POSTED BY

Rob Beschizza

AT 9:42 AM
Tuesday June 30, 2009

Computers • Reviews

fit PC • SFF

Review: a weekend with the Fit PC 2

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The Fit PC 2 is an inch thick, about 4 inches each way, and pipes 1080p video through an HDMI port. Though a perfectly usable PC with a 160GB hard drive, Atom Z CPU and a gig of RAM, it's so small that it makes even netbooks look bulky.

There's also WiFi, gigabit ethernet, a remote control sensor, a MiniSD card slot and 6 USB ports. Out back are headphone and mic sockets and an antenna screw.

Performance is similar to other nettop PCs: good enough to use as a main machine for casual desktop users, but slow with several apps open, and inappropriate for demanding applications such as video editing.

In fact, the CPU and chipset combo is the same as found in Sony's Vaio P, and the same pros and cons apply. Like other Poulsbo machines, it does full-screen HD video in H.264, MPEG2 and WMV9 formats, but is limited on other fronts.

Its special sauce is that high-def video and audio, making it suitable for use as a home theater PC. To those who've spent years playing with tiny computers, to finally get something that "just works" on that front is a eureka moment.

Web-embedded video, however, remains choppy at HD resolution, since Flash doesn't take advantage of the chipset. Gaming, too, is mostly a bust. MAME and other emulators works fine, but modern-era titles, even casual ones, were unplayable -- if they ran at all. Gamers might get better results from an alternative driver set. There's no OpenGL in any case.

Videos at 10 mbits/s run perfectly. However, Quicktime movie trailers at 1080p, which range a little higher, occasionally troubled the Fit PC.

Connected to a 1080p display with a full complement of peripherals, however, it's surprising how capable an Atom-based system is. Though a plain-jane black box, it fills the imagination with ideas: with a drive upgrade, it'd make a good home server/HTPC combo. It runs off 12DC, so is OK for cars. It would make a neat motel PC, for those who want big screens and their own movie collection while traveling. If only TV sets had them built-in.

Opened up, the innards look similar to Via's Pico-ITX motherboards, but more cleverly tailored to the form in which it must fit: the RAM is soldered in and the SATA header is contrived so that a 2.5" drive slides neatly behind the USB and ethernet port housing. As a result, it's even smaller than the Artigo A1000, which can't do HD video. It also has a PCIe slot, occupied by the WiFi unit in most configurations.

HDMI is the only video output. A DVI adapter is provided, but the analog pins (i.e. VGA) will be dark. The included hard drive is a Samsung 5400RPM model with an 8MB cache: easy to replace without voiding the warranty. That the Fit PC 2 is so small makes the power brick--about the size of a pack of cigarettes--a consideration. A 12V DC wallwart would do the trick for cable haters.

A Fit PC 2 with a 1.6GHz CPU and 160GB hard drive is $359, or $399 with Windows pre-installed. A basic, diskless model is $255, with a 1.1GHz CPU.

+ Smaller and cheaper than a Mac Mini, but still a usable desktop PC.
+ Extremely low power consumption.
+ 6 USB ports makes it easy to hook up to a full set of desktop gear.
+ Fanless, but as a result feels quite hot to touch.

- No optical drive, obviously!
- MiniSD and mini USB means SD cards and thumbdrives are a pain to use.
- No audio through HDMI
- Can't upgrade the RAM.

Product Page [Fit PC]

16 Comments

dculberson

#1 – 10:37 AM June 30, 2009

Install Ubuntu Server, set up Samba and NFS servers, and you have an awesome and nearly invisible backup device!

But I did take the leap on the Acer Easystore in yesterday's morning deals.. so I probably won't try that out.

strider_mt2k

#2 – 11:25 AM June 30, 2009

Bummer you can't bring the RAM up to 2GB.
That seems to be a sweetish spot, although a cranked-back XP install will fly nicely on 1GB.

I'll be keeping this one in mind for my home theater box thingie that I want.

Dissatisfied Customer

#3 – 12:19 PM June 30, 2009

My god - how much time was spent writing this review? Did someone actually put one together and use this thing?!?

