Sapphire Edge HD2 Mini PC Review

Firstly, I’d like to mention that this is the first complete system review that we’ve ever performed at eTeknix so just like you, the readers, we were unsure as to what tests and analysis we were going to carry out, but we feel straight away that we’ve covered all bases when it comes to the type of audience that this particular product would be aimed at.

In regards to styling , a picture really does say a thousand words, and the closer look page really does capture the essence behind this mini PC, but also giving a bit of my first hand view on the Edge HD2 and I have to admit, it looks fantastic. There are many reasons as to why we think it looks fantastic, and it’s not only down to the size of the unit, because yes it is extremely slim, but does offer something extra as well. The material used is a rubber style surface and simply gives a nice look to the end product, but the thing I love about the design on the Edge HD2 is more about the shape and orientation.

The unit comes with everything to get you going in terms of VESA mounting it onto the rear of your television, which sadly (as mentioned) we had issues here, but that’s down to the television more than the mini PC and it’s supplied bracket. When installed vertically, it mixes in with other typical devices that the average consumer is likely to have and that’s down to the sheer amount of people placing routers and access points next to their televisions. The shape and size of the Edge HD2 could easily be mixed up with being a router or other networking based device, and in our opinion that is either a lucky mistake or pure genius.

The Edge HD2 comes in two flavours, whether you want a basic unit or with Windows 7 Ultimate installed and taking a quick look at that, we honestly feel that Windows 7 Ultimate is a bit unneeded and Home Premium would have sufficed and most likely cut down on cost a bit.

Talking of cost, the FreeDOS version seems to retail anywhere between £250 – £316 depending on where you like to shop, but sadly the Windows 7 version isn’t so freely available and comes with a premium at around £420 which is a big ask for a product of this nature but it all comes down to if the performance can outweigh the price.

Sadly it can’t outweigh the price, and we were really hoping that it could as we like the idea and positively love the styling behind the Edge HD2, but feel that the Atom based processor and ION graphics components just aren’t enough and are keen to invite Sapphire to see about manufacturing an AMD Fusion based machine, as Llano would have to be compensated by a bulkier design, whereas Fusion should allow for the small form factor and slim design to continue whilst offering better performance and most importantly in our eyes; DirectX 11 which opens up more doorways in terms of light gaming and better HD playback.