Article: AOpen Mini PC MP915 Review (Mobile on Desktop Realization)
IV. Subjective Conclusion and Personal Experience (and minor overclocking)
Seeing the benchmark scores, one would think that they can not expect outstanding user experience with the system. However, when looking at the target segment of this product and using it the way it is meant to be, I have to say that it exceeded my expectations. For one, this system is so small you can easily forget that you actually have a PC running and the added bonus is that you can barely hear it running.
Such small system, when used in the digital office and digital home computing, will surely save not just electricty but that very precious table space real estate. Partnered with flat panel LCDs and wireless keyboard, it makes the work area and living room a lot neater and cleaner without the clutter. The dim lighting that is emanating from the power button is not distracting.
Using it as media entertainment machine, I found that DVD Playback and music is pleasant and there's no hiccups even when there are lots of applications running in the background. I can easily carry it with me when I am going up and down my house and plugging it where I can use it. It is so portable, I actually enjoy carrying it around back in the office for some pimping galore.
With all the positives, this baby still comes with negatives. One area that needs lots of attention is its wireless capability. The embedded 802.11b/g has very weak signal, though there's a provision for antenna. However, adding an antenna might not be a good idea as it may add additional cabling with the system. If only AOpen can design it like IBM T4x series, where the antenna is lined along the edges of the chassis.
The use of slow hard drive makes it not a good storage system. The system has a Gigabit NIC but is being held back by a very slow hard drive system. This isn't a flaw in the design but the limitation of the current hard drive P-ATA technology. I'd like to see AOpen add a SATA option to alleviate such issues in the future.
This system comes only with a single-channel memory configuration since it only has one slot. The chipset already supports dual channel configuration and I find it a bit lacking that this feature is not being implemented.
With such a small system, and a CE-looking type, I am surprised that AOpen never included a remote control with this baby. This addition will make this baby look more like a true-blue entertainment system.
Having said the plus and minus, overall, I'm pretty impressed with the system. It is very good at its function, can do the job without issues and is very flexible. It comes with an option to have MS* Windows* as an OS or with a Linspire. I have used a Windows MCE just for the heck of it, and I also installed MS Windows XP Pro and I never encounter any issues. The drivers are all very stable and in the entire two-week use of the system, I have yet to see it hang or give me a BSOD.
Before I close this artile, I just want to share some CPU-Z and apologize for some of my own pictures of the product. My wife took my only digital camera so I have to use crappy phone camera to take those pictures.
Stock Stable: CPU-Z Validation
Overclock Shot: CPU-Z Validation