The Asrock Mini PC line has featured some exciting products over the past few years and none have been more exciting than the Vision 3D. Armed with a power efficient Intel Core i3 or Core i5 mobile processor, along with the Nvidia GeForce GT 425M graphics card, the Vision 3D made for the ultimate small form factor HTPC.

Thanks to the inclusion of a low-end graphics card the Vision 3D didn’t have to rely on the embedded Intel HD graphics, which provides very poor performance. Although the gaming performance of the GeForce GT 425M didn’t blow us away, it was more often than not considerably faster than the Intel HD Graphics 3000 graphics engine utilized by the newer Intel Core i5-2520M processor.

This was evident when comparing the Asrock CoreHT 252B to the Vision 3D 137B. The CoreHT series, which was released after the Vision 3D series, was the first to make use of the highly efficient Sandy Bridge architecture by adopting the Core i3-2330M and Core i5-2520M processors. However, as it failed to include an integrated graphics solution, users were forced to rely on the Intel HD Graphics 3000.

What Asrock needed was a Sandy Bridge revision of the Vision 3D, and that is exactly what they have created. The Vision 3D (Sandy Bridge) is essentially the original product but on steroids. Not only has the processor been upgraded but so too has the memory, hard drive and graphics card. So far there is just one model to choose from and it includes the Intel Core i5 2520M processor, 8GB of DDR3-1333 memory, 750GB hard drive and a GeForce GT 540M graphics card.

These upgrades should make the Vision 3D (Sandy Bridge) the most powerful and well-rounded Asrock Mini PC released to date. Of course all this power must come at a price and that price is currently $1000 US, making the Vision 3D 252B one of the most expensive models as well. Keeping that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the features on offer...

The compact design and attractive exterior helps it blend into any home theater setup, while its small footprint also allows it to fit just about anywhere.

The system measures 200mm (W) x 200mm (L) x 70mm (H) making it a fraction wider and longer than previous models. It can be mounted either horizontally or vertically, although rubber feet are only on the bottom of the case. Based on the Mini-ITX form factor, it has an internal volume of 2.8L while weighing 1.8kg fully configured.

The Vision 3D 252B feels very polished and it's obvious that Asrock has paid attention to minor details when designing their Mini PC series. The rear I/O panel has been given a coat of black paint, while all the ports have been properly labeled to make installation easier for the user. The Blu-ray player is a slot-loading model, so it's recessed into the case allowing it to blend in with the rest of the body.

Around back you'll find a significant amount of connectivity options for such a small computer, including a total of four USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, LAN, HDMI, DVI, a powered eSATA 6Gb/s port, five audio jacks and an optical S/PDIF output. There is also a small DC-in power connection for a Delta Electronics 19v AC/DC adapter.

It's worth mentioning that this power pack can be purchased online for as little as $15, so should it die out of warranty, you aren't looking at a significant cost to replace it.

The front of the unit is identical to the original as the 252B features a headphone and microphone jack along with a pair of USB 3.0 ports, 4-in-1 card reader and embedded slot loading optical drive. There is also a power button which is worked into the design nicely and emits a blue light when active.

By default, all Vision 3D models including the new 252B come bundled with a Media Center Edition remote control to provide a convenient way to watch movies or listen to music from the comfort of your living room couch, completing the Vision 3D as an ideal HTPC solution.

When compared to previous Vision 3D models from the 1xxB series the 252B scores an extra USB 3.0 port around the back and improved eSATA performance as this port has been upgraded from 3Gb/s bandwidth to SATAIII 6Gb/s.

This drive supports read speeds of 24x CD, 8x DVD, 4x BD, 3x BD-DL, 2x BD‐R SL/DL and write speeds of 8x DVD+/-R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 6x DVD+R DL and 24x CD read speeds. The drive features a relatively small 2MB buffer with access times of 250ms Blu-ray, 180ms for DVDs and 180ms for CDs.

At the heart of the Vision 3D 252B is the mobile Intel Core i5-2520M processor which is based on the Sandy Bridge architecture. This processor works at 2.5GHz and boasts two cores (HyperThreading is supported) and a 3MB L3 cache. However it also features Turbo Boost, which can boost the frequency of each core to 3.20GHz when needed.

