Asus DigiMatrix - The Pizza Box Form Factor
by Andrew Ku on February 11, 2004 1:41 PM EST- Posted in
- Systems
Final Words
Keep in mind that a multimedia PC is like 10 times the cost of a DVD/MP3 player and TV tuner combination. So, there is still a lot of work to be done to drive down the price of the HTPC. Granted, the PC opens the door to a lot more features and capabilities than your average pizza box device.With the DigiMatrix, Asus takes a very interesting approach to the multimedia PC concept. Instead of taking a Small Form Factor PC and designing it to accommodate the functionality of multimedia functions (what MSI has done), Asus has taken a ground up approach to designing their multimedia solution.
The DigiMatrix definitely is one of the most interesting designs that we have seen thus far of any PC; and if you are in the market for a very low profile PC, this may be just what you are looking for. We first saw this at Comdex, and considering what we have seen in the past 12 months, this is perhaps the best innovation in PC design. To this date, there doesn't seem to be a PC that is even remotely like it.
On the hardware end, it has everything that a HTPC nut is looking for: quietness, reasonable TV quality, DVD/MP3 capabilities, etc. The biggest problem with the DigiMatrix is that it lacks a good software solution to back up the hardware. If this was qualified for Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 OS, it would no doubt be a killer MCE and or multimedia solution. However, thus far, we are unaware of Microsoft qualifying a SiS chipset with integrated graphics. Asus may want to consider using the 9100 IGP solution anyways because of its hardware assist engine for MPEG encoding.
For the general PC user, the DigiMatrix proves to be a very tempting low profile solution that will sit well in any cramped environment. The problem is that you are going to have to drag along its multimedia baggage and hardware limitations. It would be interesting to see a non-multimedia version of the DigiMatrix, since that would help bring down the cost for those looking for just a PC with a small profile.
So basically, if you have the cash to purchase the DigiMatrix, which runs at a little over $400 USD (this includes shipping), this may be the HTPC solution that you have been looking for. It isn't that much more than a XPC, but you are going to be limited to future hardware, since there are virtually no upgrade options. The other consideration that needs to be made is that you will need to be ready to deal with a UI that is a bit intrusive, which means that you may have to shell out a bit more for a better software solution.
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mindless1 - Thursday, February 12, 2004 - link
LOL, it's just wastefull to design a box big enough for RAID 0+1, and MPEG2 certainly does not need (even) modern HDD performance levels.It was a nice review, but I'd have to disagree with one part- It is not desirable to decrease the size of the power supply. Make it too small and it's going to have high heat density, lower reserve capacity, and overall less quality in the design. It IS possible to use very high quality and more exotic parts to decrease size, at about 3X the cost.
I agree that it would be very nice if the remote had a touchpad on it, similar to that on a notebook.
One thing I wish Asus had done differently, is to find a way to make more of the front panel ports, or at least the DVD tray, accessible without opening that front hatch. I imagine my hatch would always stay open just so I didn't have to open/close for something as simple as loading a DVD.
Doormat - Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - link
I've been looking at SFF/HTPC like boxes, but my biggest gripe is that they only have 1 or 2 spots for a hard drive. When I build a HTPC, I'd want more than 2 HD spaces (preferably 4 SATA connectors w/ bays). That prolly wont make it a SFF box, but a Tivo-size box could provide for that. The idea is that 4x200GB in RAID 0+1 would provide enough for recording TV in HD/SD MPEG-2 as well as ripping DVDs and storing them, plus other misc stuff. None of the products on the market can suit me and look nice...AlabamaEnigma - Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - link
It's not a bad little box, but I prefer their new T2-P Deluxe. It has MOST of the features of the DigiMatrix, but uses the i865G chipset and has 8X AGP. It's also a lot cheaper.3Suns - Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - link
It doesn't come with a hard drive, processor, or memory. It's a barebones system. And the 533 MHz refers to the FSB.for $400 I actually think it's kind of a bargain. Nice case with a volume knob and case buttons and an LCD, motherboard, video capture card, radio tuner, tv tuner, gigabit ethernet, wireless ethernet, DVD/CD-RW, separately powered MP3 player, 7-in-1 card reader...
I'm seriously considering putting together a sub-$1000 system and trying to get it running as a personal Linux fileserver/media station. Wish me luck!
ChemMan - Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - link
I think by 533 Mhz they mean the fsb, not the clock speed of the processor.Jeff7181 - Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - link
Am I reading this right?It doesn't come with a hard drive? Not even a tiny little 20 or 40 GB drive to get someone started using it as a Tivo type of thing? For $400 the least they can do is stick a little 20 GB 5400 RPM hard drive in there... sheesh.
Call me crazy, but shouldn't you be able to passively cool a 533 Mhz Pentium 4? I mean... a Pentium 4 @ 533 Mhz is probably creating what... 10-15 watts of heat? I was shocked to see what looks like a heatpipe and two large fans in there... looks like a very poor cooling design to me.