Summary and Conclusion:
When the dust settles and we have a final look at Sapphires Edge-HD mini PC I would have to say I am fairly impressed with the overall quality of this little box. It handles most video with the exception being Silverlight like a champ which makes it a suitable candidate as a media center if your okay with losing HD playback of Netflix. And while the synthetic benchmarks really make the Edge-HD stand out it is important to keep in mind that these benchmarks are designed for massive graphics cards and ultra fast CPU’s both of which draw significantly more power than the Edge- HD which weighed in at a hefty 22watts compared to 250+ on a desktop system. While this system will never hold any records it can really fill a niche need for a low power very mobile workstation/server/media center for both business or home use. I would recommend this to anyone who feels they want a system that can handle video playback, serve up media or handle light office documents from a wifi hotspot really any location where space/noise/heat is a consideration. The only real limitation that the Edge-Hd has is its CPU, while the CPU holds its own in some of the benchmarks its still the weakest link. The Nvidia ION2 graphics chipset handles video very well and as drivers improve this will only get better the ION2 can handle even light gaming such as the source engine by Valve. I give Sapphires Edge-HD the awesome hardware award because for the price point ( around $300USD you get a great all inclusive package including HDMI cable which is unusual, beyond a great package you get enormous value from such a low powered system.
[…] Sapphire Edge-HD Mini PC/HTPC @ TechwareLabs […]
[…] The Edge-HD has the potential to provide access to and playback all your media without sacrificing any of your ability to handle web surfing or touching up a power point presentation all done over your choice of outputs. LINK:http://www.techwarelabs.com/sapphire-edge-hd-mini-pchtpc/ […]