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)
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.

The Case

The MEGA 651's case is constructed from aluminum. Though not as strong as a steel case, it is also not nearly as heavy. Dimensions are 202(W) x 320(D) x 151(H) mm, which slightly wider, but a bit shorter than the Shuttle XPC.

The front of the MEGA 651 is where the real beauty lies. As you can see, the HTPC market is where MSI's initial thinking lay. Aesthetics, as well as functionality are key for a nice HTPC setup. I'll get into the HiFi setup shortly, but let's look at some other areas first.

Rather than having the user stealth their drives, MSI uses a spring-loaded tray panel. When a CD or DVD is ejected, the drive's door pushes the panel down automatically, and it snaps back up as the drive's door is shut.

There are a couple of potential issues here though. For one thing, a slot type DVD drive will obviously use a CD/DVD to push the door open. There is a potential to end up with scratched discs over time, as the panel will constantly scrape up against the bottom of the disc. The other potential problem is MSI only guarantees compatibility with their own drives. Now, I was able to use a couple different Plextor drives with the MEA 651, and encountered no issues, so I'm not exactly sure what compatibility were they referring to. It is a tight squeeze inside, so if your optical drive is unusually long, then you may have a problem. I suppose on the flip side, since MSI does not manufacture slot type drives, this will eliminate the scratched disc possibility.

The other area MSI chose to stealth is the various USB, sound and FireWire connections. The benefit of this panel is that it just looks nicer than having these connections exposed. Obviously, plugging in a device into these connections will negate the benefits of the stealth panel.

Just above is the front connections is the optional card(s) reader. Let's face it, floppy drives are useless (unless you got a RAID array, and are installing Windows NT/2000/XP where you still need a freaking drive A), and this card reader is quite useful. The MEGA 651 supports memory sticks, and CF/SD/MMC memory cards. Upon a fresh Windows install, each drive is assigned a unique drive letter as well.

Should you still want to live pre-2000, MSI includes an extra floppy faceplate if you don't need the card reader. They also throw in a plain faceplate should you want to put an extra hard drive in there instead.

The sides of the MEGA 651 have some ventilation holes to allow some airflow in certain areas. A good idea, albeit flawed somewhat in design, which we will cover more in the cooling section of this review.

The rear of the case is standard fare, with a couple of interesting choices. We have the usual power connection, NIC, PS/2 ports, USB, sound, parallel and serial connections, plus a VGA connection should you choose to use it. One odd item is the 56k modem connection. Yes, it sounds unbelievable, but there are a lot of people without broadband, so just in case it's needed, you have an analogue connection without the need to install a PCI modem.

Another unique choice is the AM/FM connection for radio listening. Simply plug the included antennae up and listen to Rick D's weekly Top 40 to your heart's content.

Despite marketed as an entertainment console, I was a little disappointed that there was no TV-Out. It would have also been nice had a TV-Tuner of some kind was also integrated. Oh well, guess that's why you can always buy a PCI tuner.

For those of you hoping to put the MEGA 651 with your home theater setup, the metal trim around the feet of the PC will keep it from looking out of place.

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.

Cooling & PSU

MSI stuck with traditional air-cooling for the MEGA 651. You won't find anything fancy like heat-pipes here, but they did do a slight variation anyways.

As you can see, the heatsink used is a regular aluminum heatsink. Cooling it works a little differently where you setup the fan on the side to blow air through the heatsink. MSI pre-applies some thermal paste for you. I don't have any specs, but I can tell you it's paste, and not a TIM sticker. Performance seems to be on par with other thermal compounds we've used.

Installation is straightforward (no tools needed), albeit a little tricky. The MEGA 651 is very tight inside, and I found the toughest thing to install was the heatsink for the CPU. I still got it done in under a minute, but word of advice, install the heatsink's fan after installing the heatsink, or you won't be able to see the heatsink's clips catch the socket's notches.

So the heatsink looks interesting, but how does it performs? Well, since we don't have any other cooler that will fit, we'll be comparing numbers with the Intel stock aluminum cooler on the ABIT IC7. Temperatures are done with the cases closed (IC7 was in a Lian-Li PC65U). What we are going to learn from this test is the performance of the MSI cooler in its environment, compared to a standard tower with stock cooling.

Temperatures aren't anything spectacular. In fact, they are terrible in my opinion, but it is within spec of the Pentium 4, and I didn't experience any instability or clock throttling. The above temperatures were without any addon cards though..., when I dropped in our All-In-Wonder 9700 Pro, temperatures spiked up to 63°C while running our UT2003 benchmarks. Ouch.

