Monarch Hornet SFF PC by Article Admin
We have seen quite a few SFF systems from several manufacturers, but this review is a bit different. Monarch Computer Systems (MCS) doesn?t actually manufacture boards or anything ? they are simply a reseller. When we heard they were offering a custom SFF we had to take a look at it. Though they don?t actually manufacture the system, they do build them to order. The system consists of a mATX enclosure, a mATX motherboard for AMD or P4, and a power supply. You can customize the system anywhere from just barebones to have them build the entire system for you. In addition to the case, MCS has added a handle to the front as well as the Hornet logo, or an MCS logo or no logo at all if you want. You also have the option of adding a windowed side. That?s the basics; let?s take a look at the specifications.
I will list the specs of the system that we tested, though there are other configurations available. On the Intel side of things they offer Asus P4P800-VM, Intel GLCLK, and Gigabyte GA-8IG1000MK motherboards. On the AMD side there are the Chaintech 7NIL1 and 7NIF2 boards available. Our test sample shipped with the 7NIL1. You can put any mATX motherboard in that you like which makes this SFF probably the easiest to upgrade of any others.
Specifications:
Chaintech 7NIL1 Motherboard
Nvidia nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset
200/266/333/400 MHz FSB Support
3 DIMM Slots support up to 3GB
USB 2.0 (4 Front, 2 Rear)
Onboard LAN
2x ATA/100 Ports
CMedia 9738 4-Channes AC’97 Audio
3 PCI Slots
1 AGP Slot
200W Power Supply
?Noise Killer? Fan Speed Controller
2 Thermometers front-mounted
Front-mounted handle
Accessories:
The accessories that come with the Hornet are basically what comes with the case and motherboard, along with an installation manual. I would like to see Monarch include a second IDE cable and even better, rounded ones and a round floppy cable as well would be nice.
Conclusion
Conclusion:
Being the first foray into the SFF market, Monarch has tried to do something a little different. The positives about the Hornet is that it is much easier to upgrade than other SFF systems, there is more room for more cards, room for more drives, but as such it is a larger system. I have talked with some people about it and some don?t even consider it a true SFF being that it is a mATX case. I would tend to agree with them. The Hornet is definitely a good system for LAN gaming, it?s small enough to be portable and has a built-in handle. It kept cool and ran great, and I never had any troubles with it running anything. However, there are several issues. The handle I feel is too small, and there is the problem with the placement of the fan controller. The ATX cable restricts airflow to the CPU cooler and someone mounted the thermometers upside down. The least that Monarch could do is improve on the QA just a bit and make sure that there is a procedure that all their technicians building their machines will follow. If the drive bay was meant to be removed, we don?t need to have that ability blocked because someone putting together the system wasn?t thinking straight. Sure, I could remove the fan controller and add some new 3M foam and attach it in a more logical position, but I shouldn?t have to.
Price is also a concern. For a price similar to other SFF systems you get something that may not have all the features that they do. Firewire and optical in/out ports would be a welcome addition. You can use your own preferred mATX motherboard to get these features though. This is something that you will have to decide. While the Hornet has the advantage of being upgradeable to future mATX motherboards and you can use your preferred board, you may have to pay a bit more for it. A mATX motherboard with integrated video, firewire, optical in/out, TV-out and support for front panel USB, firewire and audio isn?t going to be cheap.
Though there are some things that could be improved upon, the Hornet also has advantages going for it as well. The removable motherboard tray is a huge plus as it makes installing cards very easy. The Hornet is also more expandable than other SFF?s. You could add in RAID very easily along with a high end audio card, an AGP video card and have a PCI slot left over for something else. But again, this makes for an overall larger system. The shot above shows the Hornet next to the Biostar iDEQ. The Biostar is significantly smaller than the Hornet. Whether or not the space issue is important is up to you though. Some may prefer having 3 PCI slots, while some will prefer the smallest system they can get their hands on. Which type of person are you? Do you think the Hornet is your ideal system? Let us know in the forums.
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