Systems: AOpen XC Cube EZ65 :: Conclusion

Okay so just another SFF unit right? Well yeah, but then again no, as the unit has some appeal of its own lurking in this little white box. The self hiding door thing is cool, it's been done buts it's still cool, that and the hidden front panel connectors give it a very sleek look that has clean lines and visual zest. Features wise, well truth to tell it was about dead center average as to what is available on the market today and the XC Cube shows its strength in its small footprint and clean design. This is a system that can go in almost any room in the house without being a constant eye sore as it blends well with its surroundings. The 865 chipset in general has proven to be very solid and reliable P4 platform silicon that has little problem with either most software or hardware configurations so reliability is an almost given fact. Since the unit can be accessed for installing the CPU, memory and AGP card by removing the drive bays it is pretty ergonomically sound for being so small of a system. The CPU fan and heatsink combination was a great design and very easy to attach and detach from the system and has to be one of the easiest to use hands down including those products made by more familiar manufacturers, a very cool feature in my mind.

My opinion is this; if you need small and can handle the ergonomics of the smaller SFF systems then this could be your ticket depending on your personal system needs as the AOpen XC Cube has everything you need in a bare bones system. My only complaint and yes I have one is that nowadays USB has just about completely dominated the peripheral market. I personally need at least six available USB ports to accommodate my needs making the four available on the XC Cube a little light for my needs. I know I know you can always buy a USB hub but, why when I want my PC to be compliant the way it sits, not purchase more equipment. In all fairness though, it seems as if most of the SFF systems only have four USB ports making the XC Cube average in that department so do not judge them too harshly. There are matching components for the XC Cube as you can see here. Things like a matching keyboard, mouse, monitor and even speakers make for a designer feel to the whole XC Cube experience that would go well in an office or dorm room. A little more originality and a few more USB ports would have been nice, but in the end game scenario the XC Cube effectively does what it needs to in a small well designed package that offers stable dependability for the SFF and P4 platform. The unit ran especially quiet, which is a bonus and makes for a almost silent running system. I fell this is a great effort for AOpen, especially in light of the fact this was their first try in the mini SFF market.