MaximumPC 2004 06

Reviews

MSI MEGA 865 Deluxe

An attractive small formfactor marred by

buggy software

L

ast year, MSI broke new ground in the small formfactor (SFF)

category when it introduced its first MEGA box. Short for MSI

Entertainment Gaming Appliance, the original MEGA merged an

AM/FM clock radio with a small formfactor PC.

The latest MEGA 865 Deluxe improves on the original design with an

updated LED display, faster chipset, and revamped styling. To complete

the package, MSI is offering an optional TV tuner via a chip-based

silicon card. As is the case with ATI’s All-in-Wonder 8500 card, chip-

based tuners change channels faster than more generic “tuner-in-the

box” designs.

The MEGA 865 lets you play the radio or a CD without having to

power the PC. But when the MEGA is powered on, you can use MSI’s

home-grown Media Center III. Not to be confused with Microsoft’s

Media Center software, the app lets you play DVDs, TV, radio, and

view any pictures or video saved on your PC. It’s a good idea, but the

software is glitchy and unreliable; our system occasionally locked up

while we used the software. Even worse, the redesigned slim remote

control exhibits poor range and response.

The MEGA 865 is based on an Intel 865G chipset that offers a single

SATA port, dual-channel RAM support, and compatibility with most P4

CPUs with bus speeds up to 800MHz. Building the MEGA 865 can get

a little tight compared with more spacious SFF designs. Getting the

videocard into the AGP slot, for example, proved difficult and frustrating;

we had to jam the card right into the wiring bundle to get it to fit.

As a multimedia box, the MEGA 865 is on the right track. There are

four-pin and six-pin front-mounted FireWire ports, USB 2.0 ports, and

both headphone and mic

jacks up front. It’s too bad

the buggy Media Center III

software and shoddy remote

performance render the

experience less than optimal.

Here’s hoping that the third-

generation MEGA will get

everything just right.

—GORDON MAH UNG

A pretty

front panel

is one of the MEGA’s most charming features.

Antec Aria

This spacious small formfactor case invites you to

BYOM: bring your own mobo

I

n anticipation of ATI’s HD All-in-Wonder, we’ve been kicking around

the idea of building the ultimate HD PVR home entertainment PC. We’d

obviously prefer to house our system in a box that will sit discretely in

a living room environment, but small formfactor PCs typically limit you to a

single hard drive and PCI slot—and a proper HD PVR system needs more.

Enter Antec’s new Aria enclosure. About the size of a double Delonghi

toaster, the Aria is similar to other small formfactor boxes with a couple

notable exceptions. For starters, you provide the Micro ATX mobo. Sure it’s

a little more work on your part, but in return you have more say regarding

features. What’s more, the Aria’s drive cage lets you mount three hard

drives—two vertically, and one horizontally—a bounty previously unheard

of in an SFF case.

The Aria is solidly built and easy to work on. Simply remove the top

cover, pop off the two side panels and you have unfettered access to the

innards. Even better, the cage that holds the optical drives and hard drives

flips out, so you don’t have to unscrew anything. With a full-length optical

drive mounted in the cage, the clearance between it and the power supply

can be a bit tight, but it fits, and with optical drives getting shorter, space

is even less an issue. The box is powered by an Antec-branded 300-watt

PSU equipped with a 120mm fan.

In respect to home entertainment usage, the Aria comes with a

built-in 8-in-1 media reader that connects to an internal USB header on

a motherboard, as well as a set of USB, FireWire, and audio ports. Of

course, this requires that the mobo you select has corresponding headers

for these ports. Finding a decent Micro ATX board can be a chore, which

makes it all the more surprising that Antec doesn’t recommend any

compatible makes and models in the documentation. (As of press time, the

company had still not responded to our request for a recommendation.)

Still, we can’t help but

drool when we think of the

compact Aria stuffed with

three 400GB Hitachi hard

drives, a SATA controller

card, an All-in-Wonder

Radeon 9800, a Sound

Blaster Audigy 2 ZS, an HD

All-In-Wonder, and a dual-

layer burner.

—GORDON MAH UNG

A pretty

front panel

Sweet look and integrated radio.

FAT ALBERT

RERUN

Media Center software is bug-infested.

$310, http://www.msicomputer.com

MAXIMUMPC VERDICT 7

The Aria’s ability to handle more hardware than the typical

small formfactor makes it a great candidate for housing that

HD PVR box you’ve been dreaming about.

The big 120mm fan makes it a cool machine.

ARIA

KARAOKE

Matching a mobo to the Aria requires some

research.

$120, http://www.antec-inc.com

MAXIMUMPC VERDICT 9

78 MAXIMUMPC JUNE 2004

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