gaming performance and very small power penalty (under normal usage) over the mid-range Core 100
- The three USB 3.0 ports get maximum performance out of external hard disks
- Perfect 3D Blu-Ray playback with HD audio bitstreaming and GPU MVC decode acceleration using bundled PowerDVD OEM version
- Improved HTPC metrics when compared with the Core 100 or Ion based nettops
- Customers without fancy A/V receivers still get the advantage of the THX Studio Pro certification
- Powerful and stable 300 Mbps Wireless-N networking capable of streaming high bitrate videos.
- Improved industrial design makes sure that the unit blends well in most A/V setups.
- Bundled MCE remote has good build quality can control almost all media playback programs
- Easy overclocking for both CPU and GPU from within Windows
- Perfect wake-up from sleep / shutdown using the MCE remote (No different from using a dedicated media streamer like the WDTV Live)
Cons
- HM55 chipset limitations doesn't allow for full performance from USB 3.0 ports when using external SSDs, and the 3rd USB 3.0 port is an overkill for a SFF HTPC
- No PCI-E expansion slots inside, ruling out the possibility of an internal TV tuner
- Windows 7 OS is not bundled
- Premium pricing ($999 definitely places it beyond the impulse buy category)
We would have liked to present the Vision 3D with one of our first awards in the HTPC space. Unfortunately, the absence of any meaningful competition in the SFF HTPC space for the features enabled by this unit makes it a difficult proposition. That said, we continue to be impressed by ASRock's rapid strides in the industry and look forward to more exciting products from them in the coming months.
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strolfey - Monday, October 4, 2010 - link
Thanks a bunch! Based on this, there's no major hangups so I'll be looking to get one as soon as it's available from newegg.cjs150 - Tuesday, October 5, 2010 - link
Bit like the Apple TV article, we are moving closer to the ideal living room HTPC but not there yet.A decent SSD rather than a HD would be better, less noise, reliability not an issue, less heat.
Noise is the issue for me. This is improving (and would be less noisy than my current cable box) but still not perfect (total silence would be perfect but impractical).
I do wonder whether an optical drive is really necessary. Seems to me that there may be 2 HTPC markets. One for a streaming device that can play games and another where the device is also the sole Blue-ray/DVD player on an AV system.
I would be happy to ditch the optical drive for a TV tuner. Even more so if it could replace the cable box
blacksun1234 - Wednesday, October 6, 2010 - link
Dear Ganesh,Is its BD playback video quality better than consumer BD 3D player?
ganeshts - Wednesday, October 6, 2010 - link
I didn't do a side by side comparison, but I would believe that you have lot more tweaks available at your disposal on the HTPC to do some post processing if you desire (compared to the options in a consumer BD 3D player).The only advantage of a consumer BD player I can foresee is the ease of use factor. HTPCs are inherently not designed to cater to the lowest common denominator yet. (Yes, we have Win7MC + PDVD / ArcSoft integration, but you still need to do some configuration like AutoStart / Start Maximized / configuration of 3D display etc. etc. to make sure it acts like a consumer BD 3D player).
SirMeili - Wednesday, October 6, 2010 - link
With my current HTPC, I can have distinct On and off Codes. so my question is this:You said you can wake the HTPC via the remote, but can you
1) put it to sleep with the remote, and
2) Turn the computer on with the remote (from an off state)
3) program additional codes for the IR Receiver (for instance, I have a button on my universal for alt-f4)
Neither are ultimately important, but I like my setup as it is now (especially since I can train specific on and off codes for my IR Receiver for the HP)
ganeshts - Wednesday, October 6, 2010 - link
1 and 2 are definitely possible ( 2, when AC power cord is still connected, but you already knew that :) )As for 3, I will ask ASRock. I haven't personally tried out.
The Jedi - Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - link
If this were an Asus brand product I might find it more attractive, but I think ASRock has issues with its reputation. I mean they make some innovative and low cost mobo's, but from reading around they seem to have quality control issues. Last time I visited their website they had imperfect English so I think I'll just stay away.mutarasector - Monday, November 29, 2010 - link
Can't wait to see a Llano powered version of this thing. I believe one might see a mini based on it by the 'Fruity computer Co.' in the not too distant future.borekb - Tuesday, February 1, 2011 - link
On these screen-less HTPC devices, how do you display things like MP3 or volume information while you're playing musing and the TV is turned off? I'm thinking about attaching a digital picture frame but would that be possible to output the signal to both HDMI (-> A/V Receiver -> TV) and to the frame? (I don't own any digital picture frame at the moment so I'm not sure what would be required on that front.)mpogr - Thursday, June 2, 2011 - link
Got one of these. They sell them here in Australia without memory and HDD, purchased both from the same store, the total price was ~940AUD (should be ~970-980 USD now)..Assembly was quite easy and all was working fine at first. Installed Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bits, SageTV client and PowerDVD 11 (planned primary use: TV and, occasionally, 3D Blu Ray playback). Because of TV being used by the children, the computer was always on (but not always playing back media). The unit died after ~5 days. I wasn't at home when this happened, but it just powered itself off. After that, upon disconnecting and reconnecting power, it came on and then off straight away. Resetting CMOS and pulling the BIOS battery out helped a bit, so now it doesn't power itself off after reconnecting the mains. The blower spins and the power led is lit, but no video output and no HDD activity. Disconnecing HDD and ODD didn't help.
So it's just dead. It can be the unit itself or the memory, as I don't have any spare SODIMMs to test. About to send the unit back to the retailer for investigation.