A Closer Look - Inside

One has to remove four screws and then pull off the top cover to gain access to the interior of the Netbox. As you can see, it is quite clear where each of the two missing components goes. Foxconn has lined these areas with a protective layer so that you do not end up shorting anything once the memory and hard drive is installed.


A small radial fan can be found on the top rear corner. It covers both the CPU and chipset. Even though the model name on there is exactly the same as the one used in the ION version of the Netbox, this one is much quieter. A wireless card is built into the unit. It can handle b/g/n networks - which is a step up from the b/g one in the ION box.


The memory and hard drive locations have remained unchanged. The fusion platform requires a DDR3 SO-DIMM and you can place a 4 GB module in here at most. The PCB is lined with a protective sheet, which has been glued to the circuit board, so I did not dare to pull it off.


There is quite a bit more pressure on the screws holding the cooling assembly in place. This may be the reason why the NT-A3500 ends up being quieter than the ION variant. The minuscule AMD A35 chipset is located closer to the vent and is covered by traditional thermal paste, while the larger E-350 CPU utilizes a thick thermal pad instead.