AOpen XC Cube EU965

Conclusions:

The case has a lovely finish but I can't say that I'm a huge fan of the looks which, in the flesh, come across as far too plastic. While most people never change their hardware once they've set their PC up for the first time, the missing reset switch, combined with the BIOS lock-up issues, makes for frustrating times for a system tester/builder. The selection of front I/O ports is good, especially both 4-pin and 6-pin Firewire and with the flip down door going back into the case means you can’t accidentally remove it.

There’s a serious lack of usable USB ports though, and as everything you can possibly imagine is USB powered or connected these days, it’s a major annoyance. You shouldn’t have to dig around for a PCI backplate (since you aren’t provided with one) or go and buy a USB hub because there are ten ports supported natively on the G965 chipset.

The XC Cube is exceptionally quiet when running, although the CPU cooler and airflow could be better thought through. Again, the Shuttle XPC “P” chassis manage airflow much better than AOpen has here, but those cases are slightly bigger than the XC Cube. There is still a PCI-Express x16 slot for a graphics card, and as a LAN PC it's not too bad: a GeForce 7600 or Radeon X16x0 series card is still capable of kicking out the frames at an acceptable rate of knots. Couple it with a cheap 17” TFT and it’s an easy combination for transport, especially if you don’t have a car. Obviously, a little fan on a 7600/X16x0 series card will ramp up the noise quite a bit and a passively cooled version will either not fit or be particularly effective in such confined quarters.

Stability is exceptionally good, surviving a weekend (48 hours) of our stress test with a GeForce 7600 GT, 2GB of memory and Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 CPU. Even as a small case it just keeps working without issue. You don't even need the memory timing adjustments. They would be nice, but essentially it makes this a plug in and play piece of hardware that works well in all general scenarios.

Onboard video quality varies quite considerably; at lower resolutions, on a CRT it doesn’t look that bad, but anything upwards of 1280x1024 and the quality takes a nose dive into blur and headache central. If you’ve got a large monitor, or even a TFT you will probably want to invest in a discrete graphics card as well.

As I said previously, using a standard ATX connector means you can use it for a mod project pretty easily. Removing the board from the case requires very little effort, and the custom mounting for the CPU cooler can easily be unscrewed. Also, with most of the USB and other ports being pin-outs, this means you can route them wherever you like if you’re intending on making a custom case.

Value:

You can get it from the well known etailer Komplett for £291 but Froogle points us to Zomp Shop for just £240 including VAT. This is quite expensive - especially at £291 - as you could be picking up a top of the range, better-designed Shuttle XPC for a little more. Even at £240, it is still quite an expensive case and motherboard barebones. However, it's fair to say that you won't be buying a Radeon X1950, or GeForce 8800 series card to put in it. Instead, you'll be buying a mid-range card in conjunction with a selection of mid-to-low end components (like the Core 2 Duo E4300) which means the overall cost isn't too excessive.

Final Thoughts...

AOpen has added some cool finishing touches to its SFF chassis, like the plastic washers on the thumbscrews so you don't scratch the paint, and the foam across the front and inside so everything transports without breaking or scratching amongst other things. However, we can't help but feel that AOpen needs to go back to the drawing board to iron out the XC Cube's kinks because it’s just not 100 percent there yet.

The insides need to be organised better for improved airflow and the rear I/O panel needs to be re-planned. Once these problems have been addressed and providing that AOpen carries over everything that's good about the current design, the company might have something as good as, if not better than, Shuttle's trend-setting XPC range.

(onboard video)
(discrete video)