Moving on we have a pair of DDR3 SO-DIMM slots populated with ASint DDR3-1333 4GB modules for a total of 8GB. Upgrading the Vision 3D memory will have you doing away with this memory and replacing it with two 8GB modules at a cost of around $100 US each should you require to do so.

On the network front the Vision 3D 252B uses the Realtek RTL8111E Gigabit Ethernet controller, along with an Atheros AR9287 wireless-N PCI Express Half Mini Card.

Asrock has also used a Realtek chip for audio, using their tried and true ALC890B 8-channel audio codec with THX TruStudio Pro. The TruStudio Surround technology expands your stereo content into surround sound and the TruStudio Crystalizer technology restores the compressed sound source, letting you hear every detail in riveting surround sound.

The Nuvoton NCT6775F IC has helped Asrock achieve the EuP2.0 standard, which indicates that the total AC power consumption of the system is under 0.5W when turned off.

Most motherboards are getting their USB 3.0 support from the NEC D720200F1 controller and this is the very controller Asrock used in the Vision 3D 252B for the two front panel USB 3.0 ports. Meanwhile, a second D720200F1 controller has also been used for the two rear USB 3.0 ports. These ports are fully backwards compatible with previous USB standards for greater flexibility.

While Vision 3D 252B comes with a single 2.5" 750GB hard drive a second 2.5" drive can be mounted under the primary. In order to do so, the optical drive and primary hard drive have to be removed from the mounting bracket. Asrock also included a cable that connects from a special power connection on the motherboard to the second hard drive.

This opens the possibility of purchasing a second WD Scorpio Black 750GB hard drive for 1.5 terabytes of fast storage. Alternatively an affordable low capacity boot SSD drive would be a nice option here.

The cooling setup is similar to that used in laptops, which is not all that surprising as the Asrock Vision 3D 252B uses mobile Intel processors. The CPU and HM65 chipset are cooled via a large silver aluminum heatsink with a copper base. This heatsink is actively cooled via a tiny 35mm fan, while the Nvidia GeForce GT540M graphics card also shares this airflow using a small array of aluminum fins which are connected to a large copper base. This combination keeps the Vision 3D 252B both quiet and cool.

The memory bandwidth performance of the Asrock Vision 3D 252B is comparable to that of the CoreHT 252B as it uses the same Core i5-2520M processor. The read and write throughput exceeded 17GB/s, which is around 10GB/s faster than that of the Vision 3D 135B.

The L2 cache performance of the Asrock Vision 3D 252B was also impressive as it was slightly greater than that of the CoreHT 252B. When compared to the Vision 3D 135B, the Vision 3D 252B and its Sandy Bridge processor are considerably faster.

When testing with SPECviewperf we recorded the results from the SolidWorks and Maya tests. As you can see the Asrock Vision 3D 252B is still quite a lot slower than the AMD A8-3850 platform, though it did provide a tangible performance improvement over the Vision 3D 135B and CoreHT 252B mini PCs.

When testing with Povray the Asrock Vision 3D 252B was a fraction slower than the CoreHT 252B as well as the AMD A8-3850 platform. When compared to the original Vision 3D 135B the Vision 3D 252B was 19% faster when comparing the data from the Biscuit test.

The last synthetic test is based on CINEBENCH R11.5 where we compare the OpenGL and CPU performance. Here the Asrock Vision 3D 252B matched the CPU performance of the CoreHT 252B as both units feature the same processor, while it was 46% faster than the Vision 3D 135B. Still the AMD A8-3850 did provide better CPU and OpenGL performance.

The Asrock Vision 3D 252B performed well in Excel 2010 thanks to the Core i5-2520M processor. Although it was slightly slower than the CoreHT 252B which features the same processor, the margin was minimal. This meant that the Vision 3D 252B was 67% faster than the Vision 3D 135B.

The Asrock Vision 3D 252B provided roughly the same performance in our WinRAR test when compared to the CoreHT 252B, making it 47% faster than the Vision 3D 135B.

