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The ASRock Core HT Bios is one of the newer UEFI driven configurations, which immediately earns it bonus points. While there are options to tweak and tune, it would be important to remain at reference speeds and voltages as this system is built into such a confined space.
The bios allows for plenty of adjustment with many settings on hand … it is well laid out and easy to follow. Many users will never need to touch it as by default it is configured to boot from a CD initially, aiding the initial install process. We noticed that the bios memory options went up to 2133mhz, although finding SO-DIMMS to handle this speed would be difficult.
You will need your own operating system disc to get the system up and running. We used Windows 7 64 bit Enterprise Edition.
This particular system is built around the Intel Core i5 2520M processor which is clocked at 2.5ghz and features 3MB of Level 3 cache – it can turbo up to 3.2ghz. The memory is set to timings of 9-9-9-24 1T at 1333mhz.
The main disc that ASRock supply contains various drivers, software and tools. They can all be installed automatically by the ‘install all' button. Unfortunately there is no button just to install all the drivers, and you will end up with Adobe Reader and a trial version of Norton's Internet Security. The full procedure takes about 15 minutes to complete and the system will restart automatically multiple times.
This screenshot was taken when all the ASrock drivers and bundled software were installed. Norton software would have to be immediately deinstalled on our system, but opinions on this will vary.
ASRock include software which adds functionality to the operating system and supported software. They also bundle tools to allow for fast charging of USB powered devices, such as the iPhone or iPad.
We don't really value the Windows Experience Index tool built into Windows 7, but we like to include it initially as a topic of interest. The mechanical hard drive and memory performance limit the overall score to 5.9.
Software:
3DMark Vantage
PCMark 7
Cinebench 11.5 64 bit
FRAPS Professional
Unigine Heaven Benchmark
CrystalDiskMark
HD Tach
Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra 11
Cyberlink MediaEspresso
Resident Evil 5
Total War Shogun 2
Dead Space 2
Dirt 3
Left4Dead2
Technical Monitoring and Test Equipment:
Lacie 730 Monitor (Image Quality testing)
Thermal Diodes
Raytek Laser Temp Gun 3i LSRC/MT4 Mini Temp
Extech digital sound level meter & SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter
Kill A Watt Meter
Nikon D300S SLR with R1C1 Kit (4 flashes)
Panasonic Lumix TZ10
Wow thats tiny to keep an i5 cool. very impressed with that. CPU cooler is so small……. might be borderline to keep that clean after a year or two. temps get high as it is, brand new. I remember opening my last PC and the CPu cooler was b asically blocked with dust.
That piano black looks brilliant brand new, see after a month? it is a nightmare. my TV is the same, the outter bevel is piano black and its consantlely being cleaned.
Wish they did a version in aluminum, like Apple products, that would be wicked. Id never buy apple for a media center as their OS doesnt support bluray and you need to mod it to Windows and add a player….. useless.
Nice.
I had an ATOM powered Sapphire system after reading the review here and it sucked. so frigging slow. never touching atom again.
The back I/O is good, but why no DVI? seems bizarre when they have everything there but the kitchen sink
Nice product but you could have compared the gaming performance to … well anything! Also whats with the deal with the 20+ pages for a review that really need be no more than half a dozen? Other than that nice work.