AsRock VisionX 420D - Decent system?

M

MeowMeow

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Hey guys,

this is my second thread, because I'm trying to decide between building my own system or getting this little cube that seems well suited for my needs.

I'm afraid that I might be missing something, though, so I'm trying to get your impressions on this tiny computer.

Here's a a link to the only review I've found:

Here are some specs:

Core i5 4200m
AMD Radeon HD8850M
8GB Ram (2*4)
1TB HDD
one slot for an SSD

750 €, let's say 850 with a proper SSD.

What do you think, especially in regard to noise levels?

Thank you kindly,

MM
 
I can tell you that I was a fan of this form factor for a long time, but with a NUC or other NUC sized steamboxes (for example Gigabyte Brix) and an external dvd/Blu-ray seems better due to lower price and an even smaller form factor.
 
While you do have a point, I'd really like to have at least a little graphics horsepower.
 
I have the sandy bridge version of this, without the MXM graphics card (which would share the same cooling fan with the CPU). THE cooling fan is significantly thicker than most notebook. So, it's quieter than a notebook but louder than say a dedicated quiet PC.

I use it as an HTPC and it's not noticeable, it def. seem more quiet than my PS3.
 
The Iris Pro graphics is good enough for gaming at 1080p, and better if you turn the resolution down to 720p. Either way, it'll be better than a PS4 or XBox One (900p vs 870p)... But the gigabyte brix have dedicated gpu units as well. The question is why you need a better gpu for htpc and light gaming?

And on another note, why not go for an ASRock M8? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=56-158-036

You can have a really good gpu in this one.
 
MeowMeow said:
According do this, the Iris Pro does not in fact handle pretty much any games at 1080p.

http://www.notebookcheck.com/Intel-Iris-Pro-Graphics-5200.90972.0.html

And the M8? I can't pay 500 € for just a case...
Click to expand...
It's not just a case. It's got the motherboard, PSU, fans, and an ODD too. Assuming Germany as you've posted about buying something from a german site, it's 390 €.

Add CPU (Intel 4670K) 194 €
Add 8 GB (2 x 4GB) of SO-DIMM RAM 56 €

that's a total of 640 € with integrated graphics. Which leaves you 210 € for SSD and GPU is you are still looking at that 850 €.

120 GB Samsung SSD 840 EVO 66 €
MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti OC (V809-872R) 120 €

That's 825 € total for a complete system that will run circles around the VisionX 420D.

All the prices I've found on http://www.hardwareschotte.de/
Mindfactory seems to be the lowest price of all these parts.

I would suggest getting more ram like 2x 8GB and a higher performance video card, but that will break the 850 € mark.
 
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Well, that does look a bit better than I thought.

I'm a bit concerned about noise-levels, however.
Do you have the barebones and can talk about that?
 
I don't have it myself, but there are enough reviews and other user comments out to suggest an after market cooler and/or CPU fan would be better. ASRock has also made an update with a better quieter fan, but not as good as Noctua still.

However, looking at the dBa, the vision X is louder. I think the argument is it you're playing sound through your speakers, this matters little.

BTW, I just noticed that, unlike the regular motherboard, the m8 does not have mSATA, so I adjusted price accordingly. It winded up even cheaper.
 
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FYI the VisionX with the 8850 is a non-standard MXM-B - Basically, an MXM-B crammed into an MXM-A slot. If you're like me, upgrade-ability is critical - You won't see a faster MXM-A card for a long time.
 
I do have a Ivy Bridge VisionX, 321B, and I think it's a great catch if you can get it at a low price from ebay, .. I can't complain about the noise level, I even upgraded to a i7-3740qm.

dedicated 7850 is a nice to have, just about right to use as a steam-'in-house-stream'-'receiver' :)
 
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