If you have a desire for an HTPC and no desire to build one, for just over $1000 you can pick up the Asrock Vision 3D HTPC.  With a Core i3 processor and NVIDIA’s GT 425M you will end up with a PC much more powerful than an Atom based system, meaning you can use the HTPC for more than just showing HD video.  Drop by TechPowerUp to see the machine in action.

ASRock powers up the HTPC with their Vision 3D - Systems 2

"The Asrock Vision 3D HTPC was designed to deliver cutting edge home theater technology in a compact form factor. The Asrock Vision 3D HTPC uses an Intel “Arrandale” mobile processor, paired with an NVIDIA GT 425M GPU, instead of the typical Intel Atom processor found in most pre-built HTPCs. The components of the Asrock Vision 3D HTPC are compactly housed inside a thick, heavy, anodized aluminum enclosure. A slot-loading Blu-ray or DVD drive can also be found inside, with a 2.5” 7200rpm HDD for storage and 4GB of DDR3 SO-DIMM memory, upgradeable to 8GB. The Asrock Vision 3D HTPC is not only capable of 3D media playback with 7.1 HD audio support over HDMI 1.4a, but users can also enjoy media encoding and even 3D Vision video gameplay."

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