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Intro

Acer Aspire Revo (R3600) - Pre-Retail Sample

The Acer Aspire Revo or R3600 is one of the first media centered nettops that utilizes the Nvidia ION platorm. The Ion platform consists of an Intel Atom Processor which is in this case an N230, and the Nvidia GeForce 9400 GPU. The nettop is to the desktop, as the netbook is to the notebook. The R3600 is basically a stripped down desktop , but still with plenty of functionality as well as usability.

The specs of the R3600 are similar to many netbooks out there. The CPU tasks are performed by the basic Intel N230 Atom @ 1.6Ghz, 533Mhz (133Mhz Quad pumped) FSB with 512Kb of L2 cache. The R3600 also features 2GB of DDR 667 memory and a 160GB 2.5inch 5400RPM SATA hard disk drive. Many of the current netbooks out there have similar specs and general use of the R3600 feels about the same, although sometimes can appear sluggish due to the installation of Vista Home Premium SP1. The N230 does manage to handle multithreading due to hyper threading which has been enabled in the bios.

The GPU of the Revo is the elusive Nvidia ION based on the Geforce 9400 architecture. The ION does not feature any memory, so it shares system memory. In the case of the Revo, it has 2GB of total memory with 256MB allocated to video. This leaves only 1.75GB for system use. The full specs of the Nvidia ION can be found in the chart below.



One odd thing about the Revo is it appears to be only using one memory channel while the ION chip set supports dual channel. while supporting up to 4GB of DDR2, the memory channel is limited to 64bit mode which does reduce overall memory bandwidth. One good thing is at least the Hard disk drive is in a native SATA mode (AHCI) which will help performance somewhat.

Audio is handled by a Realtek HD audio codec which is quite ubiquitous, and audio over HDMI is handled via the Nvidia HD audio codec for digital streams over the HDMI port.

When it comes to networking, the Revo does not disappoint. The Revo includes Draft 802.11 wireless via an Atheros 9281 (XB91) mini card. The Atheros is a newer mini card that provides wireless N speeds up to 300Mbps, however only on the 2.4GhZ channel, as 5Ghz is not supported. wired networking is handled by the Nvidia Nforce Gigabit controller which should provide plenty of bandwidth for the Revo for streaming HD content.







Specifications

* Brand Acer
* Model Aspire Revo R3600
* Processor Intel Atom N230 Processor
(1.6Ghz, 533Mhz FSB, 512KB L2, HT, 8W TDP)
* Video Card Nvidia ION with 256MB shared memory
* Nvidia ION
* Memory 2GB DDR2 PC2-5300 667 MHz Memory
* Disk Storage 160GB 5400RPM SATA hard drive
* Media Bay 4-in-1 card reader (SD, MS Pro, MMC, xD)



What's in the Box:

The Revo is a fairly trim unit, with a minimum of accessories included. In the box you will find the Revo, as well as a clear plastic stand for vertical operation. Also included is a USB Mini keyboard, USB mouse, and a standard Acer 65Watt (19V, 3.42A) adapter with power cord. As this unit was an engineering sample not much else was included in the box.


Design

The Design of the Revo is definitely interesting. Initial leaks to the internet showed that the Revo would mount behind a TV or monitor via the VESA mounts found on most modern flat panel displays. However this Revo shows no obvious ways to attach it to a VESA mount. The Revo is constructed of plastic with very little metal inside. The bulk of the chassis is a gloss white plastic and each side of the revo is blue gloss plastic. The side of the Revo with the Acer logo is plain gloss blue plastic, where the opposite side features a silk-screened design that places broken lines of dark gray paint on top of the blue gloss which adds a visual distinction.

The Front, Top, and rear of the Revo feature some sort of port. Along the front you will find 1 E-Sata port which is non-powered, an analog mic input, analog headphone jack, and 4-in-1 card reader which supports your standard SD, MMc, XD, and MS Pro. The corner of the Revo below the power button features 1 USB port, which then flows into the top of the Revo which then features another USB port and the exhaust vents. The rear of the unit features 4 addition USB ports, Gigabit Lan, HDMI, VGA and finally the DC jack.



