A low power subsystem for a portable computer is described. In one example, the portable computer includes a computer system and low power multimedia center. The computer system includes a central processing unit, a system memory, a mass storage device, and a user interface, the computer system having a low-power mode in which the CPU, system memory, and user interface are inactive. The low-power multimedia center includes a low power processor coupled to the mass storage device, a low power memory coupled to the low power processor, a miniature display to display multimedia from the mass storage device, and an external user interface coupled to the processor, independent of the computer system to control the displaying of multimedia.