My brother & I installed Windows XP, and the thing could BARELY plat the Starfield screensaver at 1080p without stuttering. We also tried playing DVDs - a total bust as well. guys - forget using this thing for HTPCs, which is what it was targeted for.

[Rob here -- this is exactly what I used it as and it worked fine. Reinstall ur drivers, kitty.]

At this price tag, you're better off just spending a bit more and getting one of those small Dells. Trying to return it now, and lo-and-behold - NO ONE will reply to your emails!

Just another piece of hardware with nice specs that doesn't deliver... but hey, that's typical these days, isn't it?

Aaron

#4 – 1:13 PM June 30, 2009

Too bad web videos are no good on Atom, and they won't ship it with 2GB RAM baked in, even if you order it with Ubuntu or no OS.

Out of curiosity, did you try Hulu Desktop on it? Hulu is the one thing that keeps me from pulling the trigger on something like this or the Eee Box 206.

I'd assume the performance is similar in the standalone app, but maybe there's some mojo in there that makes it manageable.

Rob Beschizza

#5 – 1:32 PM June 30, 2009

I will try Hulu desktop once I have reassembled it :)

Also, windows 7.

milovoo

#6 – 3:18 PM June 30, 2009

Just to make it clear, it will play a ripped blu-ray file without choppiness? That would be pretty nice. Are there benchmarks for the video chip?

phisrow

#7 – 4:42 PM June 30, 2009

How do the mini-USB ports work? Does the device function as a USB slave, allowing it to be connected to another device's USB host port? Or are those actually USB host ports, just with nonstandard connectors, that you need a weird adapter to use?

Rob Beschizza

#8 – 4:45 PM June 30, 2009

Ripped Blu-Ray: very much wanted to test this, but I don't have a blu player.

Based on the specs, I'd surmise that if you rip down to under 12 mbits/s in the given formats, it's going to work just fine.

Does anyone know sites that offer video downloads at specific bitrates? Let's find where it tops out.

Rob Beschizza

#9 – 4:59 PM June 30, 2009

They are all USB host ports. 4 controllers show up in Windows, IIRC. At least one of those front ones will be sharing the bus with IRDA.

Rob Beschizza

#10 – 5:01 PM June 30, 2009

I'd guess the weird-ass stuff on the front (miniSD and mini usb) are to make space for the HD, as Sanfam noted on the gallery post. It's a super snug fit inside.

Beamish

#11 – 9:21 PM June 30, 2009

There are a few post on their forum that says the Hulu Desktop experience is sub-par. This really does not handle Flash video as well as one would like.

MattD

#12 – 11:51 PM June 30, 2009

It's worth noting that there is also no digital / optical output on this thing - which is what put me off using it as a HTPC.

bkd

#13 – 12:07 AM July 1, 2009

A quick search of Newegg shows that $255 is not dreadfully out of line for diskless NAS boxen. Sure, you could get cheaper boxen, or get one with a drive included, for the same money, but I think the extra price for a (relatively) fuller featured PC is probably worthwhile. Depending on your application, of course.

I've specifically been looking for something to serve as a streaming media server/backup storage/torrent+podcast download station, and this plus a terabyte drive seems like it would fit perfectly.

owza

#14 – 9:04 AM July 1, 2009

You might as well get the WD TV HD Media Player, a lot cheaper with no worries about 1080p playback.

chenyi1976

#15 – 12:17 AM July 2, 2009

Your review is the best one I can find.

Can you add some more information about:
1, Is it possible to turn on this for 24*7 hours a week, as a BT download machine? Since it is hot and fanless, I do not want it burn when i sleep or leave home.

2, How long it will take to start operation system, for example, windows xp? this is important because when I sit down and want to turn on it and watch a movie, I do not like to wait five minutes for its boot.

3, Can you tell me how many page I can open in Firefox or IE 8? Or Can I use microsoft Office without feeling too slow?

Many Thanks

jimb12345

#16 – 6:26 PM November 11, 2009

I am like the first comment. Can you get more RAM in this. This would make this so awesome.
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