HIPER HMC-2K53A-H2 Media Center Review
It all started with the fact that in one of the contests on the AMDclub.ru website I took the first place, for which I was awarded an interesting device, which will be discussed in this article - it was the HIPER HMC-2K53A-H2 media center. Traffic
The original is in my blog. Only there I will write - immediately to you! :)
Let's start from afar. Perhaps, not everyone knows about Hiper, and it is simply necessary to put in a few words about its history and market position;)
')
The full name of the company is Hiper Group , or more precisely, HIgh PERformance Group and it has existed since 2001. As far as I know, the roots of this English company grow from the well-known Cooler Master - where someone Farsh Fallah served as vice president. He later left his post, deciding to establish a new company. Despite his young age, thanks to an excellent technical base, Hyper very quickly reached one row with leading manufacturers of some components, having established strong partnerships with companies such as ATI, AMD and others.
The company is not trying to grab a slice of bread in each niche, but focused mainly on power supply units ( Hiperpower ) and barebone-systems for media centers ( Hipermedia ). In addition, a lot of various awards and patents received products in the following categories - computer cases ( Hipercase ), aluminum keyboards ( Hipercomm ), coolers ( Hipercool ) and wires ( Hiperlink ).
But today we will talk about the media center, so let's start.
That's enough honey :) So, I open the cardboard box, knowing in advance that there shouldn't be any problems with the bundle (knowing about the other two products that I have from Hiper). I was not mistaken, because inside were:
- Media center housing (packed in a thick layer of foamed elastic material for transport safety) with an Micro-ATX installed MSI K9NGM2 motherboard ;
- Audio-Out / SPDIF bracket;
- Adapter with two RCA to one 3.5mm;
- IDE-adapter for slimline (thin) CD / DVD-drives;
- IDE and SATA cables + power supply wire;
- Two CDs with software;
- A set of bolt-screws;
- IO-damper and PCI plug;
- Booklet (in English)
More clearly:
Or as it was in reality:
Appearance inspires confidence - matt black metal case, the front has a glossy plastic insert. On the top cover there are two ventilation grilles (one above the power supply, the second - above the socket) - through one you can see the red textolite of the motherboard. Symmetrically on the sides of the case also located ventilation "gills". On the front (plastic) side, from left to right:
Above all is the drive slot, below it is the button for pulling out disks, turning on the media center and the reset button. To the right is the vacuum-fluorescent (VFD) display, under which are located 6 multimedia buttons.
Well, just to the right is the opening false panel, behind which are located: 4 card reader connectors (SM, CF / MD, SD / MMC, MS), 3 sound connectors (Line in, Mic in, Stereo out), IEEE1394 connector and 2 usb port. Thus, closing the bezel, in front of us in all its glory appears the device, completely not overloaded with unnecessary elements. And it is necessary to open it - there is the possibility of functional expansion. Very convenient, as it turned out.
On the back of the case there are a lot of connectors in which a completely inexperienced user can easily get confused. Simply show the picture from the manual. I do not post a photo, because I get it "pillow": (
Integrated network controller - based on PCIE-controller Realtek RTL8201CL , with support for 10/100/1000 Mbit / s. It should be noted the presence of Wi-Fi.
The audio controller is also integrated - based on the “chipset” support of High Definition Audio and the Realtek ALC883 codec with the ability to connect 7.1 audio systems — the IXBT received a very good rating.
The dimensions of the case are 430mm x 310mm x 53 (!) Mm - this is a bit more than a regular DVD player! For a full-fledged computer, it's great. With a power supply unit (200 watts), the case weighs about 3.5kg. Remember the Optimus Maximus keyboard from Lebedev, which I recently reviewed? It weighs only TWO lighter! :)
On the underside of the device, everything is simple - 4 round rubber feet, which do not allow the device to be moved, a pair of vents.
I unscrew the two bolts, remove the cover of the device. In short - the rounded-off cables from the power supply unit are neatly stretched through the case, everything is connected - there is a place.
