Acer Aspire Revo Review

Originally Posted by docodine
Why would not having an optical drive be a pro? :?

Yeah, just noticed that...I blame the caffeine and the encoding marathon I was working on.

Install a lite OS like Xubuntu and it would be a great low powered internet surfer for guest. I have it on my Ion.

Originally Posted by docodine
Why would not having an optical drive be a pro? :?

Originally Posted by jamesthebard
Yeah, just noticed that...I blame the caffeine and the encoding marathon I was working on.

I consider it a "pro" - especially in a light SFF machine. Reduced footprint, reduced power consumption, fewer moving parts (and thus fewer failure points)... My Mini 9 doesn't have an optical drive (even a slimline drive would be half the size of the whole machine!), but that's no limitation to installing OS's or software. It can be a bit of a PITA to set up Windows to install from USB, but it can be done.

In a HTPC I would say that an optical drive is a must - I want to be able to stick in a DVD/Blu-Ray disc and just have it work; I don't want to mess around with ISOs, ripping to MKV and such... The review seems to indicate that this machine doesn't have what it takes to be an effective HTPC; however I would have liked to see a review, or at least a comparison, of the machine running an XP install and the latest Win7 RC (I know there's no native HD yet, but it does perform better on low-power machines).

The Ion platform definitely has promise, but I think this machine falls slightly short of the mark...

you can get the asrock 330 on ebay for the same money http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110404370615&category=179&refid=store and its a dual core atom, thats where my money would go, any chance of bit-tech doing a comparison?

Originally Posted by dextro
Play.com ships them to Portugal I believe (even if I would prefer a local store due to warranty issues).

Wow, thanks! I still have to check posting conditions but this will probably be the one.

EDIT:

Originally Posted by Play.com
Non-UK countries eligible for dispatch of DVDs, CDs, Games & Books

So this means I can't purchase the Revo there, but thanks for the efford! :)

Originally Posted by jamesthebard
*-Or, unless I've missed something, XBMC can utilize the graphics card for video playback.

XBMC for linux can utilize VDPAU so 1080p is very doable :)

1080p on Revo

Originally Posted by Rocket_Knight64

A quick 'Round 2' using a Win7 RC1 install would be very interesting. This could have been the perfect foil for the home use iMac.

We'll be definitely looking at the Revo and ION again when Win7 hits. We're really hopeful that Window's integrates DXVA well enough for it to be worth considering again.

Originally Posted by jamesthebard

It looks like something that could work as an HTPC, but I don't think it has the horsepower to actually run a good front end like XBMC*,
*-Or, unless I've missed something, XBMC can utilize the graphics card for video playback.

Actually, people have ,managed to get XBMC with the Aeon Stark add-on, see here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYGPcwzq_QI&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eavforums%2Ecom%2Fforums%2Fhome%2Dcinema%2Dpcs%2F999568%2Dacer%2Daspire%2Drevo%2Downers%2Dthread%2D6%2Ehtml&feature=player_embedded

Heres an owners thread where its discussed
http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-cinema-pcs/999568-acer-aspire-revo-owners-thread.html

Originally Posted by BLC
I consider it a "pro" - especially in a light SFF machine. Reduced footprint, reduced power consumption, fewer moving parts (and thus fewer failure points)... My Mini 9 doesn't have an optical drive (even a slimline drive would be half the size of the whole machine!), but that's no limitation to installing OS's or software. It can be a bit of a PITA to set up Windows to install from USB, but it can be done.

In a HTPC I would say that an optical drive is a must - I want to be able to stick in a DVD/Blu-Ray disc and just have it work; I don't want to mess around with ISOs, ripping to MKV and such... The review seems to indicate that this machine doesn't have what it takes to be an effective HTPC; however I would have liked to see a review, or at least a comparison, of the machine running an XP install and the latest Win7 RC (I know there's no native HD yet, but it does perform better on low-power machines).

The Ion platform definitely has promise, but I think this machine falls slightly short of the mark...

I'm a touch spoiled with my HTPC. I managed to find a refurb'ed Mac Mini extremely cheap and loaded Plex onto it. I haven't used the optical drive in it other than to reload the OS due to a hardware failure, and it works well.

My third computer is a 1.5TB NAS running RAID 5 over six 320GB drives which means any new purchases get the 'megui' treatment and thrown back onto the server (really need to upgrade those drives now that I think about it).

