Asus
touts the machine as the world's smallest desktop PC to include a "fully
embedded discrete graphics card," and it features home-theater-friendly features
like support for a slim Blu-ray drive, HDMI video output, and a very small
footprint. Measuring only 7.9" x 11.4" x 3.1" (or 20 x 29 x 8 cm), the Essentio
CS5110 includes an Intel G35 Express chipset, two DDR2-800 SO-DIMM memory slots,
an Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT 256MB MXM graphics module, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Gigabit
Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.0, 7.1-channel S/PDIF audio output, and a copy of Windows
Vista Home Premium. Users are free to install an Intel Core 2 Duo or Pentium
processor of their choice together with one 3.5" 300MB/s Serial ATA hard drive,
and Asus offers the system with either a Blu-ray "SuperMulti" drive or a DVD
burner. Despite the amount of hardware that little box can contain, Asus says it
has gone to extra lengths to make it quiet. The company's press release mentions
"the world's first 2-in-1 thermal module that insulates heat from the cooling
fan," and it says the machine only has a noise level of 23.9dB when sitting at
idle. Asus hasn't announced any specifics regarding the system's launch date or
price range just yet.