Most of the elements are branded, and not just a sticker on top of a piece of iron made in a foreign factory :)
Power supply, as I said at 200 watts. Its characteristics are incomparable with the monsters that Hiper produces for desktop systems, but they are quite sufficient to feed any processor from the AMD family.
In the sled, set aside for the hard drive, built-in tiny cooler.
The only thing that is not enough for complete happiness ... these are the components needed for the work, as mentioned in the manual:
That, in principle, is logical. Everyone buys stuffing for their needs. I bought:
- Two Hynix strips of 1GB (maximum - 8GB)
- WD Sata 7200 1TB hard drive
- Slim DVD *
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 DualCore 4850e - 2.5 GHz **
- Video card ***
- Cooler ****
* I had to tinker with a disk drive. Since I went to buy components the next day after receiving the prize (especially not looking at the device, because it was positioned as a birthday present for my wife and was carefully hidden), I didn’t even pay attention to the place under the wheels. Later, on the way, I thought that only a drive with a slit for discs would be suitable, and not with a carriage. And considering that there are not so many such drives ... and that I had to look for the right from the terminal in the catalog without pictures ... among hundreds of other drives ... In general, I did not immediately find the NEC IDE-7633A-01 Slim :)
** I chose the model with the letter “e” - with a reduced heat release of 45 W.
*** The video card is integrated into the chipset and, despite the presence of a PCI-Express, it will not be possible to insert a full-fledged video card due to the size of the case.
**** I was lucky, the cooler with thermopaste got after the main prize. But, judging by the discussions on the forum, it is also not so easy to find - dimensions, sir. On the other hand, the alternative can always be searched.
Total came something like six thousand. Eh ... sorry wife does not understand all the charms of the resulting miracle ... but I understand! :)
Then everything is elementary - you can collect, if not with your eyes closed, then within 5 minutes for sure. Without instructions. But I still bring the screen - so you have to be proud!
I double-check everything, I put the lid on. I connect the wires, turn on - the Power button is illuminated with a blue diode of medium brightness.
It works quite quietly - even at night, "yyy" from four coolers (screw, 2 * bp, processor) does not press on the ears. And compared to my previous eight-year configuration, this one is silent.
If you are interested, here are two mp3 files in which the volume of the work of this media center was recorded ( about the method ) in the studio (with subsequent conversion to 128 kbit / c LAME MP3). The microphone was located at a distance of 1 meter from the device. The length of each sound file - 16s - first comes 6 seconds of silence, after which - 10 seconds of the media center (in idle mode and maximum load) in the same “silence”. Set the volume level so that the first 6 seconds of the recording are barely audible (from a distance of a meter).
Noise during normal operation - 31 dB . At maximum load - 35dB .
If you use the silent picoPSU power supply ( overview ), then the noise level from the system will be only 23 dB !
For soundtracks thanks site www.silentpcreview.com ;)
After a couple of seconds after switching on, several beeps are heard - I don’t know how to turn them off (and I haven’t asked this question yet), but this is within the normal range - a survey of USB devices. The more ports stuck, the more times it squeaks.
If you put your hand to the vent hole above the processor, it blows from there cool. In other places it is much warmer, but within normal limits. For example, a terabyte screw with a load (copying 400GB of information) all the time was 44 degrees.
Looking at the picture above, it is clear how the media center should be located in space. But in practice, putting his hand to the grill on the right side, did not notice at all any movement of the air flow - everything comes out through the top cover and the holes in the power supply. Therefore, I tried to put the device vertically - no overheating, the disks were read with a bang, the hard disk is also the norm - but what a saving of space! Hid between books and ready)
And yet, now the computer works in the position in which it is prescribed in the instructions. I am sure that it will easily fit into any interior, under any other equipment.
The screen is bright enough and with certain shamanism it can be made very functional. I have WinXP and I just display the date and time.
On Vista, he will easily make friends with many players (Windows Media Player, Winamp, iTunes, PowerDVD) and possibly do something else. Or you need to see what goes on the disks from the kit, which I forgot to do :)
But for me the transition to the new OS is a great feat, so just believe :) The screen brightness is big enough - it does not glare at the sun, and in the dark it doesn’t catch much attention. A small program for testing the screen can display any text on it.
