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- ASROCK ION 330 REVIEW HOW TO
- ASROCK ION 330 REVIEW 1080P
- ASROCK ION 330 REVIEW INSTALL
- ASROCK ION 330 REVIEW PC
- ASROCK ION 330 REVIEW TV
The Ion 330-BD is equipped with the more powerful dual-core Atom 330 processor and as the "BD" tag in its name suggests, it comes equipped with a Blu-ray drive. Not one to be left behind, ASRock too has jumped in on the Ion bandwagon and what we have here today is their Nettop Ion 330-BD.
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The Acer AspireRevo was the first Ion product we reviewed and while the NVIDIA GPU did bring much needed improvement in HD decoding, its performance was hampered by the meekly powered single core Atom 230 processor. No matter though, soon Ion based products starting trickling in. With Intel expressing obvious disdain for the Ion, it was no surprise then that initial take up on the chipset was slow. Furthermore, Intel claimed that the Ion was an attack by NVIDIA on their chipsets and went on to state that the higher power consumption and costs were against the Atom's philosophy of providing a low cost computing solution. Unfortunately, Intel did not take too kindly to this initiative and were not supportive of the platform combination and maintained that Atom processors should only be used with their very own 945GSE and 945GC chipsets.
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ASROCK ION 330 REVIEW 1080P
With the GeForce 9400 mGPU and its integrated graphics engine on board, this greatly enhanced the Atom based platform's HD video crunching abilities, enabling users to play 1080p HD videos with a caramel-like smoothness. The Ion, in summary, is a platform that pairs Intel's Atom processors with NVIDIA's very own GeForce 9400 mGPU chipset (mGPU stands for "motherboard GPU" as coined by NVIDIA). It obviously needed help, and NVIDIA came to the Atom's rescue with the Ion. Nearly silent in operation, this is a nearly perfect HTPC with very little compromise.Intel's Atom may be an efficient and capable performer when it comes to basic computing tasks like word processing and web browsing, but it stutters when it comes to Blu-ray and HD video playback - mostly due to Intel pairing it with a rather old integrated GPU based chipset. With two very complete models to choose from, one of which at a great price, it’s hard to go wrong. Legit Bottom Line: The ASRock ION 330HT-BD is worth a long hard look for anyone searching for a new HTPC. Ultimately its up to you to decide which device will better fulfill your needs. Have not yet attempted to connect & configure the IR sensor for use with my Harmony One remote. I ordered a 4GB memory ugrade with it, and have that installed.
ASROCK ION 330 REVIEW TV
I got it via UPS on Thursday, and have it connected to my 42' Toshiba 1080p tv in the living room.
ASROCK ION 330 REVIEW PC
While these are good attempts at HTPCs and have very compelling prices, they will still lack the flexibility of a PC for the different file formats it can handle and overall usefulness. Just wanted to get a post going on my setup of my new ASRock Ion 330 HTPC. Over the last year we have seen standalone players like the WD Live TV, Patriot Box Office HD, and Seagate Free Agent Theater+ that are all around $99-$120 in price. We really do value every review we receive Great to hear that the memory has given your machine a new lease of life Behind every review is an experience that.
ASROCK ION 330 REVIEW HOW TO
We have a guide on how to do that on the ASRock ION 330HT-BD with Windows 7 here.
ASROCK ION 330 REVIEW INSTALL
For just $13 more the remote and wireless adapter in the HT model seem like a better deal.ĭont forget that since these are barebones systems you will need to purchase and install the Operating System (OS) and all the drivers and software that you want. To me this would seem to be the best deal for anyone not in need of the Blu-ray player, or streaming rips from a server.ĪSRock ION 330 PRO: This model cuts out the Blu-ray drive along with the MCE remote and the wireless b/g/n adapter which cuts the price to $349.99 + $11.18 shipping. Simply deleting the Blu-ray drive knocks $140 off the price, and suddenly this little machine is a good deal for HTPC enthusiasts. Here is a break down of what each model offers.ĪSRock ION 330HT-BD: This is the top of the line product that we’ve reviewed here today.ĪSRock ION 330HT This is a slightly lower model without the Blu-ray drive and is priced at $369 + $4.99 shipping.
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There are three different ASRock ION 330 models to look out for, each of which comes with a 1-year warranty from ASRock. For a little more money you could build a Core i3 Mini-ITX system that would consume just a bit more power but be complete overkill for a HTPC but would offer support for audio Bitstreaming. Coming in at $509.99 + $6.99 shipping the ASRock ION 330HT-BD isnt the cheapest way to get into a HTPC. The argument could be made about the somewhat steep price of such a barebones system. Very light on power use, nearly silent operation, and good enough performance to do exactly what you need, enjoy your movies and music after a long day of work. When paired with the NVIDIA ION chipset the ATOM makes the perfect HTPC. As we saw in the performance tests, the ASRock ION 330HT-BD isnt much of a performer, which is why we see Atom processor based systems in thin and light Netbooks and not Notebooks.