AsRock High-End Vision 3D 252B HTPC Gets Reviewed

AsRock High-End Vision 3D 252B HTPC Review

Specs:

Processor Intel Sandy Bridge Core i5-2520M
(2 x 3.00 GHz (3.20 GHz Turbo), 32nm, 3MB L2, 35W)
Chipset Intel Cougar Point HM65
Memory 2 x 4 GB DDR3-1333
Graphics NVIDIA GT 540M (1 GB VRAM)
650 MHz / 1300 MHz / 900 MHz
Intel HD Graphics 3000
650 MHz / 1.3 GHz (Turbo)
Hard Drive(s) 750 GB 7200RPM 2.5″ HDD
(Western Digital Scorpio Black WD7500BPKT)
Optical Drive Blu-ray/DVDRW Combo
Networking Gigabit Ethernet
802.11b/g/n (2T2R Atheros AR9287 in AzureWave AW-NE121H mini-PCIE card)
Audio Microphone and headphone/speaker jacks
Capable of 5.1/7.1 digital output with HD audio bitstreaming (optical SPDIF/HDMI)
Front Side Power button
IR Receiver
MMC/SD/MS/MS Pro Card Reader
Slot loading Blu-ray/DVDRW optical drive
2 x USB 3.0 Ports
Headphone and mic jacks
Right and Left Sides -
Rear Side AC Adaptor input
Optical SPDIF and analog audio jacks
RJ-45 connector (1 x GbE LAN)
2 x USB 3.0 Ports
Kensington Lock
Vent for airflow
1 x DL-DVI-I
1 x eSATA
1 x HDMI 1.4a
4 x USB 2.0
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (Retail unit is barebones)
Extras THX TruStudio Audio Certification
IR receiver and MCE remote
Dimensions 20 cm x 20 cm x 7 cm

To quickly conclude, given the specs it is without a doubt that this is a fully functional HTPC. It has all the bells and whistles, the problem…it costs nearly $1000. Forget even reading the review, there is no point. A comparable HTPC can be had for much much less.

To be honest, I think the ASRock High End Vision 3D 252B is torn between two HTPC categories. It has the form factor of a Standalone HTPC, but the power of an All In One HTPC. I don’ t see the point if putting All In One HTPC hardware into a Standalone HTPC build. You completely lose room for HD expansion. Then after factoring the price of the whole system, I’d be completely surprised if anyone purchases the ASRock High End Vision 3D 252B.

The full review can be found @ AnandTech.com.

Category: Reviews