Why are the buttons on the front panel - I guess. If the device is at hand (like mine), then it’s easier not to press them, but buttons in the application on the monitor. If the device is at the other end of the room, it is much easier to use the remote control than to go and press with your finger.
Speaking of consoles. This media center is medium among brothers. The oldest, by status, relies functional console, I also read about it only on the Internet. The media center failed to make friends with the Logitech HarmonyOne console, despite the fact that it is supported by the console.
Apparently, again, everything depends on Windows - it is necessary either vista or XP MCE (Media Center Edition) - I simply have neither the one nor the other at the moment. But if it suddenly happens, I think, as with all other devices, the remote will make friends with the media center, opening up to me many new possibilities.
As you have already noticed, my media center does not fulfill all the functions originally embodied in its name (media ...) - it is used as the main computer. But this once again confirms its versatility - you can work, and you can watch movies - there are all possibilities for this. Already got used to this device and I don’t know if I’m ready to put something else on a piece of the desktop available to me.
I can not say that I feel some inconvenience when using the device. But still, there is something. The first thing that comes to mind is a purchased disk drive. I do not part with the feeling that when inserting a disc, it is rubbed with the input “curtains” like sandpaper. Small disks (on which many video cameras are being filmed) cannot be inserted there. More precisely, you can insert it once ...;) And in the old-fashioned way, you cannot open the drive anymore.
Next ... the Reset button is definitely the right thing. But it is located, it seems to me, somewhat unfortunate. It was a couple of times, accidentally pressed book or box with disks, and at the most inopportune moment. On the other hand, it only teaches order.
The lid of the media center is opaque, metal, not brand, but it is easy enough to leave scratches on it - it spoils the look right away. It turns out that nothing can be put on the lid (nevertheless, it is more designed for quiet use somewhere under the plasma panel) - but in this way a large enough area is wasted. So you want to put the media center upright. I'm thinking over the vertical mounting to the wall.
pros
- Good equipment;
- Pleasant appearance, excellent assembly, reliable design;
- It works very quietly, it does not get very hot even under load;
- Functional VFD-display;
- Modernization is possible;
- Its name is functionally justified by 100%;
- Reasonable price (about $ 300);
Minuses
- It's not so easy to get the media center itself :)
- It can be expensive in the end (it all depends on the configuration you need). In addition, you need to choose the configuration very carefully.
- Integrated video card. As I have already noted, despite the availability of a suitable PCI-Express slot, there will be no way to insert a full-fledged video card - this fact should be taken into account even BEFORE the purchase, so that after this does not come as a surprise. Designed slot for insertion of TV tuners and then, not any;
- HDMI-connector in the system of this type just would not hurt;
“A dusty circle from a cooler will form over time on the ventilation grill of the processor, which, if not wiped, will spoil the appearance. I struggle with this double zilch from a can of compressed air [I have very dusty in the room: (];
Thus, given that this is a well-deserved :) gift, I have practically no fly in the ointment. Even without a video card, the capabilities of the media center are more than enough for me, despite the fact that I am quite demanding in some matters.
And even though I have not studied so many media centers for my practice) I can say with confidence that this product will not be lost at the end of the list of competitors. If you want to have a bunch of multimedia features, say, in your living room, but you don’t want to keep the full body in sight, then the HMC-2K53A-H2 media center will definitely suit you. It is not so easy to find it on sale, but I can rejoice - there is a new, third generation - HIPER HMC-2K53A-A3 . At a price about the same, only there is HDMI, a remote control, a newer motherboard (K9 A GM2, on AMD 690G and ATI SB600 chipsets), the rest is all the same. To heed my advice or simply to consider the device as a candidate for home use is your business.
Boomburum was insanely happy with you - stay in touch! In the near future, a review of the no less interesting case of Hiper Anubis is planned, followed by a review of the Logitech HarmonyOne universal remote and another Logitech wireless kit. About the article skimmers will still not be, though ready ...
