Foxconn Atom D2700 barebones $67.99 FS @ Newegg

[VirtualLarry]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856119091

USB 3.0, HDMI

Note that Intel never released 64-bit video or network drivers for this platform, so you are limited to 32-bit Windows. I hear that there are 64-bit libre Linux drivers though.

 

[Lean L]

I bought this barebone's cousin system (different case) when newegg cleared them out for $30 a month or so ago. A few notes for anyone looking at this at this for an HTPC.

Operating systems: Windows 7 32 bit will work although it will be really sluggish. Jolicloud linux has drivers for the graphics out of the box. Don't expect better performance. OpenElec has no chance of working on this due to the graphics drivers. Ubuntu can be installed although the quest to install drivers make it not worthwhile.

Performance: I have been using an i3 laptop clocked at 1.4GHz for a while so I thought the performance for this barebones system in comparison would at least be okay... The i3 blows this thing out of the water both in terms of cpu and gpu. The best you can hope for is 720p playback with this unit. Windows aero lags with this barebones... The gpu is complete junk... the processor actually outclasses it which is saying a lot since it's an atom. Get 4GB of memory but realize that the memory will be the strongest component in this build.

Build quality: The case looks okay but the metal and plastic are both flimsy. There is no pcie slot so you are stuck with the crappy video in this. The case is easy to take apart but if you want to access the drives, the front panel needs to be taken off.

The PSU is very loud as there is no fan control.

Other thoughts: For this price it may not be worthwhile to use this as an HTPC as a roku 3 can be had for a little less when there is a deal. I got a cheaper price so it's about the same either way although I'm stuck on 720p.

On the other hand, if you were to get this with the intention of making a NAS, this would work very well. Get a 5.25 > 3.5 adaptor, two 4TB drives and install unRAID or a similar NAS software. It should serve the purpose admirably at low power usage.

 

[Chime]

I bought 2 foxconn units that are very similar to this years ago. They used the same case but came with one of the original dual core atom motherboards installed. I used them to build unraid servers for me and my brother, and they worked great for that purpose. I upgraded mine because I needed to add more than 2 drives, but my brother is still using his today. I can't guarantee that the new ones are similar quality, but the ones I bought 2+ years ago are still running like champs.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Thanks for the info. So it looks like this is a worse choice for HTPC than those Foxconn AT-5570 NanoPCs I posted about earlier. I bought this one to experiment with. I've never owned an Atom-based PC before, and my only experiences with Atom were on a single-core Netbook. I was hoping that this dual-core with hyperthreading might make an OK web-browser system for someone on a budget.

I wish I had heard about these for $30, I could have bought a few, thrown in some laptop RAM and a small SSD, or even a 32GB thumb drive, and put Linux on them and given them away.

It would effectively double the price, but there is a GF GT610 video card that fits into a PCI slot.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500262

 

[Chime]

The enclosure actually does make for a decent HTPC case. I used one as a file server for about a year, then converted it to an HTPC when I upgraded the file server. I bought an AMD e350 based mITX board, threw in a DVD drive and a 30gb SSD I had, added an IR receiver to the 3.5" bay and have been using it as an XBMC box since. I actually saw a fanless mITX board with an integrated Celeron 847 the other day for ~$80. I may grab one soon and see how it does.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856119012 - The actual item I ordered. Turns out I've had them since February of 2011.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I decided to cancel my order, based on two factors. 1) If this had been sold previously for $30, I feel like I'm overpaying, and 2) It sounds like the PowerVR IGP in this particular Atom is crap to get working, and very slow in Windows 7.

So, no wonder it's cheap, perhaps I'll wait for it to get cheaper, or maybe I'll just save up for a proper ITX rig or maybe another NanoPC C-70 unit.

 

[Lean L]

I decided to cancel my order, based on two factors. 1) If this had been sold previously for $30, I feel like I'm overpaying, and 2) It sounds like the PowerVR IGP in this particular Atom is crap to get working, and very slow in Windows 7.

So, no wonder it's cheap, perhaps I'll wait for it to get cheaper, or maybe I'll just save up for a proper ITX rig or maybe another NanoPC C-70 unit.

Well to be fair the price is still good for the market. I don't consider liquidation sales to be within the normal price range of things.

Yes the Gfx is complete crap but if you only do 720p it should work with minimal dropped frames.

 

[Fox5]

Honestly, the AMD units aren't much higher priced, I would go with one of those.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813135364 $57 after rebate for a low end Kabini board

 

[Samus]

I agree with the above comment.

These Atom systems are great for light office tasks (especially legacy environments, virtualization, Outlook, LIGHT web browsing, etc) but an AMD E-350 system is far more capable as a HTPC.

It really comes down to what you're going to use it for. Keep in mind though, there is a good reason these systems are $100. They're completely obsolete platforms. Haswell and Bay Trail and even AMD's Kaveri multiply CPU/GPU performance across the board over previous ATOM and E-series parts while using less power and being actively supported under new OS's.

But as I said, if you need a warehouse PC to run UPS Worldtrack for shipping, a barcode label system, or some other light-use machine, these will be bullet-proof. I just wouldn't recommend one for an HTPC. I have a lot of experience with these platforms and they are just too slow.

 

[cbn]

The E-350 barebone is $74.99 (with free shipping):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856119058

(Internal shots on the Newegg website appear to be Mini-ITX form factor with TFX PSU, just like the barebones in the OP)

One downside: the E-350 barebones does not have usb 3.0. It does have an additional DVI video output in addition to a PCI-E x 16 slot (running at x4).

P.S. After reading some of the reviews, it does sound like a few of the systems died after a few months. Bad PSU or something else?