Under The Hood Of The New Mini-PCsUnder The Hood Of The New Mini-PCs

Taking the Tour: Inside the AOpen MP945-VXR

In the series of photos that follow, I'll provide a visual tour of the AOpen MP945VXR barebones mini-PC.

For starters, you'll see a different view of the outside of the unit, next to its remote control. The remote is a standard-sized Philips remote control, just like the one that Microsoft re-brands for Media Center PC use. When you put a remote next to the PC, you get a good sense of how small the AOpen MP945VXR really is:

In the photos that follow, you'll see the unit exactly as it ships from the factory, with no DVD burner, no hard disk, and no mini-PCI TV tuner installed.

As you look at the front of the case, the slot for the slot-loading DVD burner appears just below the top cover. This cover pops off the case with a bit of gentle prying. After then, loosening four small screws lets you flip an internal rise card to the side. The card can be removed to show the internal views that appear in the following photos.

Here's a look at the unit from the back. You can see the ports and connectors, as well as the interior. Note: For these photos I switched from the black model (the M1B) to its silver counterpart (the M1S):

Still looking at this photo, moving from left to right, we have:

Because two USB ports aren't enough for most media center PCs, PC Alchemy includes a tiny, four-port USB hub as part of the standard equipment for the products it builds around the AOpen MP945-VXR. The company also includes a wireless keyboard with an integrated trackball, which does double-duty as both mouse and keyboard in a single unit.

In the next photo, you can see the inside of the MP945-VXR. This reveals the real secrets of its compact dimensions:

The package with the fan attached (on the left) shows the ultra-quiet cooler enclosure that covers the Core Duo CPU and the motherboard's chipsets. At the rear (upper right in the photo), you can see another ultra-small fan that blows air out of the case, and thus draws inlet air from the holes at the lower left. The SODIMM package is seated in its socket at the top right. You can see unoccupied connectors for the DVD and the SATA hard drive at middle and lower right. These mount on a riser card that plugs into the device to help simplify removal and replacement.

Even when populated with the other internal ingredients you'd want for a full-featured media PC — namely, a DVD burner, hard disk drive, and mini-PCI TV tuner — the unit weighs less than 2.5 pounds. In fact, this unit is smaller and lighter than many notebook PCs.

Some pundits ding this unit for limited expansion. But I look at that limitation as an inevitable consequence of shrinking the box down to the smallest possible size. To that end, AOpen has built an external USB drive enclosure that matches the MP945-VXR in look, size, and finish. PC Alchemy plans to sell this unit with 300 GB to 750 GB drives as a way of expanding storage outside this tiny case. The PC can be stacked on top of the drive to keep the overall footprint small.

Here's how the system looks with the PC stacked on top of a USB drive. You'll need to look carefully to tell the two components apart:

The real appeal of this new generation of Core Duo-based mini-PCs is twofold. First, for system builders, the higher price points and increased tech savvy required to put such systems together will make them unattractive for all but the most skilled and dedicated hobbyists, thereby creating nice opportunities for selling such systems to willing buyers. Second, for end users, the mini-PCs' small footprints, quiet operation, and considerable multimedia talents make them equally well-suited for entertainment centers and office use.

Ed Tittel is a freelance writer and researcher based in Austin, Texas, who writes regularly on PC topics. He's recently co-written books on Windows Media Center PCs and Hacking MythTV.