By the way, you can also participate in the competition at AMDClub.ru . Successes!
The original is in my blog. Only there I will write - immediately to you! :)
Let's start from afar. Perhaps, not everyone knows about Hiper, and it is simply necessary to put in a few words about its history and market position;)
')
The full name of the company is Hiper Group , or more precisely, HIgh PERformance Group and it has existed since 2001. As far as I know, the roots of this English company grow from the well-known Cooler Master - where someone Farsh Fallah served as vice president. He later left his post, deciding to establish a new company. Despite his young age, thanks to an excellent technical base, Hyper very quickly reached one row with leading manufacturers of some components, having established strong partnerships with companies such as ATI, AMD and others.
The company is not trying to grab a slice of bread in each niche, but focused mainly on power supply units ( Hiperpower ) and barebone-systems for media centers ( Hipermedia ). In addition, a lot of various awards and patents received products in the following categories - computer cases ( Hipercase ), aluminum keyboards ( Hipercomm ), coolers ( Hipercool ) and wires ( Hiperlink ).
But today we will talk about the media center, so let's start.
Equipment
That's enough honey :) So, I open the cardboard box, knowing in advance that there shouldn't be any problems with the bundle (knowing about the other two products that I have from Hiper). I was not mistaken, because inside were:
- Media center housing (packed in a thick layer of foamed elastic material for transport safety) with an Micro-ATX installed MSI K9NGM2 motherboard ;
- Audio-Out / SPDIF bracket;
- Adapter with two RCA to one 3.5mm;
- IDE-adapter for slimline (thin) CD / DVD-drives;
- IDE and SATA cables + power supply wire;
- Two CDs with software;
- A set of bolt-screws;
- IO-damper and PCI plug;
- Booklet (in English)
More clearly:
Or as it was in reality:
Appearance
Appearance inspires confidence - matt black metal case, the front has a glossy plastic insert. On the top cover there are two ventilation grilles (one above the power supply, the second - above the socket) - through one you can see the red textolite of the motherboard. Symmetrically on the sides of the case also located ventilation "gills". On the front (plastic) side, from left to right:
Above all is the drive slot, below it is the button for pulling out disks, turning on the media center and the reset button. To the right is the vacuum-fluorescent (VFD) display, under which are located 6 multimedia buttons.
Well, just to the right is the opening false panel, behind which are located: 4 card reader connectors (SM, CF / MD, SD / MMC, MS), 3 sound connectors (Line in, Mic in, Stereo out), IEEE1394 connector and 2 usb port. Thus, closing the bezel, in front of us in all its glory appears the device, completely not overloaded with unnecessary elements. And it is necessary to open it - there is the possibility of functional expansion. Very convenient, as it turned out.
On the back of the case there are a lot of connectors in which a completely inexperienced user can easily get confused. Simply show the picture from the manual. I do not post a photo, because I get it "pillow": (
Integrated network controller - based on PCIE-controller Realtek RTL8201CL , with support for 10/100/1000 Mbit / s. It should be noted the presence of Wi-Fi.
The audio controller is also integrated - based on the “chipset” support of High Definition Audio and the Realtek ALC883 codec with the ability to connect 7.1 audio systems — the IXBT received a very good rating.
The dimensions of the case are 430mm x 310mm x 53 (!) Mm - this is a bit more than a regular DVD player! For a full-fledged computer, it's great. With a power supply unit (200 watts), the case weighs about 3.5kg. Remember the Optimus Maximus keyboard from Lebedev, which I recently reviewed? It weighs only TWO lighter! :)
On the underside of the device, everything is simple - 4 round rubber feet, which do not allow the device to be moved, a pair of vents.
I unscrew the two bolts, remove the cover of the device. In short - the rounded-off cables from the power supply unit are neatly stretched through the case, everything is connected - there is a place.
Most of the elements are branded, and not just a sticker on top of a piece of iron made in a foreign factory :)
Power supply, as I said at 200 watts. Its characteristics are incomparable with the monsters that Hiper produces for desktop systems, but they are quite sufficient to feed any processor from the AMD family.