At one time I had two HTPC's up and running, but for some very, very odd reason I kept encountering severe screen tearing on the second one (running Ubuntu/XBMC) and after many hours of tweaking the xorg.conf file, it had just become too much of a headache.

I agree with it being short of the mark. There is potential for this to become great, but I really think that there is a need for not just a good integrated graphics card, but a decent processor as well.

the ION just needs a faster/better processor not that overhyped overated atom nothing processor from that ripoff company...

Originally Posted by [USRF]Obiwan
the ION just needs a faster/better processor not that overhyped overated atom nothing processor from that ripoff company...

Like a Via Nano, or even better, a dual-core Via Nano. :o

I think there's some BS in this article!
Who in the world, in their right mind, will load an Atom computer with Windows Vista?
It is Vista that is the resource hog!
At this moment there's no better OS for these devices than Windows XP! Windows 7 comes second, only because of it's slightly larger footprint, and being a significant step up from their base Windows Vista.
A step up because 7 is more optimized to work with these lower powered computers.

In fact an Atom processor would have been the technology to run Windows 98 on, but not being supported anymore, WinXP is your best shot on these!
It will more than play back 720p and even 1080p fluently.

About the Linux,
It would be only normal that you can download the basic linux for free (linux on which the original linux is based), and get the drivers from the site.
In best case scenario they should host their Linux OS installation fully on their support section.

Originally Posted by ProDigit
I think there's some BS in this article!
Who in the world, in their right mind, will load an Atom computer with Windows Vista?

People who wanted to use this as a HTPC, VMC with mediabrowser and MyTV plugins is what i would use a system like this for. Going to wait for ION2 i think though, im just not convinced Atom is the right choice for a HTPC.

This device is good enough for file/print/web server, and Hardware firewall.
Good enough for 24/7 webspace and perhaps even a small terminal to check mails, basic webpages, or other basic stuff what nearly 99% of the people do online.
It's good enough for the kids, who can play old DOS games on it. It emulates DOS (DOSBOX) good enough and stutter free for nearly all games. It also functions fine as a Gameboy emulator, or similar older gaming consoles all the way up to PS2, Sega Saturn, PSP (homebrew stuff too) and NeoGeo.
I would not know if it is strong enough to emulate N64,XBOX, or so; definitely not PS3.
It also plays back most kids and educational games fine.
It also plays back Prince of Persia 2, and Phantasy Star Universe pretty fine upto 1024x768 (what the max resolution for these games is anyways). Most 3d sims and tycoons it plays back very well too!
Open games like bosswars, cardgames, Doom 2 or below, Quake 3 or below, Half-Life 2 and below, Halo, Aquanox 2 or below, all worms games (from EA), Age of Conan might even work; as long as you stay within the resolutions, or trade detail quality for resolution you might get away with 1280x800 reso on medium or lower details.

So as a small terminal for the living room it would function fine!

One can always buy am external blueray disk (on USB) if one wants to convert it to a home theater, but then there's no HD audio out. Just the stereo jacks.

Youtube, HD video's with high bitrate encoding (tested upto 10Mbps) also goes fine. Any HD content above 10Mbps, or modern gaming probably need a better system.

Originally Posted by Kode
you can get the asrock 330 on ebay for the same money http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110404370615&category=179&refid=store and its a dual core atom, thats where my money would go, any chance of bit-tech doing a comparison?

I've ordered one, should be here Monday. Will try Windows 7 first and will post my opinion here.

So, The Asrock Ion 330 is here and it's damn sweet! So small! Not as quiet as I had hoped though. The fan is set to auto in the BIOS but I've not heard it spin up or down all day. It's still quieter than my other ATX size PC.

Running Windows 7, all I've tried so far is The Lost Coast and the results weren't pretty. 16 average fps in the benchmark with settings on high at 1080p in DX9. Changed to DX7 and with the same settings the average fps went up to 21. I'm sure some of my older games will work better though. Not that I've bought it for gaming. I've moved my gaming rig to my big TV.

No problems playing Youtube Flash vids either, despite reading about Flash videos not playing well on other Ion based hardware. Handily, I've got dual monitors on it too, My main 24" is on the HDMI output and my smaller 15" email screen is on the VGA.

Overall, it's a bloody nice piece of kit.

http://www.techpowerup.com/100062/Gateway_Readying_QX2800_NVIDIA_ION_Nettop.html

Could this be the dual core Revo we need?