AOpen MiniPC i945G...$240 New

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Sun Dec 23, 2007 3:36 pm

Link Why this is listed as an ASUS....? Seems to be a good deal....There is an SPCR review on this MB in a different case. If you are prepared to deal with the heat.....maybe with a different heatsink.....this is about as small as it gets. Great features. Complete with a fanless PSU.

hmsrolst · Post by **hmsrolst** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 3:24 am

I have an MP945-D that I bought at Buy.com for about the same price some time ago (although at this point, your link is quite a bit cheaper). I don't think there's any way you could replace the heatsink, as it's very much integrated into the system and also cools the chipset.

It's a nice little barebones, but not all that quiet (not all that noisy either). For reference, a Mac Mini is noticeably quieter. For an every day machine, I'd find the Aopen Mini too noisy to sit next to.

I don't think you can get the motherboard separately; it's not the same as the Aopen mini-ITX (which I also have).

buzzlightyear · Post by **buzzlightyear** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 9:35 am

Slim DVD drive and wi-fi adapter can easily add $80+ to the total cost.

hmsrolst · Post by **hmsrolst** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 10:09 am

buzzlightyear wrote:Slim DVD drive and wi-fi adapter can easily add $80+ to the total cost.

Mine came with a CDRW combo drive as part of the package. I'm not sure they all do, but I'm pretty sure they all come with some kind of slot load drive.

buzzlightyear · Post by **buzzlightyear** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 10:45 am

In geek.com description, it does not say anything about a drive.

It does not matter to me anymore because I am at Taxachusetts.

"This item ships directly from the manufacturer via FedEx and may be shipped ONLY to the 50 United States, EXCLUDING Massachusetts."

hmsrolst wrote:
buzzlightyear wrote:Slim DVD drive and wi-fi adapter can easily add $80+ to the total cost.
Mine came with a DVD burner as part of the package. I'm not sure they all do, but I'm pretty sure they all come with some kind of slot load drive.

hmsrolst · Post by **hmsrolst** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 11:46 am

There was an error in my post above which I've corrected. Mine came with a combo drive. Looking at AOpen's website, it appears to me that that's what's standard.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 1:06 pm

Little computers = big prices. No getting around it, unless you get lucky. Also, little computers also mean high temperatures, unless you are willing to do some cutting, some modification that will probably violate any warranty. I'd like to try this one....still considering.

hmsrolst · Post by **hmsrolst** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 4:47 pm

Bluefront wrote:...unless you are willing to do some cutting, some modification ...

It may be that I just lack the imagination and skill to see how this can be modified. And you're right, these do run warm (around 50C), but that's not really a problem. I downgraded mine from a T2500 to a T2050 to see if that would help it run cooler, but there was no difference.

At the same time, if you're willing to buy a used CPU on ebay, it's pretty easy to get this barebones into very nice shape for about $400 total. On the other hand, I bought my very similarly equipped Mac Mini used (but with 10 months of warranty) for $450. Although both are nice, I much prefer the Mini.