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J & S Computers nMediaPc H.T.P.C. Review !
by Jake Julian, June 2008
Home Theater PCs (HTPC) are becoming more popular
all the time. A few years ago I recognized there would be really strong growth
in the number of products aimed at the HTPC market, and in Nashville
and Middle Tennessee area this has materialized. I'm always seeking to add
to my product line. So HTPCs just seemed like an obvious fit for J &
S Computers. Items like the PVR card give HTPC users the advantage
of the latest TIVO type technology, and there have been numerous video cards
released with native output for HDTVs and inputs for video capture. Even
Microsoft has released an O S, Windows Media Center, targeted towards this
market. As I looked around the big box stores in my area. I didnt see any
"off the shelf HTPC" that would fit my living room for under the $1800.00
price mark. As a PC Tech and retailer I sought a solution for myself as well
as for my customers. Finding a case(computer chassis to hold the HTPC
parts) that blends with other theater components is not an easy task. After
a great deal of research I finally settled on the nMEDIAPC HTPC 100 BAM AMD
Socket 939 Athlon 64 FX/X2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 4x 184Pin GeForce 6100 Barebone
bought from Newegg.
Northern California, Castro Valley-based NMEDIA
SYSTEM, INC. was founded in 2004. The company's vision is to create future
home entertainment PC systems that are optimal for today's consumer electronic
gear such as Plasmas TV, LCD TV, HDTV and Home Theater Projectors. They
manufacture media PC components to enable our customers to integrate various
home Audio/Video functions and performance computing into one easy-to-use
unit, and deliver to them a rich home entertainment experiences for a new
level of control and convenience. Their vision is to transform the total
home theater experience by intelligently converging digital entertainment
AV functions, computer and networking technologies. We like them, are committed
to delivering strong value as a PC system builder, distributor, home
theater installer, and home AV system retailer.
The Design
The Model #: HTPC 100 BAM NF6100 case is a stylish
black ATX unit, supporting one external 5.25” and two internal 3.5”
drive bays. The flip-down front panel hides the dvd-rw, The two slide -to-
the- side doors cover USB ports, and audio jacks on one side, and 9-in-one
card reader on the other side. In the center of the front panel is a large
LED display window including a lighted display, an IR receiver. The power
switch is a large silver push button. The front panel is manufactured from
3/8” anodized aluminum and available in black or silver. The rest of
the case is manufactured from galvanized steel and then powder-coated on
the outside. The computer industry would call this a desktop case, but nMEDIAPC
has branded it a ‘Theater PC Case’. That seems fitting in my opinion,
although I would love to have one as a desk-top PC as well.
Accessories
nMEDIAPC ships the Model #: HTPC 100 BAM NF6100
case with everything you need to get started. A bag of standard screws and
clips is supplied to mount your fans, and drives. It also came with a Wireless
Keyboard NMK 3630( range of 20 Feet) and Wireless PC Remote (20 Feet) Also
included is an External IR Receiver (USB connected) Included software was
Cyberlinks PowerCinema 3 (Version 4 is available but the software vendor
also wanted to charge for the upgrade and insisted on me buying their included
remote. I passed of course). The included Avermedia Hardware Encoder TV Tuner
Card worked just fine.
Installation
Installation was simpler than I expected. My previous
case was a short mid-tower from Lian-Li, which I had to deal with space
limitations and room for my Zalman cooler. In this case there is not a great
amount of room but it's used very smartly I will say. The drive bays are
removable, giving you enough room to install the DFI
K8M800-MLVF motherboard. It ships with the mobo installed however mine
was DOA. After much BS from NewEgg, I made a call to Nmediapc and they sent
me a new board and life was good once more. The power supply did not interfere
with the large Zalman cooler. Cabling was easily routed around the outside
of the case. Once the 200gig hard drive and dvd burner were installed in
their bays, they were easily connected with round cables for better cooling.
The front USB and firewire jacks have standard connectors which connect to
most motherboards directly, but if your board has non standard pin-outs,
all wires are break out separately so they can be connected as needed. You'll
have less connections to make with this case, as there's no reset button,
hard drive LED, or internal speaker to connect. I miss the hard drive LED
but not the others. The supplied LED is a little bright for use in some darkened
home theaters, but its not so bright as to become a problem.
The case had no mounting places for a extra cooling
fans, but by careful routing of cables on each side I'm able to mod a small
fan to the side of the case in front of the power supply. The Zalman cpu
fan, the rear mounted cooling fan and power supply fan do an excellant job
. My Sempron 3000+ so far never gets hotter than 42C. I particularly like
the front led display temp readouts, and fan speed controls. A very nice
design touch indeed!
