Unfortunately, AOpen neglected to included any type of flash memory reader on the XCcube - a standard with small form factor PCs these days. You can install one in the 3.5" if you want, but given the space already available below the media jacks, it would have been better for the end user if Aopen had just worked this in, in the first place.

The large aluminum power button looks very nice and the blue power LED that circles is looks pretty neat when the lights are off. It seems the AOpen engineers like blue... right under the power button is a sharp blue HDD LED too. On the bottom of the unit are little squishy feet - silicon rubber I'd guess - supported in hard clear plastic footings. They provide good friction so the whole computer doesn't slide when you are pulling out cables.

The rear of the EZ65 XCcube PC is well laid out, and the different ports are all colour coded, and easy to access. With the colour coding, referencing the manual is made easier for newbies, especially if you don't know what an SPDIF really is. ;-)

The two slots are for a PCI and 8X AGP device if you decide to install them. The little cover over the brackets swings up, and is easy to screw back down to hold the cards firmly.

The "easy install guide" that comes with this PC is a very detailed guide first time SFF PC users, walking them through the setup process pretty quickly. At the rear of the EZ65 XCcube we find the PS/2 keyboard and mouse jacks, a printer and serial jack, the video connector from the integrated graphics on the Intel i865 chipset, a coaxial RCA output, Firewire, optical SPDIF in, RJ45 network connector, (2) USB2.0 jacks, and a series of head phone and audio jacks.

In a regular computer environment PCs can be noisy. Aopen have built the EZ65 XCcube with sound output in mind, and under power the unit is very, very quiet. The XCcube could easily be used as a HTPC (Home Theatre PC), though with a proper videocard like the Radeon 9800XT Pro, you'll probably hear the little videocard fan whirling away.