AMD Phenom II X4 905e - first 65w-TDP Quad-Core processor

Here comes the first 65w-TDP (Thermal Design Power) Quad-Core Phenom II X4 905e offered by AMD, featuring Socket AM3, Operating Frequency 2.5GHz, Hyper Transports 4000MHz, L2 Cache 4 x 512KB, L3 Cache 6MB, 45nm Manufacturing Technology, 64 bit System, Hyper-Transport and Virtualization Technology Support. Judging from its low TDP, it should fit in your list if you really want to have a  Quad-Core processor for your HTPC.

But I would wait for a while for my next HTPC machine as Intel will be launching its Core i3 processor with GPU integrated inside and supports MPEG2, VC-1 and AVC (H.264) decoding and passthrough Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio and probably be available in Q4 this year! It's still not clear whether AMD would come up any solution for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD at the moment.

Asus Bravo 9500 - home cinema Must-Have

 (pic taken from http://www.trustedreviews.com)

If you are a die-hard movie fan and like to watch films in a total darkness environment, then this Asus Bravo 9500 should be one of your Must-Have toys. The Bravo 9500 is a GeForce 9500 GT graphics card comes with all the necessary horse power for your HD content. But I believe the main selling point here is the accompanying light sensor of the card- With this card you can enjoy the cinema alike darkness without having your eyes strained! Imaging if this thing pairs with the Philip's 56″ Cinema 21:9 LCD TV!

ASUS AT3N7A-I best mini-itx ION-Based board so far

ASUS has just joined the NVIDIA's ION platform with their first NVIDIA ION-based AT3N7A-I motherboard. Boasting a mini-ITX form factor, the board comes equipped with a dual-core Intel Atom 330 processor with a core speed of 1.6GHz and all the necessary hardware to run a HTPC. It has 2 memory DIMMs slot which can support up to 4GB of DDR2 memory, 1 PCI slot, 3 SATA 3Gbps ports. It also comes with HDMI, DVI-D & VGA, Gigabit Ethernet LAN, 8-channel HD Audio Codec at the back panel. 

(pics are taken from http://news.softpedia.com/)

You can also find Express Gate on this small board, Express Gate is a simplified Linux OS which will enable you get access to your multimedia library or start surfing the internet almost instantly without log on the Windows.

The selling points of this small board are: mini-itx, ion platform, duo-core atom, express gate, e-sata (for your external hard disks) and low power consumption.

This is the FIRST mini-itx ion board from one of the world's few best motherboard manufacturers, personally I think it would outperform its counterpart Zotac ION 1680, still, it's cheaper than the Zotac.

Antec ISK 300-65 Mini-ITX Case

'silent pc review' or 'spcr' has carried out an extensive review on the latest mini-itx case from Antec. This's what they said in their introduction: "When a case brand as big as Antec strikes out into a new sector, you have to sit up and pay attention." : )

This tiny case comes with an external 65-watt adapter, not quite what I want. The size is (H96mm X W222mm X D328mm) and is as small as the ALUMINIPC (H330mm W88mm D190mm). It is made of cold rolled steel instead of aluminum and it does have a slim optical 5.25" bay which the ALUMINIPC doesn't. Not quite apple to apple comparison except they are about the same price.

For full details please see http://www.silentpcreview.com/

Samsung 24" LCD Syncmaster P2450H with HDMI

Samsung is famous with its wide range of computer monitors that cover both the entry and high-end market. But they don't have an entry model which comes with HDMI and Style so far. Now they have this P2450H which may fit in your list. This monitor comes with DVI-D, VGA-SUB, HDMI and with a resolution of 1920x1080, 24 inches in diagonal, TN panel, 2ms responses time, 70000:1 contrast ratio, etc.etc. etc.

However, it's a shame as it does not come with built-in speakers, it has an 'analog audio output' and an 'optical output' instead. So, what's the point of having the HDMI?

I don't doubt its picture quality as I am a Samsung monitor user, but this one is not my cup of tea except the price is quite attractive.

(source: http://lcd.it168.com/a2009/0928/748/000000748893_10.shtml)

Aluminum mini-itx case from Hong Kong!

