AOpen MP965-DR review

If you're looking for a tiny barebones PC to use as a media centre, you should make the MP965-DR your first choice. AOpen has done itself proud with its latest mini PC, getting just about everything right.

Although it is hard to tell from the photo, this is one of the smallest PCs you're likely to see, measuring just 165x165x60mm, which is barely larger than a Mac Mini. Finished in black brushed aluminium, it should blend in with the rest of your hi-fi equipment or sit comfortably next to your LCD TV.

It's good to see a built-in infrared receiver rather than an ugly external box, which uses up a USB port. A Windows Vista-certified remote control is included, too, so all you need to do is install Vista Home Premium and you can control Media Center from your sofa.

On the back panel, there is a DVI port. This is not ideal, but there is a converter to HDMI in the box. A TV-out port can be used with a bundled cable, which converts to component, S-video and composite video. For audio, three mini-jack sockets provide analogue 5.1-channel sound, but a converter changes one of these into a TOSLINK optical S/PDIF.

Despite the fact that this PC has such tiny dimensions, everything you need is crammed inside. There is a dual-layer DVD writer, a Socket P motherboard supporting 800MHz FSB mobile Core 2 Duos and Core 2 Extreme processors, two SoDIMM slots for up to 4GB of DDR2 memory, and space for a 2in hard disk.

All these components are for notebooks to reduce size, but they cost more than the desktop PC equivalents. The DVD writer is included in the price, but you can expect to pay £55 for 2GB of 667MHz DDR II memory, £155 for a 2GHz Core 2 Duo T7500, and £60 for a 160GB Hitachi Travelstar 5K160 hard disk - the components that we used to test the MP965-DR. Performance was what we'd expect for a Core 2 Duo T7500, but it was a shame that the GMA 3100 graphics refused to run Call of Duty 2 at all.

Installing the components is fairly easy once you have removed the top cover and four screws that hold the DVD writer cage in place. The only tricky part was fitting the lowermost memory stick, as it fouled a connector on the front panel. If you're handy with a screwdriver, you should be up and running within 30 minutes.

There are two mini PCI-E slots for a wireless network card and a TV tuner, but you could use the two rear USB2 ports for external versions, or use the Ethernet port for wired networking. Then you could plug a USB keyboard and mouse into the front USB2 ports when necessary.

While the MP965-DR isn't the cheapest way to build a media centre PC, it is one of the quietest and most elegant. Because of the Core 2 Duo and Extreme support, you should be able to tailor the PC to the level of performance you need. Thanks to the bundled remote and all the audio and video connections, it's a great choice even at this price.

Author: Jim Martin