The AspireRevo sports VGA and HDMI ports, and streams music, photos, and 1080p video with aplomb. But when it comes to HD video output, Ion trumps typical integrated graphics from Intel right now. Gaming still isn’t an option–the system produced just 12 frames per second in our Unreal Tournament 3 tests (at 1024 by 768, and highest settings).

We’ve sung the praises of nVidia’s Ion platform before, and the GPU-maker’s integrated graphics product turns the AspireRevo into a real contender. While they’re generally serviceable for basic browsing and e-mail tasks, the R3610’s nVidia Ion graphics also give it media-center potential–as does its compact 7.1-by-7.1-by-1.2-inch size. These Lilliputian systems provide a fraction of a traditional desktop’s power at a fraction of the size and cost. In the case of the $330 (as of February 1, 2010) Acer AspireRevo R3610, make sure to bless it with HDMI output and 1080p video playback, too.

Take a low-power, silent desktop, and stuff it with netbook components.

Acer windows 7