In the sled, set aside for the hard drive, built-in tiny cooler.
The only thing that is not enough for complete happiness ... these are the components needed for the work, as mentioned in the manual:
That, in principle, is logical. Everyone buys stuffing for their needs. I bought:
- Two Hynix strips of 1GB (maximum - 8GB)
- WD Sata 7200 1TB hard drive
- Slim DVD *
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 DualCore 4850e - 2.5 GHz **
- Video card ***
- Cooler ****
* I had to tinker with a disk drive. Since I went to buy components the next day after receiving the prize (especially not looking at the device, because it was positioned as a birthday present for my wife and was carefully hidden), I didn’t even pay attention to the place under the wheels. Later, on the way, I thought that only a drive with a slit for discs would be suitable, and not with a carriage. And considering that there are not so many such drives ... and that I had to look for the right from the terminal in the catalog without pictures ... among hundreds of other drives ... In general, I did not immediately find the NEC IDE-7633A-01 Slim :)
** I chose the model with the letter “e” - with a reduced heat release of 45 W.
*** The video card is integrated into the chipset and, despite the presence of a PCI-Express, it will not be possible to insert a full-fledged video card due to the size of the case.
**** I was lucky, the cooler with thermopaste got after the main prize. But, judging by the discussions on the forum, it is also not so easy to find - dimensions, sir. On the other hand, the alternative can always be searched.
Total came something like six thousand. Eh ... sorry wife does not understand all the charms of the resulting miracle ... but I understand! :)
Then everything is elementary - you can collect, if not with your eyes closed, then within 5 minutes for sure. Without instructions. But I still bring the screen - so you have to be proud!
I double-check everything, I put the lid on. I connect the wires, turn on - the Power button is illuminated with a blue diode of medium brightness.
It works quite quietly - even at night, "yyy" from four coolers (screw, 2 * bp, processor) does not press on the ears. And compared to my previous eight-year configuration, this one is silent.
If you are interested, here are two mp3 files in which the volume of the work of this media center was recorded ( about the method ) in the studio (with subsequent conversion to 128 kbit / c LAME MP3). The microphone was located at a distance of 1 meter from the device. The length of each sound file - 16s - first comes 6 seconds of silence, after which - 10 seconds of the media center (in idle mode and maximum load) in the same “silence”. Set the volume level so that the first 6 seconds of the recording are barely audible (from a distance of a meter).
Noise during normal operation - 31 dB . At maximum load - 35dB .
If you use the silent picoPSU power supply ( overview ), then the noise level from the system will be only 23 dB !
For soundtracks thanks site www.silentpcreview.com ;)
After a couple of seconds after switching on, several beeps are heard - I don’t know how to turn them off (and I haven’t asked this question yet), but this is within the normal range - a survey of USB devices. The more ports stuck, the more times it squeaks.
If you put your hand to the vent hole above the processor, it blows from there cool. In other places it is much warmer, but within normal limits. For example, a terabyte screw with a load (copying 400GB of information) all the time was 44 degrees.
Looking at the picture above, it is clear how the media center should be located in space. But in practice, putting his hand to the grill on the right side, did not notice at all any movement of the air flow - everything comes out through the top cover and the holes in the power supply. Therefore, I tried to put the device vertically - no overheating, the disks were read with a bang, the hard disk is also the norm - but what a saving of space! Hid between books and ready)
And yet, now the computer works in the position in which it is prescribed in the instructions. I am sure that it will easily fit into any interior, under any other equipment.
Screen
The screen is bright enough and with certain shamanism it can be made very functional. I have WinXP and I just display the date and time.
On Vista, he will easily make friends with many players (Windows Media Player, Winamp, iTunes, PowerDVD) and possibly do something else. Or you need to see what goes on the disks from the kit, which I forgot to do :)
But for me the transition to the new OS is a great feat, so just believe :) The screen brightness is big enough - it does not glare at the sun, and in the dark it doesn’t catch much attention. A small program for testing the screen can display any text on it.
