Foxconn AMD Fusion NT-A3500 Nettop Review

The Fusion platform has impressed us this year. The mixture of solid overall performance and miniscule power drain is a heady combination for a high definition media center or server. A system like this can be left on 24/7 and not add much to the overall electricity bill … always a major concern within today's delicate economic climate.

The Foxconn NT-A3500 Nettop is a pleasure to use and the design of the chassis is very appealing. The ‘bare bones' approach appeals to us, because you aren't being forced to pay extra cash for a slow, second grade hard drive. You can slot in your own large mechanical 2.5 inch drive, or super fast solid state drive, depending on your demands.

When compared to the Atom processor, AMD have clearly got the edge right now. Their systems are demanding less power and offering higher performance for a similar amount of money. We have reviewed many Fusion boards in recent months, but the Foxconn NT-A3500 is certainly a special product. Not only can you mount the complete system behind a screen or TV, but there is a dedicated ‘vertical' stand for it, or it can be used in a traditional horizontal configuration next to a bed, for minimal physical footprint.

Foxconn might not be well known as a ‘system maker', but they have many years experience building products for companies such as Apple, so their pedigree is really not in question. The only negative with this particular product is that the chassis is a magnet for fingerprints. We only had to touch it once, for dust and fingerprints to appear, so keep a polishing cloth at hand.

Pricing for the barebones unit will be £175 inc vat. Factor in a decent mechanical hard drive and some DDR3 memory and you are looking at £250-£300 inc vat total. We have been told that ‘pre-configured' units will be on sale shortly and we will append this page when we have confirmed pricing information.

Pros:

• Great performance for the price
• cool running
• Ideal for 1080p playback and 24/7 server duties
• Strong connectivity

Cons:

• chassis gets dirty really quickly

KitGuru says: Foxconn are onto a winner

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