The only reason I don't give this five stars is that it doesn't come with Windows 7 like the Acer Revo 3610 does for $29 more.
With that being said, if you have your own OS to put on this little gem, then consider it worthy of 5 stars and save yourself the $29. I don't consider the lack of the wireless keyboard/mouse combo a factor because the set included with the Acer isn't really useful for a HTPC.
The Pros:
* Small form factor - sleek look, packed with capabilities.
* Atom 330 + nVidia ION - a match made in Heaven.
* HDMI out.
* Built in N Wifi.
* 2GB RAM, 160 GB HD included
* Windows 7 Pro 64bit installs without a hitch - driver support is superb.
* Shows 4 CPU's in Task Manager.
* VESA mounting + vertical stand included
* Plenty of ports - USB, digital audio out, HDMI, VGA, card slot, eSATA, audio
The Cons:
* Has small fan on chipset heatsink - makes some noise when in use.
* Gets a little hot.
* Silver plastic is really coated black plastic - can scratch.
* Vertical mounting stand attachment is a little difficult.
* 5400 rpm drive may be a little slow for intensive tasking.
I purchased this unit to act as a HTPC running Windows 7 Media Center to replace the cr*ppy WD HD TV Live and Asus O!Play units that I bought and returned because they don't work.
Within two hours I was watching streaming media on this device. I created a bootable USB key using diskpart, copied the Win7 DVD to the key, and installed from it. I then updated to all the drivers available from the Zotac website, and was in business.
I added a generic Windows MCE remote USB IR key and was streaming recorded HD TV content from one PC to this one, watching flawless 1080p HD with multi-channel audio through HDMI.
Miscellaneous Notes:
* It moves in and out of sleep pretty quickly, and draws little power in any mode.
* The NVidia display drivers as well as Media Center also have the capability for compensating for any HDMI overscan your TV might experience.
* Has a cool orange ring on the side for power status, but also has a lighted power button that indicates power/sleep states.
Is this a desktop replacement? No. Is it the perfect HTPC? Just about. If it were silent and included a wireless keyboard/trackball combo, it would be indeed perfect.
Zotac MAG Intel Atom N330, NVIDIA ION, 2 GB DDR2, 160 GB HD, eSATA, HDMI HD-ND01-U Mini PC - No OS
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