Asus Digimatrix Views
Instead, it's what the company calls a digital entertainment PC that plays CDs and DVDs, tunes TV and radio, records and time-shifts TV, and displays photos and videos. Available through ASUS resellers (who are free to complete and customize the base unit), DigiMatrix is a laudable attempt to compete with Media Center, though there are a couple of rough edges.
Our test unit could fairly be called DigiMatrix Unloaded. Think of it as a kit PC, since ASUS (known for its motherboards and components) offers a bare-bones system ($425 street) that requires you to purchase and add the operating system and some internal components —most notably a CPU and hard drive. Most buyers will want to go to an ASUS integrator (such as Howard Computers, www.howardcomputers.com) for a fully configured DigiMatrix ($1,284 direct and up).
Whichever way you go, beware a few quirks. ASUS says the DigiMatrix runs at a whisper-quiet 30 decibels, but we were always aware of the hum of the twin fans. Lettering for the front-panel buttons is small and barely legible, and the user manuals feel overly technical in places and run long; the quick-setup guide goes on for 22 pages. And most of the audio and video connectors require proprietary cables (supplied) that morph from a single round plug into a half-dozen separate cables.
Not true. I have both Asus original 1007 and patched 1007 (for additional graphics capabilities). My old Digimatrix just stopped (yesterday) displaying the time or temperature on the built in display next to the volume control (vol. control may no longer be working, either), so I am interested in obtaining a system (just the mobo, really) in good working order...
Asus Digimatrix Images
