Small Form Factor.  Those three words seem to be popping up more and more around the web and obviously a lot more around here.  Generally, when I hear SFF I think of the Shuttle XPC line.  I find myself wondering how these little machines can keep up with their much larger, fatter brethren.  It seems amazing that someone sat down with a big tower and said, “how small can I make this without losing any speed?"  What Shuttle and others have done is very impressive, but for some of us it just isn’t small enough.  There are those of us out there who want the smallest machine possible that has just enough power to do what we want.  We want all of this and want it to look great, why?, because we can be that picky.  Welcome to the market, the IWILL ZPC.

Specifications:

Processor
Supports single Intel® Pentium® 4 processor up to 2.53 GHz
Supports single Intel® Celeron? processor up to 2.4 GHz ZPC

Chipset
Intel® 845GV chipset
? 82845GV Graphics and Memory Controller Hub (GMCH)
? 82801DB I/O Controller Hub 4 (ICH4)

Bus Frequency
533/400 MHz system bus

System Memory
1 x DIMM slot
Supports up to 1GB DDR266/200 (PC2100/PC1600) memory

IDE
ATA/100 IDE
Supports one (1) 2.5 in hard disk drive (notebook type)
Supports one (1) “slim-type” optical drive

Audio
Realtek® ALC650
AC’97 Audio CODEC

VGA
Intel® Extreme Graphics
Integrated in Intel® 845GE, 845GV, 845G and 845GL chipsets

LAN
Realtek® RTL8100B 10/100M Fast Ethernet Controller
10/100 Mbps operations

IEEE 1394
VIA® Fire II VT6306 IEEE 1394 Link-Layer/PHY Chipset
2 x IEEE1394 ports (front panel)
400/200/100 Mbps data transfer rate
Supports up to 63 devices
Supports hot-swapping and Plug & Play

Drive Bay(s)
1 x Internal bay for 2.5 in hard disk drive (notebook type)
1 x Internal bay for slim-type optical drive (CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, DVD/CD-RW combo drive)

Interface
2 x PS/2 connectors (keyboard & mouse)
1 x 9-pin 16500-based serial port
1 x VGA port (video)
1 x RJ-45 connector
4 x USB2.0 ports (2 x rear | 2 x front)
2 x IEEE 1394 ports (2 x front)
2 x Rear audio jacks (Line-out | MIC)
2 x Front audio jacks (Line-out | MIC) ZPC

BIOS
2Mb Award BIOS
Flash write protection
Auto-configuration for IDE hard disk type
Multiple boot options

Power
90W power adapter
110V - 240V, full range AC input
DC 19V output from power adapter

Dimensions
7.25 in (W) x 2.13 in (H) x 10.36 in (D) [184mm x 54mm x 263mm]

Package Contents
ZPC barebones system
(Includes motherboard and chassis)
1 x Users’ manual
1 x Power Installer CD
1 x 90W power adapter
1 x Package of screws

Page 2

There aren't too many chances for a review like this.  This isn't going to be a competition between the ZPC and other Small Form Factor machines, because the ZPC sits in a ring basically by itself.  It's not meant to compete with other top of the line systems.  I ran some tests on the system using a P4 1.8 Northwood and a 512mb stick of PC2700.  The numbers aren't impressive enough to put into a graph with my SB61 XPC, but I ran the same tests on my laptop which is more comparable in size and hardware.  To spare the boring numbered details, let's just say they were comparable.  What does comparable mean?  It means that the system is slowed for the same reasons laptops are, which is why the ZPC tends to compete more with a laptop than a desktop.  Even as I write this, I wonder how a desktop would try to compete with a laptop because the logistics of it just doesn't make sense.  Or maybe it is that no one has had the sense yet to try it.

By now we all know that the ZPC is small, but just how small is it?  The dimensions are listed above, but a couple of numbers really don't do it justice.  This machine is tiny. When I opened the packaging box I thought the machine looked big, but then I opened another box, then I pulled out a bunch of tissue and cardboard, and what was left over was not much bigger than most hardcover books which leaves it as slightly bigger than a CDROM drive.  Because the machine is so small, the possibilities of its use are endless. We've all seen the LCD screens they are putting into steering wheels and the backs of seats in cars.  Well now there is no reason why you can't take something like the ZPC and put it underneath your seat or in your glove box.  Businesses can put them in their company cars, boats, planes, or just use them in a cluster.  The ZPC is the size of most small car amps, so imagine having the ability to play endless music through your car, or to watch a movie in your car and then burn it to a disk afterwards just because you can.  Anyways, I've talked so much about the ZPC and you have barely gotten to see it, so let's take a closer look.

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