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Newsletter 1-27-2008
As you may or may not know, we will officially be launching Allio Lite shortly. What makes it “Lite”? Simply put, the processor. The primary difference between the “regular” base model Allio and the Lite version is the processor - the Lite version uses an Atom processor. Since there is a different processor, this is a different board, right? Sure is, and here is the link:
http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/motherboards/D945gclf2/D945gclf2-overview.htm
About this board, there are some things that should know. For one, it only has 1 DIMM slot, of which we´ve already shoved in a 2GB module. That is the maximum amount of memory. It has gigabit LAN, just like normal Allio. It has VGA out only, no HDMI. Will it still do 1080p? Yes and no. Yes, it will support it, but only if you´re doing anything that doesn´t have the word Blu-Ray in it. Blu-Ray is a strict no-no for this, due to the hardware capabilities of the PC parts. If a customer uses an external Blu-Ray player, such as a PS3, then it will work fine. The Allio Lite will still catch over the air HD, it will still play DVD´s fine (which are only 480p), and it will surf the net wonderfully.
The Atom processor in particular is a fun little chip. The main thing about it is the low power, low cost thing. It´s also low performance for many technical reasons that are outside the scope of this newsletter. The particular Atom we use is the fastest one available, the Atom 330, clocked in at 1.6Ghz and is dual core. The low power thing means that we can use a smaller (read: quieter) cooling solution. Yes it has a fan, and no you won´t hear it. If you want to do 2 things at once, such as surf the net and watch TV, the Allio Lite will still do it. This is the same processor that is used in netbooks. You´ve all heard of the Asus eeePC? Yeah, it´s like that. It´s meant to be good enough to do one or two things at once. Nothing intense, nothing crazy, just surf the net, watch some TV, and download some torrents.
Other things to know about Allio Lite (things you can´t change):
- It has a 250GB hard drive.
- It can read & burn DVD´s, same with CD´s.
- It can watch over the air high definition TV
- The TV itself has an open HDMI port
- It has wireless internet capability
- You cannot add any cards to it
- It has 2GB of memory, and that´s all it will ever have
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