Print
Discuss
Send to friend
Densitron Technologies' Cassius Intertainment Centre is more than just a PC. It offers Teletext TV functionality, an FM radio and a DVD player all in one compact box. This makes it ideal for home users with limited space and might also suit businesses that need to keep up-to-date with news programmes, for example.
The system is powered by an 800MHz Pentium III processor with 128Mb of PC133 SDRam, and runs Windows ME. The components sit inside a 15.1 inch 1,024 x 768 LCD monitor that's only 79mm thick, excluding the stand mount.
Other components in the chassis include a combined 24-speed CDRom and four-speed DVDRom drive, floppy disk drive and 20Gb hard disk drive.
The attractively styled screen bolts onto a solid metal base that has only tilt adjustment. There's no way to swivel the system, but its VESA-standard bracket can be mounted on a monitor arm or wall.
The rear of the panel provides an extensive array of connectors, including serial, parallel, game, audio, PS/2 mouse and keyboard and two USB ports. Since it's also a television and radio, there are VHF/UHF and FM aerial connectors, as well as S-Video in/out, composite video in/out and a S/PDIF connector for digital sound output. There are also connectors for 10/100Base-T and a V.90 modem.
A Type II PC Card slot is located underneath the unit, together with a headphone socket, volume control wheel and another USB port. A microphone, infrared port and stereo speakers are built into the front.
Although there's a lot of functionality in the system, some space saving compromises are evident. For example, the small speakers give poor bass for an 'entertainment centre', and the PC Card slot is extremely awkward to access.
In addition, we also couldn't get sufficient volume from the DVD player to allow for comfortable viewing. You can, however, easily attach powered speakers using the standard output or digital S/PDIF connector at the rear.
The integrated SiS 630 chipset shares system memory for graphics tasks. The Intertainment Centre's default BIOS setting of 16Mb leaves 112Mb of Ram free. Graphics performance will be greatly improved by assigning 32Mb or 64Mb to the chipset, still leaving at least 64Mb for general Windows use. The memory expansion slot can hold an extra 256Mb of PC133 SDRam.
The supplied mouse and keyboard are both Logitech wireless devices. Under normal usage, the only cables likely to be present are TV and radio aerial connections and the power cord.
Contact: Densitron Technologies 01959 542 000
www.cassiuspc.com
See also:
If the idea of burning your home videos onto DVDs gets your heart revving, this could be the kit for you. 07 Jan 2002All Desktops
del.icio.us
Digg this
reddit!