Why are the buttons on the front panel - I guess. If the device is at hand (like mine), then it’s easier not to press them, but buttons in the application on the monitor. If the device is at the other end of the room, it is much easier to use the remote control than to go and press with your finger.
Speaking of consoles. This media center is medium among brothers. The oldest, by status, relies functional console, I also read about it only on the Internet. The media center failed to make friends with the Logitech HarmonyOne console, despite the fact that it is supported by the console.
Apparently, again, everything depends on Windows - it is necessary either vista or XP MCE (Media Center Edition) - I simply have neither the one nor the other at the moment. But if it suddenly happens, I think, as with all other devices, the remote will make friends with the media center, opening up to me many new possibilities.
As you have already noticed, my media center does not fulfill all the functions originally embodied in its name (media ...) - it is used as the main computer. But this once again confirms its versatility - you can work, and you can watch movies - there are all possibilities for this. Already got used to this device and I don’t know if I’m ready to put something else on a piece of the desktop available to me.
The convenience of use
I can not say that I feel some inconvenience when using the device. But still, there is something. The first thing that comes to mind is a purchased disk drive. I do not part with the feeling that when inserting a disc, it is rubbed with the input “curtains” like sandpaper. Small disks (on which many video cameras are being filmed) cannot be inserted there. More precisely, you can insert it once ...;) And in the old-fashioned way, you cannot open the drive anymore.
Next ... the Reset button is definitely the right thing. But it is located, it seems to me, somewhat unfortunate. It was a couple of times, accidentally pressed book or box with disks, and at the most inopportune moment. On the other hand, it only teaches order.
The lid of the media center is opaque, metal, not brand, but it is easy enough to leave scratches on it - it spoils the look right away. It turns out that nothing can be put on the lid (nevertheless, it is more designed for quiet use somewhere under the plasma panel) - but in this way a large enough area is wasted. So you want to put the media center upright. I'm thinking over the vertical mounting to the wall.
Check weighing
pros
- Good equipment;
- Pleasant appearance, excellent assembly, reliable design;
- It works very quietly, it does not get very hot even under load;
- Functional VFD-display;
- Modernization is possible;
- Its name is functionally justified by 100%;
- Reasonable price (about $ 300);
Minuses
- It's not so easy to get the media center itself :)
- It can be expensive in the end (it all depends on the configuration you need). In addition, you need to choose the configuration very carefully.
- Integrated video card. As I have already noted, despite the availability of a suitable PCI-Express slot, there will be no way to insert a full-fledged video card - this fact should be taken into account even BEFORE the purchase, so that after this does not come as a surprise. Designed slot for insertion of TV tuners and then, not any;
- HDMI-connector in the system of this type just would not hurt;
“A dusty circle from a cooler will form over time on the ventilation grill of the processor, which, if not wiped, will spoil the appearance. I struggle with this double zilch from a can of compressed air [I have very dusty in the room: (];
Total
Thus, given that this is a well-deserved :) gift, I have practically no fly in the ointment. Even without a video card, the capabilities of the media center are more than enough for me, despite the fact that I am quite demanding in some matters.
And even though I have not studied so many media centers for my practice) I can say with confidence that this product will not be lost at the end of the list of competitors. If you want to have a bunch of multimedia features, say, in your living room, but you don’t want to keep the full body in sight, then the HMC-2K53A-H2 media center will definitely suit you. It is not so easy to find it on sale, but I can rejoice - there is a new, third generation - HIPER HMC-2K53A-A3 . At a price about the same, only there is HDMI, a remote control, a newer motherboard (K9 A GM2, on AMD 690G and ATI SB600 chipsets), the rest is all the same. To heed my advice or simply to consider the device as a candidate for home use is your business.
Boomburum was insanely happy with you - stay in touch! In the near future, a review of the no less interesting case of Hiper Anubis is planned, followed by a review of the Logitech HarmonyOne universal remote and another Logitech wireless kit. About the article skimmers will still not be, though ready ...
By the way, you can also participate in the competition at AMDClub.ru . Successes!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/51228/
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