Do you remember the ASUS Terminator 1? I didn?t think so. Neither did I. But the ASUS Terminator is back, with the introduction of the Terminator 2 (T2-P). This system offers an alternative on many aspects of small form factor computing, combining some of the best features of SFF married with the features and thermals of a larger tower system.

ASUS is well known for their ATX-sized motherboards, video card solutions, and various PC peripherals, but their latest venture into the world of SFF is perhaps lesser known. The T2-P is the second generation of their Terminator line, providing a sleek case combined with the custom ASUS P4P8T motherboard. Powered by the Intel i865G + ICH5 chipset, the system supports the latest Pentium 4 Northwood and Prescott processors up to 3.4 GHz.

The T2-P differs significantly from other SFF?s we?ve had in the lab recently, sporting an almost “mini-tower” look rather than the traditional “cube” look associated with many of today?s popular small form factor systems. While the T2-P may be slightly larger than the competition, it packs an amazing punch including a wide range of built-in expansion and peripherals such as dual 5.25” drive bays, an integrated 7-in-1 media card reader, integrated 3.5” floppy drive, integrated AM/FM radio tuner, on-board video, integrated wireless Ethernet, gigabit wired Ethernet, and the ability to play CD?s and the radio without even booting the system! How?s that for a laundry list of features.

Is the ASUS Terminator 2 the right system for your next upgrade? That greatly depends on your intended use. As you?ll soon see, the T2-P doesn?t seem destined for the extreme overclockers in our audience. While you will find a great Bios in this system, what you won?t find are any CPU overclocking controls, and a lack of aggressive voltage adjustments. That said, the T2-P offers some very compelling integrated features and makes a fantastic box for anyone just beginning to dabble in SFF all the way to those full-fledged power users looking for a well-rounded system.

ASUS has included a full set of accessories within the T2-P. You?ll notice a few curious items in the image below.

First, you?ll find two antenna included with the T2-P. Certainly not your normal SFF accessories. These power the integrated AM/FM Radio as well as the integrated 802.11b wireless Ethernet controller. You?ll also find a single Serial-ATA data cable. Where are all the other cables? As is common these days with other manufacturers, ASUS has gone ahead and pre-installed many common cables including parallel ATA IDE and floppy in order to ease the installation process.

Before we get a closer look at the T2-P?s rather interesting case design, let?s review the overall system specifications:

Processor	Intel Pentium 4 / Celeron 478-pin Northwood and Prescott
Chipset	Intel Springdale i865G + ICH5
Memory	2 x 184 pin DDR SDRAM up to 2GB at PC3200
Audio	Realtek ALC650 AC?97 5.1 Channel Audio Controller
LAN	Realtek 8100C 10/100 Fast Ethernet
PSU	Delta Electronics 200W 110/230V AC
Dimensions:	310mm(D) x 190mm(W) x 300mm(H)
Parallel ATA	Two UDMA-100 Dual Channel PATA Ports
Serial ATA	Two UDMA-150 SATA Ports
On-Board Video	Intel Extreme Graphics 2
PCI	1 x 33MHz
AGP	1 x AGP 4X/8X
Other Internal Headers	1 x Floppy Disk 1 x Parallel Port 3 x Fan 2 x CD-In 1 x Modem Connector

Front Panel Connections

2 x USB 2.0 1 x Firewire 1394a (4-Pin) 1 x Firewire 1394a (6-Pin) 1 x Mic In 1 x Headphone Out 1 x SPDIF Out 1 x Power Button 1 x Power LED 1 x IDE Activity LED 1 x 7-in-1 Media Card Reader 1 x LCD 1 x FM/CD Audio Controls

Rear Panel Connections

4 x USB 2.0 1 x PS/2 Mouse 1 x PS/2 Keyboard 1 x VGA (15-Pin D-SUB) 1 x Audio Front Out 1 x Audio Rear Out 1 x Audio Center/Bass Out 1 x RJ45 10/100 LAN 1 x RJ45 10/100/1000 LAN 1 x Serial Port (9-pin) 1 x Parallel Port 1 x PCI Slot 1 x AGP Slot 1 x Wireless Ethernet Antenna 1 x FM Radio Antenna

Now, let?s have a look at this combo SFF “mini-tower” case?

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• External Design - Front (1 of 8)
• External Design ? Rear (2 of 8)
• Internal Design (3 of 8)
• Internal Peripherals & Motherboard (4 of 8)
• Bios (5 of 8)
• Testbench and Utilities (6 of 8)
• Benchmarks (7 of 8)
• Conclusion (8 of 8)