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.

Installation

Installation:

Thumbscrews hold the motherboard tray in place and it can be removed to install the CPU, heatsink, RAM and cards.  The system doesn?t come with a heatsink so you will need to get one or use the one that came in the boxed AMD CPU package.  There is not a lot of clearance for the heatsink so you can?t use something that is really large or the power supply will be in the way.

Below you can see the heatsink that I used ? a Coolermaster.  Not only will the power supply hinder larger heatsinks, the ATX power cord goes right over the top of the heatsink and hinders airflow to the cooler.

 

Heatsink Installed

Installing even a large video card was not a problem with the Hornet.  I used a Chaintech 5600 Ultra which has a clear shell around the front of the card and raises the height just a little bit.  It was a close fit, but there were no problems installing it.

 

Video Card

 

Video Card Clearance

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• Installing Drives (0 of 5)
• Assembly (0 of 5)
• More Install/Tests (0 of 5)
• Installation (0 of 5)
• Conclusion (0 of 5)