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) |
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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