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HiFi Features
Operating the HiFi features is a piece of cake. For those who are couch impaired, MSI includes a nice remote where you can control most aspects of the MEGA 651 in HiFi mode. A mouse replacement it is not. There is no touch pad similar to the ATI Remote Wonder, let alone any software to allow mouse control.
For those of you who don't mind getting up now and then, the MEGA 651's HiFi operations are clearly labelled on the front of the case. To turn it on, press on the HiFi button. This will power the HiFi portion, but not the PC itself. You have a button for playback mode, and an eject button for the CD.
Just beneath, much like an audio device, you have your options to skip, go back and pause tracks. You also have a nice sized volume knob as well, that isn't so big that it detracts from the case design. Next to it, you have front backlit LCD. When you pop in a music or MP3 CD, the lights got to work and display track and time information, as well as some funky bars that dance to the music. Note that your PC does not need power to do this, but just the HiFi portion. This means that even if you install an add-on sound card, and disable the onboard sound, the HiFi will still work.
As we've already mentioned, music and MP3s play with the MEGA 651's HiFi component, but DVDs do not. Granted, with a TV-Out video card, you need power to the PCI slots, so it makes sense for the PC needing to be on.
Speaking of power, one item that is a bit of concern is the CD drive is constantly powered. This is the case whether or not the HiFi or the PC itself is powered off. This means that the PSU is powered on, and therefore the unit is constantly generating a bit of heat. It doesn't get hot, but it is warm to the touch. Because the MEGA 651 does not have a power switch to the PSU, you will have to pull out the power cable if you don't plan on using the computer for a while.
Another power issue I have is that the HiFi portion will only work with the PC turned off. This poses a problem if you've become attached to the nice backlit display, because this display only works when the PC is powered off (!). With the PC powered on, it merely displays the time. Something useful, like displaying music info or system temperatures would have been nice. You have full functionality of the CD player, and the radio (with MSI's radio software) with the PC on, but the display won't be nearly as interesting.
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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.
