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.

More Install/Tests

 

Drives Installed

The drives were decently easy to screw in.  The drive rack came far enough out to allow the front screws for the hard drive to be installed.  Hooking up cables to the drives was perhaps the most awkward thing during the assembly of the system.  The top of the case doesn?t come off and can hinder movement somewhat.  The IDE cables also didn?t have the best route to go.  It wasn?t really hard, but it wasn?t as simple as some of the other SFF?s out there.  Mainly it just requires more steps to get things installed, but with some experience you should be able to get around inside without much trouble at all.

 

Drives Installed - Cover On

The Test:

These tests are included just to let you know that the system was stable, performed how it should and that there were no issues with the hardware.  Without onboard video, I didn?t do the normal comparisons with it enabled/disabled, so we are just looking at some general performance numbers here.  I ran into no stability issues at all and the Hornet performed as it should and the power supply had no trouble feeding the GeForce FX.

System Setup:

Monarch Hornet PC
Athlon XP 1800+
512MB Mushkin PC3200
40GB Seagate Barracuda ATA IV Hard Drive
Pioneer 16X DVD
Chaintech Apogee FX71 5600 Ultra

SiSoft Sandra 2003 CPU
SiSoft Sandra 2003 Memory
3DMark 2003
Quake 3

 

Sandra:

 

 

3DMark:

 

Quake 3:

 

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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)