Desktop computers tend to be a bit more hacker-friendly than netbooks. Most have cases that are easily taken apart and expansion ports for extra hard drives, disc drives, memory, and PC cards. But nettops tend to be a bit harder to upgrade since the whole point of a nettop is to cram a low power PC into a very tiny case, leaving little room for expansion options.

But the VIA ARTiGO A1100 is a bit different. This little nettop is powered by a 1.2GHz VIA Nano processor and VX855 media processor. The system has an HDMI port and, 5 USB ports, Ethernet, 3 audio ports, and optional 802.11b/g/ WiFi and SD card reader. All those components fit into a 5.7″ x 3.9″ x 2″ case. It weighs just 1.3 pounds.

What you don’t get is a hard drive or memory. The idea is that you can add your own 2.5″ hard drive and DDR2 RAM. The ARTiGO A110 can handle Windows XP, Vista, or 7 or Linux, but it ships without an operating system.

There’s still not a lot of room for adding additional components, but the ARTiGO A1100 is designed to let you crack open the case and use the hard drive or solid state disk and memory of your choice.

You can pick one up from VIA’s online store for $243.

There’s a demo video from VIA after the break.

via VIA

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8 replies on “VIA introduces ARTiGO A1100 barebones nettop”

  1. Windows 7 (mini version), XBMC, Utorrent, RDC and you have an HDMI capabale, Torrent downloading, Remote Desktop Movie player!! 🙂

  2. If it is designed to be able to crack open the case, it does not seem very accesable. It looks like a tight squeeze to insert anything. The price seems on the high side since it does not come with a hard drive or any ram. At least one is not paying for an operating system that one might not want. I wonder how it would compare to other netops that includes a hard drive, ram and an OS (assuming the total cost for the above includes buying that parts that is needed)?

  3. Your right about Linux and I was going to mention it but did not. By the time you add the necessary parts you can get something with an os and wipe it out if you choose. Not having a dvd plyaer is a biggie for me. Many small desktops will run at 40 watts or less for the same money once you add it all up. I am sure it’s worth the money. I am waiting for the final ( beta 2 current)of Ubuntu lucid lynx and the ati driver, I love the new look and what Linux is doing.

  4. Add at least $150 for ram and a hdd, and wait no OS. No DVD player.
    Not much of a bargin to me.

    1. Linux is free and happens to be a superior operating system once you get to know it (which could take a few weeks). I agree with you about the ram and HDD bit, though. On the other hand, depending on how much power it uses, it might pay for itself if you can power off the desktop for a while each day.

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