More details emerge about the ASUS Essentio CS5110

Do a search for “ASUS Essentio CS5110″ on Google and look what pops up first. That’s right — John Biggs, ladies and gentlemen. John Biggs. Anywho, back in early March there weren’t too many details on the luscious Essentio, but ASUS has furnished us all with more information in the form of a press release. Still notably missing, however, is a launch date and a price tag.

The big features of this little PC include 1080P output, 7.1 surround sound, super-quiet operation thanks to “the world’s first 2-in-1 thermal module that insulates heat from the cooling fan,” and 802.11n + Bluetooth connections.

There’s also a feature called “SPLENDID Video Intelligence Technology” that “optimizes the video performance with intelligent color, brightness, contrast and sharpness correction.”

Perhaps the most impressive feature, though, is that the Essentio is “the world’s smallest Desktop PC equipped with a fully embedded discrete graphic card,” so you’ll be able to enjoy HD content and gaming more-so than you would on similar book-sized PCs.

Here’s the entire press release…

ASUS Takes the Mini PC to a Mighty Level with Essentio CS5110

ASUS Takes the Mini PC to a Mighty Level with Essentio CS5110

Taipei, Taiwan, April 8, 2008 – Extensive research and development have resulted in ASUS innovations that help pack more versatility and performance into compact frames. Packed with innovations, the ASUS Essentio CS5110 is a Mini PC that features exceptional graphics performance as its main focus – and is the world’s smallest Desktop PC equipped with a fully embedded discrete graphic card to give you high definition movie pleasure and smooth gaming fun.

Mighty Fluency – 1080P High Definition Pleasure
Playing HD movies easily and smoothly, the CS5110′s superior graphic quality and HDMI display output allows for entertainment enjoyment in high definition. Through the HDMI-equipped TV or monitor, the digital video and digital audio can be transferred seamlessly.

Mighty Sound – High Quality Audio
The CS5110 supports S/PIDF-output and is equipped with 7.1 Sound output. By connecting to the user’s 7.1 speakers or audio devices, it can deliver an experience of vivid surround-sound for movies and games.

Mighty Quiet – Low-noise Computing Experience
Through the world’s first 2-in-1 thermal module that insulates heat from the cooling fan, the CS5110 has the fastest, most quiet and reliable heat dissipation system. The operation noise level is only at 23.9dB at idle mode, quieter than most other computer systems in the market to provide you with a very comfortable computing environment.

Mighty Versatile – 802.11n & Bluetooth 2.0 Connections
The CS5110 supports 802.11n wireless standard with transmission rates of 300Mbps – 6 times faster in speed and 8 times larger in coverage than the 802.11g standard. Its built-in Bluetooth™ also supports multi-linkage with Bluetooth devices, such as laptops, handheld devices (mobile phones, PDA, etc.), and head/ear phones.

SPLENDID™ Video Intelligence Technology
This technology optimizes the video performance with intelligent color, brightness, contrast and sharpness correction. It also provides video preset mode selections (via the hotkey) and 3 skin-tones to choose from based on the user’s preference. It produces vivid and vibrant colors by enhancing real-time depth and color intensity. With its advanced Area Pixel Processing Algorithm constantly evaluating and adjusting every pixel in every frame, the end result is a dynamically-optimized image with deep and strong colors that are very natural to the human eye. When the visual is dark, for instance night scenes, this technology is programmed to adjust the brightness output of each detail and create a well-balanced contrast so that rainy days will not just look like a total blur on the screen.

Mighty Stylish – Gloss Satin Finish
The outer case of the ASUS Essentio CS 5110 Mini Desktop PC is made by applying high quality double injection techniques, similar to that of famous Italian designer furniture for a luxurious feel. Then the double-injected molding is polished to create the crystal-like glossy dark look to give it that beautiful satin finish.

Specifications

Chipset

- NB: G35
- SB: ICH8

CPU

- Intel Core2 Duo/Pentium Dual-Core/Pentium 4/Celeron D
- 800~1333 MHz FSB

Memory

- DDR2 800, Dual Channel
- So-DIMM Slot: 2
- Support max. 4GB

ODD

Slim slot-in Blu-ray SuperMulti or DVD SuperMulti

HDD

3.5″ 250G~1TB SATAII

Graphic

MXM MN8600M GT 256M

AUDIO

- Azalia 7.1 Sounds
- S/PDIF out (Optical)

LAN

1000/100/10 Mbps

WiFi

802.11b/g/n

Bluetooth

Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)

IR Receiver

Built-in

Front IO

- 1 x 1394 (4pin)
- 1 x 10-in-1 Card Reader
- 1 x Headphone
- 1 x Microphone
- 2 x USB 2.0

Rear IO

- 1 x HDMI
- 1 x VGA
- 1 x DC Power in
- 1 x Line-In/Line-Out(Front L/R)/Mic-in
- 1 x Back Surround LR/Side Surround LR/Center LFE
- 1 x SPDIF out (Optical)
- 1 x RJ45 LAN
- 4 x USB2.0

OS

Vista Home Premium

Dimension (mm)

200mm (D) X 290mm (H) X 80mm(W)

Weight

3.4 kg

Power

120W

Accessory

- 1 x Slim Multimedia Keyboard/Mouse
- 1 x Vista MCE remote controller(IR)
- 1 x HDMI to DVI adapter
- 1 x Anti-Slip Pad