There are a few reasons why cooling performance isn't that good. One problem is the MEGA 651 is pretty tight inside. This poses a problem because there is nowhere to accommodate a case fan.

Another issue is installing addon cards will block the CPU heatsink's ability to draw cooler outside air. As there is no case fan, the heatsink needs to draw air through a perforated opening on the side of the case. Above is the heatsink installed. Air is drawn into the fan, and blown out the other side. The problem comes up when you want to install an addon card...

As you can see, with a PCI and/or AGP card installed, you end up blocking the fan. Now, air still does circulate, but the airflow is noticably reduced when an addon card is installed. Eitherway, just to confirm, I removed the AIW 9700 Pro, and retested the MEGA 651 temperatures without a card. As I expected, temperatures dropped by about 3°C.

The only fan you'll find, other than the CPU HSF, is the power supply fan. The PSU is a mere 200W, but considering you'll likely only have a CPU, memory, hard drive and a couple cards at most, it should be sufficient. With our complement of a 2.4 P4, 512MB of Corsair TWINX, an 80GB 7200 RPM HDD, 16x DVD, and an AiW 9700 Pro, the system performed admirably, without any crashes or PSU issues.

Noise

Given the amount of fans, you will probably guess the MEGA 651 is quiet, and in guessing so, you are correct. The fans are speed controlled, and only spin at full throttle when the CPU is under 100% load. Even at full speed, noise levels are tolerable. If you're gaming, this probably won't bother you, and mundane tasks like web surfing, or email will be near silent. In fact, on some of the cooler days here, the fan actually stopped spinning when the PC was idle.

Installation and Potential Issue

As you may guess, there isn't much room to work with inside. It would be a good idea to disassemble the drive cages before proceeding.

The hard drive installs into one of the cages beneath the optical drive. It installs in an upside down manner, but it shouldn't cause any problems.

The optical drive is a snap to install. For all the devices, MSI has included more than enough screws for everything.

Though I had no problems installing an ATI AiW 9700 Pro and AiW VE, I did have major issues with the MSI FX5900-VTD128. The card just didn't want to fit. The problem I ran into was one of the screws on the IO panel of the video card was keeping the FX5900 from properly seating. Another issue was the second HSF on the video card's back was pushing up against the PSU wiring, putting pressure on the card. I eventually got it to fit, but I'm a little wary in saying all video cards will work fine. It's best to ask around beforehand if your card will fit in the MEGA 651.

The Motherboard

The motherboard used in the MSI MEGA 651 is the MSI MS-6760 v1.0. It's a SiS based motherboard (SiS651+SiS962) that supports AGP8x, DDR333, and AC'97 sound.

There are two memory slots, supporting up to 2GB of ram. The chipset supports PC2700, though faster modules may work (though only at DDR333). Be aware that MSI officially lists only Kingston brands as compatible, so be wary if you got some generic stuff. We ran some Corsair TWINX PC3200 without any issues.

Being such a compact board, you're not going to find any onboard RAID, though you can easily install an add-on card in the PCI slot for that. There are just two IDE connections, and one floppy connection.

The SiS962 Southbridge is responsible for the lower level functions of the board. USB2.0 support is present, and it is backwards compatible with USB1.1 devices.

Realtek makes its presence here with a couple of its chips. Networking is supported by the Realtek RTL8101L, with supports 10/100 Ethernet. The second Realtek part is the ever popular Realtek ALC 650. We've covered this part in other motherboard reviews, and have always been quite pleased with it. It supports 5.1 sound, and unless you're a true audiophile, I'm sure it'll suit your needs perfectly.

In the event you ever have to reset your CMOS, the battery and jumper are in a rather convenient location at the edge of the motherboard.

The BIOS and Overclocking

Fairly vanilla BIOS here. Other than the usual suspects, there isn't much in the way of tweaking for enthusiasts.

The only real changes you can make that would affect performance are the enabling and disabling of various integrated devices, and some very minor memory adjustments.

As for overclocking& this is something you can just forget about. Unless you got an engineering sample Pentium 4, your multiplier options are naturally missing, but there are also no options for FSB. Well, actually if you have a Northwood "A", which is a 100FSB (400MHz quad pumped) chip, you can perhaps boost it to 133, but that's it. 100 or 133FSB are your only two options. Given the tight confines of the MEGA 651, this is probably a good thing as heat will be an issue if you're serious about overclocking.