Keyboard

The included keyboard is white in color and mimics the Revo's gloss white chassis. The shortened keyboard features 85 keys, with traditional Fn (Function) keys commonly found on notebooks. The keyboard is quite small and would not be recommended for everyday use. The Mouse is a standard 2 button with scroll mouse and nothing significant, either good or bad was seen


LEDS
The Revo is void of your typical LED's which adorn most desktops. The Revo solely features a lone backlight power button which indicates power. There is no idicator light for wireless, or HDD activity which can be seen.

Wifi

The Atheros wireless does a good job of finding and maintaining a wireless connection. This is probably helped by the chassis as little metal will help the internal wireless antennas connect to nearby AP's. While testing, the only available AP was limited to 802.11G, but the unit would still connect at 54Mbps which is the best that could be expected.




Benchmarks

While not many benchmarks were performed on this unit, bluray playback at 1080P was found to be smooth. The Revo was tested with an external USB bluray drive and successfully played Iron Man with no skips. Acer included the Arcade deluxe program which is capable of playing bluray media. CPU utilization hovered around 40%-60% during playback, so it would not be advised to do other things during playback to ensure smooth display.

A default benchmark of 3dMark2006 was run resulting in a score of 1296 points. While not exactly a gaming system, you should be able to play some games at lower resolution, and low detail settings.





Heat and Noise

The Revo is a fairly silent and cool machine. The Intel Atom N230 has a maximum TDP of 8Watts and is cooled by an aluminum heat sink. The Nvidia Ion will put out more heat than the cpu, but overall the CPU is fairly quite. The idle temperature as measured by OCCT for the Intel Atom are at a comfortable 60C, while loading the cpu will increase this temperature to maximum around 70C after extended periods of time.



Software

Being this unit is an engineering sample the software included would not be the same as a retail version. This particular Revo has Windows Vista Home, SP1. Included Acer utilities are:

• Adobe Flash Player
• Adobe Reader
• Arcade Deluxe
• eSobi
• Google Desktop
• Google Toolbar
• MyWinLocker
• Erecovery Management
• Windows Live Essentials

Drivers included are:

• Foxconn Wireless 802.11 b g n
• nVidia Chipset MCP7A-ION
• nVidia HD Audio
• nVidia SATA/IDE MCP7A-ION
• nVidia VGA
• Realtek HD Audio ALC662

Pros:

• Small, lightweight, possible VESA Mount
• Low noise and Heat
• Plethora of ports and connectivity
• 1080P capable

Cons:

• Limited performance of Atom CPU
• Sluggish performing cpu related tasks
• Limited to a single memory channel

Conclusion:

Overall, the Aspire Revo 3600 is a decent performer, especially considering the size. While it is unlikely it would replace a full fledged desktop, the Revo should find a niche spot amongst the HTPC enthusiasts and general consumer who wants a nettop.

Thanks for submitting your review

Can you please upload screenshots for your benchmarks scores?

i tried it like twice. it would never take it. let me try again.

nope. still doesn't work. I click on upload, then browse and select the png. it sends the request, waits, then shows the score with only the option to clear or save. click on save, and it goes back to the browse screen to upload the image.

the screenshot is embedded in the review since I could not get it to upload.

Another nice one MichelleG :-)

cheers ...

Yeah, it's because you are trying to upload a .png.. If it were .jpg or .gif it will work... I can convert and upload the screenshot you have in your post if you want. Unless you already have a .jpg .or gif to upload.

if you can convert it that would be cool.

Thanks!

will have to remember about the jpgys

I was able to convert and verify your scores. However, we do not have a category for netbooks yet. You will not be able to search for you benchmark as of this time.