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Aside from HD video, its performance scores were similar to those you'd expect from other Atom equipped Small, Cheap Computers. It achieved an overall PCMark05 result of 1,526 and its individual scores weren't that far off the original Eee Box apart from graphics, where it did almost twice as well. Its 3DMark06 score of 1,053 is reasonable given its price, but it's not really enough for any serious gaming.
Box above its weight? The Atom CPU lacks punch to be an HD knockout
Another feature that boosts its lounge side suitability is when hooked up to a big screen TV you can manually adjust the amount of underscan or overscan of the image, so the screen can be filled without losing the ability to see the taskbar or other Windows elements.
Verdict
If you're looking at the B206 as a cheap home theatre PC then, unless your requirements are fairly specific or you're happy to stick to standard definition, you'll likely be disappointed. High def output is achievable, but it's not incredibly flexible currently. If you're looking for a cheap and cheerful machine for general use that can tackle the odd bit of video, however, it's more than up to the job. ®
More Desktop PC Reviews...
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Asus Eee Box B206
COMMENTS
Pity
I'm still looking for something that size that has a decent video capture and IR control (along with an EPG that's at least as good as the one on my 10 year old Tivo). Seems a bit pointless only being able to playback pre-captured video/torrent files.. OTOH that's a failing of all 'media' centres I've seen
does what is says and more
I just don't agree with this review, I bought the 204 model as it was the only one I could find. I wanted a box that was low power, could play movies and do any torrenting/iplayer/4oD. It took a few minutes of research to find that media player classic was the best player to use (there is a user forum at eeeuser.com) but once setup I was amazed at what this little box could do!
It only eat like 15 watts, iplayer and 4oD work perfectly and over wireless too, have downloaded a few 720p videos to test and they all seem to work perfectly. When I read this review I was worried that it couldn't handle 1080p, to be honest not a big loss but thought I would download something at 1080p just to make sure and I can confirm that this works perfectly! I have heard that some people have issues but issually down to using the wrong media player etc.
I am dissapointed in the Reg's review :( I shall download a fe more clips to be 100% sure but so far so good ;) expensive yes but well worth the cash for the kit.
Noise.
Just checked back on this review.
Regarding Noise - this is practically silent. I've had Eve-online running on a 42" LCD and 720p content running and I can't hear it at all. I'm not even convinced there is a fan in there and I do mean that.
Just a shame that boxee and iplayer aren't playing nice at the minute :(
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