Clearly, Minipc.jp isn't looking to win any design awards for their lineup of somewhat wee PCs. No problem, these kits are aimed at bespectacled roll-your-lowners not Shibuya fashionistas. The obvious change in this model is the fan. The new LS800A moves it from the top like the
LF870 it replaces, and onto the side. The dimensions, however, remain unchanged at 4.5-inches tall -- not very "
mini" by today's standards. They've added a DVI jack as standard now, an option for 2x gigabit Ethernet ports, external SATA, and support for PCI Express X1 (low profile) add-in cards. Otherwise, things look pretty much the same: stuff the box with any Core 2 Duo, Core Duo, Core Solo, or Celeron M processor of your choosing, up to 2GB of DDR2 memory (2x PCS-5300), up to 2x internal 3.5-inch SATA hard disks, 6x USB 2.0, Firewire, 802.11b/g WiFi, S/PDIF output, Intel 945GM Express graphics, optional DVD writer and more. Expect this blackest of black boxes to pop for Japan later this month starting at ¥59,850 (about $493) -- yeah, without a CPU or HDD. Catch the LS800A in a fit of hot geeky sexiness after the break.
[Via
Impress]
posted Jan 26th 2007 10:21AM
I'm wondering how loud that FAN would be.
It would be pretty quiet if the fan is big enough and the right quality. Basically you need a fan for any kind of performance, and if this has a performance video card it's got an advantage over the Mac Mini, since it also takes full size / speed hard disks it could realistically be a better choice for a media pc where you can store media, play games, etc. Otherwise, the mac mini is a very compelling choice, even if you're running Windows or Linux on it.
"It would be pretty quiet if the fan is big enough and the right quality. Basically you need a fan for any kind of performance, and if this has a performance video card it's got an advantage over the Mac Mini, since it also takes full size / speed hard disks it could realistically be a better choice for a media pc where you can store media, play games, etc. Otherwise, the mac mini is a very compelling choice, even if you're running Windows or Linux on it."
I would think that for $493 without CPU and HDD, I would get the 20G PS3 for $499, swap out the 20G for a 160G HDD, and put some Linux distro on it. The only problem would be the lack of system memory in the PS3, otherwise, it would make a fantastic PC replacement.
Yeah this thing is UUUGLY! They should have rounded the corners a little more and painted it white.
Now THAT is good design!
/sarcasm
You know, I actually like the looks of this (other than the minipc.jp text). I think it is the anti-mac mini stylings which I tend to enjoy.