Quality HTPC cases made of thick aluminum metal always linked to big names such as Silverstone, Antec, Zalman or even Lian li. But recently I have found a very nice mini-itx HTPC case which is also made of thick aluminum panel but with a fraction of the price if compared with the other similar products offered by the big guys!
   

It's ALUMINIC, the company is based in Hong Kong and frankly speaking it's unknown to me. However, I've got their permission to re-post some of the pics taken from their site and please enjoy!  You will be impressed this tiny case could swallow so many things. Based on my visual evaluation, it does its job well and justify the small asking price which is only HKD$580. The only downside which I could think of is it lacks of vent holes on the top panel. But it all depends on how much stuff you want to throw in it, if it's not too cramped inside then the ventilation should be ok. 

(Source: http://www.aluminipc.com/

Don't forget to visit their site to view the video demo, it's worth to see it. 

32nm + GPU Inside - The New Intel Core i3 processor

32nm + GPU Inside - The New Intel Core i3 processor! Looks impressive. This will be the Intel’s first CPU/GPU integrated chip, and should be publicly available in Q1 2010 but it may be shipped in Q4 this year. According to Intel this new chip comes with the new 'Intel Clear Video HD' and  could decode MPEG2, VC-1 and AVC (H.264) efficiently. And most importantly, it supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio! We have yet to see AMD come up any similar product so far although they take the lead in the HTPC field. 

 

Philip’s new 56″ Cinema 21:9 LCD TV

As one of the pioneers in the field of AV, Philip has just released its new 56″ Cinema 21:9 LCD TV or 'the world’s first TV to deliver a true cinematic viewing experience in the comfort of the home', for those who are interested you may want to check out the following:

1. none of the movies published nowadays is in 21:9 aspect ratio, the closest you can get is the 2.35:1.

2. for movies shot in 1.78:1 aspect ratio (16x9) or any other ratios, you would get black bars on the Left and Right instead of on the Top and Bottom, I would prefer the latter as would most people (?).

3. for a size of 56', the premium you have to pay is damn too high if compared to a full HD LCD projector which could project a 100' with ease with half the price. but of course, you would save up some cash for blackout curtains if you used this Philip's.

4. pixel-wise, it's a 2560×1080p. as i said before you don't have a single movie with this kinda resolution nowadays. if you scale it up to fill up the screen, then it's not 'pixel-to-pixel' anymore.

5. any graphics driver for this monster if you want to pair it with your htpc?

SilverStone Sugo SG06 mini-itx Case

I found this little tiny cute mini-itx case at

http://www.sundialmicro.com/silverstone-small-form-factor-case-sstsg06_1920_1686.html

, and further details could be found at

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/773
.

Just google around you'll find more info on this new case.

Give it a try if you are still looking for a really good looking mini-itx case. Mind you, this case is about US$30 more expensive if compared to its counterpart SG05 which comes with the exact form factor design and size but with a bare front finish.

Pictures are taken from

http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=SG06&area=usa

795GX and DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD

According to Turkish hardware site Donanimhaber.com, AMD will probably launch new chipset called 795GX in next weeks. The site mentioned that 795GX has higher igp core frequency than 785G, supports Crossfire X likes 790GX and also use SB750 southbridge. (Source: http://www.donanimhaber.com/AMD_795GX_yonga_setini_de_kullanima_sunabilir-15157.htm)

But my concern is, would this new chip support DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD on your PC? At this moment, The Asus Xonar HDAV 1.3 is the world’s only solution capable of providing bit-to-bit exact lossless Blu-Ray audio output—without any down sampling to DVD quality—allowing users to enjoy next generation audio enhancements such as DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus on the PC. The Asus Xonar HDAV 1.3 also supports most Video Graphics Cards on the market, allowing delivery of both video and audio outputs through a single HDMI cable. (Source:http://www.guru3d.com/news/asus-xonar-hdav13-with-dolby-truehd-bitstream-bluray-/)

To me, 795GX is nothing great if it can't support DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD, and the Asus Xonar HDAV 1.3 is damn too expensive for any average user. I think the ideal bargain would be an entry-level PCI-E card for example the ATI 4xxx series with the support of DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD passthrough, I will definitely grab one if such thing available on the market.