AOpen boosts mini PC for Vista with HDMI, more

Taiwanese computer maker AOpen today launched the MP945-VDR, a new version of its mini PC upgraded explicitly to help it cope with the increased demands of Windows Vista Home Premium. The improved version adds HDMI video output to connect to an HDTV and serve as a Windows Media Center; it also triples the number of USB ports to six, including two at the front for music players and cameras. A second RAM slot has been added that enables quicker dual-channel memory access and a much larger 4GB memory ceiling. The power supply has seen a jump from 65W to 90W to handle the extra demand of all the extra parts.

Performance remains close to the previous VXR edition and depends on the choice of Core or Core 2 Duo CPU. A DVD rewriter is standard while a TV tuner is optional. The VDR is on sale now in Japan and should be available in North America soon. [via Far East Gizmos]