The tuner card did an adequate job of processing our cable signal, but as is the case with all TV tuners, picture quality was somewhat softened. You can watch and record two TV programs at the same time, thanks to an eVGA Nvidia NVTV dual-tuner PCI card. A media card reader would have been welcome, but it's not offered as an option. While 500GB isn't a meager allotment, we've seen even more drive space in the Creature Scylla S301, which features four 250GB drives for a cool 1TB of storage space. (The dual-core 3800+ is available as a $150 upgrade.)ĭual Maxtor 250GB SATA hard drives provide plenty of storage for recorded programs and other multimedia files, and there's a double-layer DVD burner for archiving your projects. Still, priced north of $2,000, we'd like to see AMD's entry-level dual-core CPU, the Athlon X2 3800+, or better.

Biohazard recently updated the system, and the default CPU is a more respectable Athlon 64 3500+. As it stands now, a single 120mm fan and a huge processor fan work together to keep the system running cool and quiet.Ĭonsidering the system's price, we expected a more powerful, more modern processor instead of one that's more than two years old. An empty x16 PCI Express slot offers the opportunity to add a 3D card later, but that would more than likely add fan noise. Under the hood sits an AMD Athlon 64 3000+ processor running at 1.8GHz, 1GB of OCZ PC3200 DDR memory, and an integrated Nvidia GeForce 6150 graphics controller. The Biohazard Media Center Xpress uses a Gigabyte motherboard based on Nvidia's Nforce 430 chipset and relies on the integrated audio controller to provide 8-channel sound, which should be more than adequate for most users. This may clash with your living-room decor, unless your decorating style is early Sci-Fi Channel.įour USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire port, and two audio jacks are molded into the left side bezel, and four additional USB 2.0 ports and another FireWire port are located on the rear panel. Users looking at the system for its aesthetically pleasing case should note that a large Biohazard logo is etched into the front panel. At the center of the case is a VFD ( Vacuum Fluorescent Display) panel, which displays items such as system status information, weather, and an equalizer bar.

Housed in a massive, black SilverStone LC14 HTPC case with a matching brushed-aluminum front bezel, the front panel of the Media Center Xpress features a set of DVD and CD player controls on the left side and two optical drive bays and blue backlit power and reset buttons on the right.

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