Jim Lavin’s Blog

If you ask my friends, they’ll tell you that I am always searching for the perfect home theater pc and the cheaper the better. I’ve tried Mini-ITX mother boards, slim-line PCs, Fancy full-sized theater cases and a whole host of other systems. But, as you’d guess all of them have their short comings; under powered, too expensive, too big or too loud. I really haven’t been able to find the perfect low-cost system with enough power to play back High Definition MPEG-4 Video that is small and quiet enough to put in my entertainment center. That was until I happened to find the Acer Aspire Revo AR1600-U910H Desktop PC this past weekend at Fry’s Electronics. This system is based on the Atom N230 processor and the NVIDIA ION LE-Graphics processor giving you the ability to tackle any type of video playback all for under $200.

Below are the Acer Aspire Revo Specifications:

• Box Contents – Acer AR1600-U910H Desktop PC, USB Keyboard, USB Mouse; Software Bundle – Windows XP Home with Service Pack 3, Microsoft Works, Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition 2007 Trial, McAfee Internet Security Suite 2008 60-Day Trial
• Intel Atom Processor 230 1.6GHz
• NVIDIA ION LE Graphics
• 1024MB DDR2 RAM
• 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
• 512K L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB
• 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
• Back ports – 4 x USB, RJ-45 (LAN), VGA, HDMI
• Dimensions – 7.1 (H) x 1.2 (W) x 7.1 (L) inches
• EnergyStar Compliance
• Expansion slot – Mini PCI Express
• Front ports – 2 x USB, High Definition Headphone Jack, Microphone Jack
• High-Definition Audio Support
• Multi-in-One Digital Media Card Reader MMC, SD, MS, xD Picture Card
• Ultimate Small-Form Factor Design Case
• Weight – 9 lbs.

Add a Windows Media Center Wireless Remote for around $50 and a copy of Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade for around $100 and you’ll have the perfect Home Theater PC setup for around $300.

Tags: Box Contents, Case Weight, Ddr2 Ram, Design Case, Expansion Slot, Fry S Electronics, Graphics Processor, Internet Security Suite, Mother Boards, Mouse Software, Pc Usb, Rj 45, Service Pack 3, Short Comings, Software Bundle, Video Playback, Windows Media Center, Windows Xp Home, Works Microsoft, Xd Picture Card

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 11:11 am and is filed under Bleeding Edge, Personal Projects, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.