I'll admit it, I was a skeptic when the first SFF PCs
were released by Shuttle in 2002... smile Cameron! Back then they were
more of a novelty than anything else, since they were severely underpowered when
compared to a regular PC. After a few years and a bit of innovation in the
industry, I'm now a believer; these little PCs simply rock!
Soltek has done an
excellent job with the EQ3501-300PW QBiC Mania. Whether you love or hate its
unique styling, Soltek has put together a distinctive SFF PC which does not look
much like any other computer you are likely to see.
While the EQ3501-300PW QBiC Mania is slightly larger
than your average SFF PC, it has two open 5-1/4" drive bays, making it perfect
as a desktop replacement. Those of you who access and copy CDs or DVDs will
certainly appreciate that.
There's a lot of space to work with in the QBiC but
Soltek could have done a slightly better job organizing, as once everything is
installed space is at a major premium.
Another thing Soltek should have done was to anodize the aluminum chassis. This
way the panels would not stick together when they are being moved around.
The Soltek EQ3501-300PW QBiC Mania is not just pretty; it's
also one fast 915G-based machine according to our benchmarks! The performance of
this little PC was outstanding and it was often battling it out for top spot
against supposedly faster full systems. The memory bandwidth numbers are a bit
on the low side, but that didn't really affect the office or gaming benchmarks
one bit.
With a retail price of $320 CDN ($260 US), the Soltek
EQ3501-300PW QBiC Mania is moderately priced and will definitely attract a lot
of attention, it's not just fast it's also probably the most unique SFF PC on
the market today!
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