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Lately, the small form factor market has gotten to be a little stale. For the most part, the "enthusiast" labelled SFFs are still small cubes. Sure, there have been improvements, notably the addition of AGP slots, and improvements to motherboard hardware, but not much has been changed to the basic model.
MSI, long time motherboard and video card manufacturer, has upped the ante somewhat with their MSI Entertainment and Gaming (MEGA 651) PC. Like other popular SFFs, the MEGA 651 is still "cube" in appearance, and offers support for fast CPUs and an AGP slot, but it has some unique ideas that target those specifically looking into building a Home Theater PC (HTPC).
Specifications
| CPU |
• Intel® Pentium® 4
• Socket 478
• FSB 533/400MHz |
| Chipset |
• SiS® 651
• SiS® 962 |
| Memory |
• DDR333/266/200 x 2
• Max. 2GB |
| Expansion Slots |
• PCI Slot x1
• AGP 4X |
| On-board USB |
• USB2.0 x4 |
| On-board IEEE1394 |
• Integrated SiS 1394 Controller
• UPD72852 PHY
• Front Panel con. x2 |
| On-board Modem |
• MDC module |
| On-board Sound |
• Integrated Realtek ALC650 AC'97 Codec
• 6 Channel |
| On-board VGA |
• Integrated VGA Engine in NB chipset |
| LAN |
• RealTek RTL8101L Fast Ethernet Controller
• 10Mb/s and 100Mb/s auto-negotiation operation |
| On-board Connectors |
Rear Panel:
| |
Parallel port x1
Serial port x1
VGAx1
PS/2 x2
Mic-In/Line-In/Line-Out x1
USB x2
LAN (RJ45) x1
SPDIF x1
Modem (RJ11) x1 |
Front Panel:
| |
Mic-In/Headphone x1
USB x2
SPDIF x1
1394 x1 (4 pin)
1394 x1(6 pin) |
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| Card Reader Function |
6-in-1 Flash Card Reader |
| TV Tuner Function |
MS-8606 TV Tuner Card (Optional) |
| Power off Function |
Playback for MP3, Audio CD, AM/FM Radio Tuner (Remote Controller) |
| Power Supply |
200W (PFC) |
| Chassis |
202(W) x 320(D) x 151(H) mm |
| Packing Dimension |
279(W) x 435(D) x 360(H) mm |
| MEGA PC Warranty Policy |
15 Months Parts and Labor from the Manufacturing Date |
| Note |
Due to proprietary mechanical design, MSI only guarantees the compatibility of the MEGA PC with MSI's own Optical Storage Devices:
DVD-ROM: MSI 16x DVD-ROM (MS-8216)
CD-RW: MSI 52x24x52 CD-RW (MS-CR52-A2) |
Note that the MEGA 651 only supports up to an Intel Pentium 2.8GHz, 533FSB processors. There is no support for 800MHz CPUs, Hyper-Threading, AGP8x and SATA. This is due to the limitations of the motherboard used. There are AMD versions planned, but I do not have an ETA to pass on to you.
Packaging and Contents
The MSI MEGA 651 PC ships in a large black box. Having previously worked with the Shuttle XPC, I was a little surprised by the size of the packaging. I suppose for those of you who worry about stuff bouncing around in transport, the packaging should ease your concerns a little.
Out of the box, you have the MEGA 651, manual, driver CD, PowerDVD, a remote, some faceplates, screws, heatsink and an antennae.
MEGA M3122 2.0 Speakers
Not a standard part of the package, but something MSI tossed our way anyways are a pair of MEGA M3122 2.0 speakers. They are the same height as the MEGA 651, and are designed to match. The speakers are housed in wood, and are painted silver with to match the PC.
Installation is a painless affair, where the left speaker connects to the right speaker via a cable. The right speaker's controls for balance, bass and volume reside in the rear. For desktop use, this is a bit of an annoyance as you have to reach into the back to adjust the volume, but I suppose for aesthetics it keeps unsightly knobs out of sight.
Sound quality is average at best. The speakers are each rated for 3W RMS, which is isn't enough to shake the house down. Sound was clear, though somewhat muffled. Without a subwoofer, there simply isn't enough bass to make music listening, let alone gaming, sound convincing.
One thing to be aware of if you decide to pick these speakers up is that should you align it as above, you'll end up blocking the air vents on the sides of the cases. As we'll see later on, the MEGA 651 needs all the cooling it can get, and this wouldn't be a good thing in the thick of summer.
Next Page - The Case
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MSI MEGA 651 PC: The MSI MEGA 651 PC is a full-function multimedia PC that combines information and entertainment to offer hi-fi stereo, DVD/VCD, MP3, TV and high-performing computer functions.