Build Quality
I've been in and out of the case several times over
the last few months. There's no signs of stress or build issues. All
welds are holding strong, no stripped screws and to date, I don’t think
it has drawn blood (those of us who build PCs regularly know about scraped
knuckles and cuts from sharp edges).
The top of the case slides into place with a lock
tab at the center rear and a couple of thumb screws at the back, allowing
for easy removal. The tab is a little tight, so you have to squeeze the top
a little get it loose, but that's to help dampen any vibrations I suspect.
I think it would help to install some thin rubber pads in a couple of areas
like where the top of the case meets the sides to eliminate the possibility
of any vibrations. I'm sure the design is fine, but I enjoy adding the little
extras for my customer too. The case is especially quiet from the front.
The flip-down panel cuts back the noise from the DVD-ROM, and the thick black
front panel seems to dampen the overall sound of the PC from the
front.
Configuration
The optional Avermedia Hardware Encoder TV Tuner
Card worked fine out of the box, but I have to say I wasn't very happy with
it's performance with the onboard video chip. Once I upgraded to a Chaintech
Volari XGI V3 128bit AGP card, it finally got to working with the Cybermedia
frontend software. I plugged in a gig of DDR 400 ram, a NEC 8x write-16x
read DVD-RW, and a wireless pci netcard to round out my basic configuration.
Once all the bugs were worked out I will say this setup is more then enough
to satisfy anybody who's wanting to move up to their first H.T.P.C.
Constructive Criticism
The lack of support from the folks at both Cybermedia
and Avermedia. didn't win any points with me. The bright light however was
the support of the great staff at NmediaPC. My calls were answered politely,
intelligently and and problems resolved eagerly and for me most importantly
with common sense and respect! These guys know how to do business! I have
little criticism for product, still I just wasn't really impressed with the
video performance when recording with the software provided. So after a few
hardware upgrades I got this baby humming along like a fine-tuned 67 Mustang.
Out came the 270 watt power supply. In went a 400 watt power supply. Out
came the 128 bit Chaintech agp video card, in went a e-GeForce6200 256bit
agp card. Out came the Avermedia 150MCE pvr card. In went a Hauppauge Wintv
500MCE dual tuner PVR card. Out went Windows Xp Corp. SP2 and Cybermedia
Powercinema3. In went Windows Media Center Edition, with MCE Remote Control,
and wireless keyboard. Now this how my modded baby roars!
Conclusions
The NMediaPC 100 is a great looking HTPC with all
the functionally you might need. The build quality is as good as a conventional
computer case. Its features should allow it to integrate into almost
any living room entertainment center. However, I think it's real value comes
from the fact it looks like a typical A/V component, which is critical in
blending into todays lifestyles. At the barebone price mark, I would call
this a definitely great budget component. Even though my machine has a few
more upgrades then athe basic model I review here, I'd reccomend that my
customers spend the extra $200 bucks in video upgrades that I did, and they'll
be much happier campers! When one looks at the money one spends in Home Theater
equipment over several years, or pays for that TIVO box rental, or that monthly
cable DVR charge, an HTPC makes perfect sense! If you're looking to purchase
a quality budget HTPC, you need to check out the NMediaPC 100 for sure!
There's no hidden agenda here folks. I highly
reccomend this HTPC and I've added it to my line of products! I gave it
of 6
s up! Because I built it ... I tried it ... I'm using it
... I love it ... and I now sell it! ... Jake.
This Reviewer's Equipment:
-
HTPC System Case: NMediaPC 100
-
Motherboard:DFI K8M800-MLVF micro atx
-
CPU: AMD Sempron 3000+
-
Memory: 1 gig DDR400 ram
-
Power Supply: 400 watt micro atx
-
Display Adapter: e-GeForce 6200 nVidia 256 bit AGP
-
Capture Device: Hauppauge 500 MCE PVR
-
DVD Player: NEC 16x-read- 8x-write DVD-RW
-
Display Connector: S-Video/Composite Out/VGA Adaptor
-
Display Device: 27inch Analog Sansui Analog Television Monitor
-
Speakers: matched 80 watt JBL powered with sub-woofer and seperate
remote.
-
O.S.: Microsoft Windows XP SP2 Media Center Edition
-
Control Devices: NMediaPC keyboard and Microsoft remote control.
If you are ready to order your new HTPC? Call us
today to place an order! We'll do the shopping,
 ground shipping, and
in our local area even the on-site setup of your new system!
Call Us
Today
(615)
357-2030,
cell
(615) 974-9864 or
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Us!
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