ASRock ION3D (152B with Bluray) Review featuring Cyberlink

1. Introduction2. The ASRock ION3D3. System Setup Methodology4. The Bios and Overclocking5. Synthetic: SiSoft Sandra6. Synthetic: Cinebench R11.57. BluRay Playback With PowerDVD 10 Ultra8. Media Encoding with MediaEspresso9. ASRock App Charger (with iPad) & USB 3.010. HQV Benchmark 2.011. Flash Content12. Gaming: Left 4 Dead 213. Power Consumption14. Acoustics Performance15. Thermal Dynamics16. Closing Thoughts17. View All Pages

The ASRock ION 3D arrives in an attractively designed box featuring images and information on the front and back.

Inside the ION3D is securely packaged and is wrapped with a soft protective cover. A brown box on the right contains the peripherials and on top is the software DVD with manual. We received a very early version of this product, from the first production run. We are pretty sure the final bundle also features 3D glasses (and a few other small accessories).

The bundle is comprehensive: A remote controller (which works with Windows Media Center), batteries, an external power adapter, stickers, manual, discs and a felt pad to place under the product so it won't slip around on surfaces.

The product itself also ships with a protective cover on all surfaces, this is removed by pulling on the edges. A nice final touch to stop scuffing during transportation.

Although the ION3D is small there is no shortage of connectivity. The front features 2x USB 3.0 ports, a microphone and headphone connector, power on/off button. At the rear there is a DC in connector, Optical S/PDIF Out Port, 5 Audio jacks, Gigabit Lan (RJ-45) connector, 6 x USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, VGA and DVI connectors. Phew!

The top of the case is attached by two screws. Inside the slimline bluray drive is attached to a metal plate with the 2.5 inch drive underneath. Its a clever space saving design which works well. WiFi is also installed with this particular model (Realtek RTL8191SU Wireless LAN 802.11n).

Installed are a Philips/Lite-on Slimline Bluray Combo drive (DS-4e1S: BD-R, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) and a Hitachi 320GB 2.5 inch 5,400 rpm hard drive.

At the rear is a small fan which is used to exhaust heat from the chassis as it is forced in from the front. The motherboard can support two SATA devices which are already populated (Hard Drive and Bluray Drive). There is a rather clever power system in place which feeds both devices directly.

Internally this machine looks fantastic – everything well routed with a neat, clutter free design.

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