Test Setup

MSI MEGA 651 PC: Pentium 4 2.4B, 2 x 256MB Corsair TWINX PC3200 Ram, AiW ATi Radeon 9700 Pro, 80GB Western Digital, Windows XP SP1, ATi Catalyst 3.5.

Shuttle XPC SS51G: Pentium 4 2.4B, 2 x 256MB Corsair TWINX PC3200 Ram, AiW ATi Radeon 9700 Pro, 80GB Western Digital, Windows XP SP1, ATi Catalyst 3.5.

ABIT IC7: Pentium 4 2.4B, 2 x 256MB Corsair TWINX PC3200 Ram, AiW ATi Radeon 9700 Pro, 80GB Western Digital, Windows XP SP1, ATi Catalyst 3.5.

Test software will be:

AVI-to-MPG Encoding
Unreal Tournament 2003
Quake 3: Arena
Jedi Knight 2
Splinter Cell

We'll be comparing the MEGA 651 against the Shuttle XPC SS51, which uses a similar SiS651 based motherboard. We are also throwing an ABIT IC7 Canterwood into the mix to illustrate the performance against a modern day chipset. We will be using a 533FSB 2.4B though, and not a 2.4C, since we already know how well that combo performs.

 

SiSoftware Sandra 2003

Although a synthetic benchmark, it's a popular one, freely available if you wish to make comparison benchmarks. We will be testing the CPU, MMX, and memory speeds.

SiSoft CPU Arithmetic Benchmark

SiSoft CPU Multimedia Benchmark

It's going to be looking very clear that even on a 533FSB, the Canterwood based ABIT IC7 is going to be winning the speed crown, but keep in mind that it is an ATX board, and is not in the same market segment as the SFF PC. Other than that, the MSI MEGA 651 is doing pretty good for itself using a one year old motherboard technology. In SiSoft's CPU tests, the MEGA 651 comes out on top of the Shuttle XPC SS51G, which uses the same chipset.

SiSoft Memory Benchmark

The MEGA 651 wins the Single Channel performance, but is no match for the Dual Channel Canterwood.

PC Mark 2002

In another synthetic benchmark, we can see the MEGA 651 continue its roll, edging out the XPC. No surprises when matched against the 875P though.

PiFast

A good indicator of CPU/Motherboard performance is PiFast version 4.2, by Xavier Gourdon. We used a computation of 10000000 digits of Pi, Chudnovsky method, 1024 K FFT, and no disk memory. Note that lower scores are better, and times are in minutes:seconds.

Lower scores are better

Pretty close here. PiFast will stress the CPU and memory subsystem, so a fast setup will be optimal. The MEGA 651 outpaces the XPC by about 2 seconds. Play with larger numbers, and that time will add up.

TMPGEnc MPEG Encoding

Video editing is a taxing chore, and we'll be testing the Mega PC 651 using TMPGEnc v2.512 to encode a 7.78MB, 1:30 movie trailer to a 24FPS MPG file. Note that lower scores are better, and times are in seconds.

Neither board comes even close to the Canterwood, but the MEGA 651 holds an easy three second lead here. Like PiFast, use a larger video file, and that time will add up.

Unreal Tournament 2003

UT2K3 s a real system killer, and can bring many systems to its knees. We used the , which are excellent tools in testing various resolutions and detail levels. We selected the CPU test, which uses the dm-inferno map.

I was quite impressed with the MEGA 651's performance here, as it performs a full 12FPS faster than the XPC.

Quake 3 Arena, 640x480

It's getting old, I know, but Quake 3 Engine games are still a useful resource to benchmark almost anything. For motherboards and CPUs, we run at the lowest settings and fire away. For Q3, the game was patched to the latest version, and demo four was run.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein, 640x480

For RtCW, the game was patched to the latest version, and demo checkpoint was run.

Jedi Knight 2, 640x480

We ran into a strange problem where the 1.04 patch didn't like our timedemo, so we ran v1.03. We used the demo ffa for testing.

We're seeing the same trend with the Q3 Engine games here, although in Jedi Knight II, there is a larger gap in performance when compared with Quake 3: Arena, and return to Castle Wolfenstein.

Splinter Cell, 640x480

New to our test bench is UbiSoft's 3rd person action game, Splinter Cell. We used the , and I edited the settings to stress CPU performance more so than video.

Splinter Cell can be pretty tough on video cards, but you're going to want a CPU to back it up. The MEGA 651 holds a 6FPS lead over the XPC at 640x480.

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