Adobe Photoshop CS5 saw the CoreHT 252B and Asrock Vision 3D 252B deliver virtually the same result, while the AMD A8-3850 platform was only slightly slower. When compared to the Vision 3D 135B the Vision 3D 252B was 36% faster.

The HandBrake encoding performance of the Asrock Vision 3D 252B is equal to that of the CoreHT 252B, making it 66% faster than the Vision 3D 135B.

The x264 HD Benchmark again saw the Asrock Vision 3D 252B match the performance of the CoreHT 252B, making it 47% faster than the Vision 3D 135B and 5% faster than the AMD A8-3850 platform.

The last encoding test uses TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress and here we found that the Asrock Vision 3D 252B roughly matched the performance of the CoreHT 252B, making it 32% faster than the Vision 3D 135B.

The Just Cause 2 gaming performance was disappointing as the Asrock Vision 3D 252B was just a few frames per second faster than the Vision 3D 135B. This meant that it was still slower than the AMD A8-3850 platform despite using a discrete graphics card.

Despite the average Just Cause 2 performance the Asrock Vision 3D 252B was amazing when testing with Far Cry 2, averaging 60.9fps at 1440x900 opposed to the 46.1fps of the AMD A8-3850 platform. Meanwhile this also meant that the Vision 3D 252B was 90% faster than the Vision 3D 135B.

The Asrock Vision 3D 252B again provided impressive results when testing with Company of Heroes. With an average of 67.1fps it was 13% faster than the AMD A8-3850 and 94% faster than the Vision 3D 135B.

Although the idle power consumption of the Asrock Vision 3D 252B was much lower than the Vision 3D 135B, it was also much higher than that of the CoreHT 252B. Then when placed under load the Vision 3D 252B used slightly more power than the Vision 3D 135B and CoreHT 252B. Still, with a maximum power consumption of just 67 watts we were impressed with the Vision 3D 252B given the performance.

The flagship 252B model that we reviewed stomped the competition in many of our CPU-intensive tests, namely the application and encoding benchmarks. The Core i5-2520M had no trouble outpacing the Vision 3D's Core i3/GeForce duo, the Phenom II X2 560, nor the new A8-3850 APU.

Along with the more powerful Sandy Bridge processor, the Nvidia GeForce GT 540M graphics card was equally important. The GeForce GT 540M provides a significant boost in gaming performance over the original Vision 3D series as well as other HTPC systems with integrated graphics.

We haven't talked about the whole "3D" aspect of the Vision 3D. 3D entertainment is the latest trend in technology, and the Vision 3D supports both gaming and movies in the extra dimension. We're not keen on the movement, but if that's what concerns you the most you shouldn't have any issues playing 3D Blu-ray movies with the box. Gaming performance is bound to suffer when Nvidia's 3D Vision is turned on, so keep in mind you will be limited by the capabilities of a mobile-oriented GPU.

We appreciate the Vision 3D's support for four USB 3.0 ports, and although the HM65 chipset will limit the performance of USB 3.0, it'll still provide a boost over USB 2.0. Meanwhile, the Wireless-N 300Mbps network card is capable of streaming high bitrate content and is an essential feature of Asrock's new HTPC.

In fact, it's these features that make Vision 3D 252B so great, and why Asrock can fetch such a premium price. When we opened the Vision 3D, it was apparent that Asrock didn't cut corners, using only the best components. Finding quality hardware, such as the Western Digital Scorpio Black hard drive lurking inside, was a nice surprise.

-

-

However, before we even found out what was hiding inside, the Vision 3D 252B already impressed us with its aesthetically pleasing design. The Asrock Vision 3D 252B comes in either black or silver and would have no problem fitting into any home entertainment setting. Alternatively, it has enough power to serve as a desktop PC for standard needs and entertainment purposes.

Many of you are probably thinking, "I could build a much more powerful computer for the same price!" And you're right. However, it would be somewhere in the vicinity of 5x larger and consume more than twice as much power, so keep that in mind. For anyone seeking the ultimate small form factor computer, we've found it: the Asrock Vision 3D 252B.