HTPC Blu: Blu-ray Drive, SP/DIF Optical Audio, 4GB RAM, Intel E6300 £399
Our new Home Theatre PC, and smaller than a shoebox. We've combined powerful onboard Nvidia 9300 graphics and a Blu-ray drive with DVI, HDMI, Optical and Coaxial Audio out (as well as a legacy VGA ports.
Every other HTPC out there seems to be Micro ATX isntead of Mini ITX and Blu-ray is always an optional upgrade. What's the point of having a 1080p-capable PC if you have to speed a week on Bittorrent downloading a 20GB Blu-ray rip? Blu-ray optical drives should be standard and it is on ours. Otherwise, just buy a dedicated sub £100 media player (though their interfaces are usually terrible).
The limitation of mini-ITX and small PCs is it can be difficult to sqeeze in an extra graphics card. With that in mind, we've gone with some of the best onboard graphics available, the Nvidia 9300. And instead of using a dual core Atom processor, we're fitting it with a new Pentium Dual Core E6300 Processor, with 2 x 2.8GHz CPUs, FSB of 1066Mhz, and 2MB of L2 Cache. http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLGU9
Combined with 4GB of RAM, that makes this a tiny HTPC that you can actually use for gaming and general multi-tasking. All for just £399 ex VAT.
Aleutia D2 Launch: Ultra Small Low Power Intel Core 2 Quad Core Q8200S PC with Nvidia 9300 Graphics, 4GB RAM, Wi-Fi, and Optional Blu Ray
Yes, Intel enjoys far too much sway in the PC industry and we want to avoid being another Intel-inside box shifter but when it comes to running multiple applications, CPU matters. As Tom's Hardware writes, "When it comes to running multiple apps at the same time, compressing/decompressing large archives, and yes, even transcoding, CPUs are still very much deciding factors in resulting performance."
And Intel's new energy efficient (65W) Quad Cores offer a subtstanial boost over the 65W AMD Phenom we offer in the B1. The Intel Core 2 Quad Core Q8200S boasts 4 cores at 2.33GHz with FSB of 1333MHz and 4MB of L2 Cache. (The Q8200 is a 95W processor, whilst we use the more energy efficient Q8200s - performance is identical.)
We've paired this with a powerful onboard Nvidia 9300 GPU that enables 1080p playback, supports Direct X 10.0 for gaming, and dual monitor setups, thanks to the Nvidia nView controller (the D2 has VGA, DVI, and HDMI ports).
We've even squeezed in 4GB of DDR2 800MHz RAM, a DVD-RW drive (optional slimline Blu Ray drive), and Integrated 802.11 a/b/g as well as optical audio out. 500GB Drive with 16MB Cache, Optional 1TB Drive with 32MB Cache.
All of it fitting into the same sleek case as the D1, with total power consumption of just 80W.
Aleutia H1: A Tiny, Fanless, VESA-Mount HTPC with Nvidia Ion and 1080p Playback
I'm fascinated by the hotel industry and the Aleutia Labs have long focussed on designing a PC able to stream HD content (720p) into the rooms of the world's luxury hotels. The challenge is that no one paying $600/night wants to be kept awake by the drone of a PC humming along and so any HTPC must be completely silent. It also has to have either an HDMI or a DVI port and ideally SP/DIF optical audio support. It has to be small (ideally VESA-mountable), low power (since it will be on all the time), and it must be competively priced. The silent B1 was initially designed for this purpose and its dual core CPU and onboard ATi 3200 ensured that it could play 1080p with ease (less than 50% CPU utilization). But it overshot the needs and was just a little too big.
The Fanless H1 (H for Hotel) is our next revision and is purpose-built for the in-room entertainment industry. It fits in the hands, has no moving parts, and thanks to the onboard Nvidia GPU (and 1.6GHz Atom 230 CPU) it can smoothly play 720p and 1080p content. 2GB of 667MHz RAM (the FSB is 533MHz), Gigabit Lan, HDMI and DVI port, as well as Optical Audio Out.
Power is supplied via an external brick with power consumption of just 30W.
Runs Ubuntu Linux, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Embedded Standard 2009 (formerly XPe). For Linux and WES users, we're offering it with 8GB of flash storage, ideal for media streaming.
HTPC (whether Windows or Myth TV or Boxee) users have the option of a 2.5" Drive up to 500GB. Priced from £199/$300.