Use

Before we dive into the performance aspect of the Foxconn Netbox, let us take a quick look at a few interesting and unique functions. First off, it is a huge space saver as an Office PC, as it is very small and can be placed next to the monitor with the included stand. Foxconn has also implemented a separate sleep button, which sends the unit into standby once pressed - this is an excellent functionality, for those who do not want to power down completely at the end of a work day and can thus quickly continue where they left off the next day.


You may also mount the entire unit onto the back of your LCD monitor. As the plastic frame comes with various holes for different VESA mounts, you should not have any problem securing it properly. The only downside is, that there is no way to secure the Netbox in its frame or on the table - with a Kensington lock for example. With a unit this small, thieves could just slip it into their backpack and walk out the building.

Performance

Before we dive into the performance benchmarks, I had to come up with a reasonable set of tests to highlight the main selling points of such a system. The ION platform can utilize an Atom CPU along with the GeForce 9400 IGP on the ION chipset to display full HD content, while keeping power consumption to a mininum. Other tasks like browsing and office work would be nothing new for small form factor PCs as that has been possible with older mini-ITX generations already. Even the new all in one Intel Atom solution, which holds the CPU, GPU and chipset in a single package cannot manage 1080p output yet as preliminary tests have shown, so ION remains the only one out there for mini-ITX solutions in combination with Atom. This brings us to the second aspect: power consumption. This is another major selling point and we wanted to see how much the entire system draws in standby, idle, load and watching a full HD movie in form of a WMV HD file.

Power Consumption

The power consumption levels are just as I would expect from an ION based Device. Due to the efficient PSU brick, the standby levels are identical to the best on our past review samples. Even in idle the Foxconn Netbox impresses with very low numbers.


Next we are loading the system with a full HD 1080p WMV HD video and also try pushing the CPU load to 100%. As you can see, even at those setting the Netbox stays very power efficient, topping all the other units we have reviewed so far. Only the noise level becomes an issue, since the fan spins at full force to keep things cool

CPU Utilizaton & Temperatures

The 1080p file requires about a third of the total CPU power along with the ION capabilities. History has shown, that the Atom itself is not able to handle such a video file, but with the help of ION all is well.


Due to the very close proximity of both the CPU and IGP, their temperatures are similar when pushed to the limit. While 60°C are alright, the afore mentioned noise problem may be a deal breaker for some, but one cannot have everything - compact, customizable and super silent for an excellent price.

3DMark06

PCMark05

Noise Level

Due to the very compact size, the Foxconn Netbox uses a fan similar to those found in a notebook. Thus even when running idle, there is that constant hum coming from the device. Considering the fact that the IGP temperature only varies by 4 degrees when doing nothing and being pushed, it shows the downside of having everything bunched up so close together. So if the unit is being pushed, the fan does get loud, just like any generic notebook will when playing games for example. Still, the Netbox is quieter than your low-end, budget PC, and about just as loud as an Xbox 360 Slim, so it is certainly adequate for your living room or as an office PC.