Aria AXL Slim Line Media Centre review

Aria's AXL Slim Line Media Centre is a similar size to a DVD player. While not the smallest Windows XP Media Center PC we've seen, it's the perfect size for slipping under your TV to blend in with your other hi-fi equipment.

The AXL has one digital TV tuner, so you can't watch one channel while recording another. Although there is a free PCI slot on the motherboard, you can't add another digital TV tuner, as the case doesn't have a blanking plate for the extra slot. The 200GB hard disk should be able to hold a fair amount of recorded TV, photos and music, but upgrading to a larger disk is a fiddly process that requires removing the slim slot-loading DVD writer first.

The AXL's AMD Sempron 3100+ processor isn't as powerful as AMD's faster Athlon 64 or X2 processors, so it struggled to play some of our high-definition WMV files and it would drop frames or let the soundtrack fall out of sync with the video. It coped reasonably well with our video-encoding test, but paired with just 512MB of RAM, some of which was gobbled up by the integrated graphics chip, the AXL struggled with our image-editing and multitasking tests. However, you can add more RAM up to a total of 2GB. The integrated graphics chip failed our Doom 3 and Call of Duty 2 tests, which means it isn't suitable for playing games.

There are no phono or SCART sockets located on the AXL itself, but Aria has included the necessary adaptors, so you shouldn't have any trouble hooking it up to your TV or stereo amplifier. There's no DVI port, but you can plug in a monitor or LCD TV by using D-sub. You can also hook up a set of PC 5.1 surround-sound speakers using the analogue outputs, but there aren't any S/PDIF sockets, so you can't connect a surround-sound amplifier digitally.

Aria has bundled a Microsoft Media Center keyboard along with the standard Media Center remote. As well as the standard keys, it also replicates the Media Center remote's controls, so you can use just the keyboard to control the PC. It isn't suitable for placing on a desk, but it's well suited for use from your sofa and makes searching through the TV guide much easier than if using the remote. The keyboard also has a TrackPoint-style stick for moving the mouse cursor, but it's tricky to use accurately.

If your TV viewing habits aren't very demanding, the AXL is an inexpensive, compact and attractive media centre PC. But if you want to record more than one programme at once, watch HD video or perform strenuous tasks such as image editing, Hi-Grade's DMS II 3200 is a more powerful and versatile PC.

Author: Alan Lu