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Heavy Gear October 2004 • Vol.4 Issue 10 Page(s) 19 in print issue |
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AOpen EX915 |
 EX915 $399 AOpen (888) 972-6736 usa.aopen.com CPU Rating: 3 Specs: LGA775 socket, 2GB max PC3200 DDR, Intel 915G/ICH6, 5.1 Realtek audio, PCI GbE LAN, 4 SATA headers, 1 PATA header, 1 5.25-inch bay, 1 3.5-inch bay, 1 x16 PCIe, 1 PCI, 4 USB 2.0, 3 FireWire, and optical and coax SPDIF If you're going to compete in the SFF space, somehow, some way, you must beat Shuttle. AOpen's new EX915 squares off against Shuttle's SB81P with the same 915G chipset at the same price. The EX915 is smaller and considerably easier to build. The shrouded, side-blowing CPU heatsink assembly uses a 70mm fan blowing through copper fins shot through with four copper heat pipes. The power supply is a four-phase, 275W unit that, while below Intel's recommended specs for a PCI Express graphics-enabled system, proved more than adequate for a stocked box thanks to AOpen's solid engineering. When idling, the EX915 is dead silent. On performance, the EX915 performs roughly on par with other 915G configurations. Running with only a P4 520 (3GHz) and 512MB of Corsair PC3200 TwinX in dual-channel mode, my EX915 hit a 1339 3DMark03 score with default settings, whereas the Shuttle SB81P I reviewed last month hit 1314 with significantly stronger components. Compared against Shuttle's ST61G4 based on ATI's 9100 IGP chipset running a 3GHz P4 Northwood, the EX915 scored 3878 in PCMark04 vs. the ST61G4's 3735. While I prefer the curved, faux metal grille fascia over AOpen's prior generation XC Cube "toaster" look, the interior design shows remarkably little innovation. You get a removable drive cage that holds both external drives (one 5.25 inch; one 3.5 inch) and has a 90-degree rotated HDD cage that slides onto the cage's bottom. Cable management is fair, but you'll need to supply your own Molex splitter if you plan on using a high-end x16 graphics card. AOpen does a good job stocking the front and back with I/O ports but backs some of them with the wrong components. AOpen ditches Intel's excellent Gigabit LAN and HD Audio functionality and instead uses a gimpy Broadcom GbE chip tied to the PCI bus and Realtek's outdated 5.1 ALC655 audio chip. There are four SATA connectors on the motherboard but only one internal drive bay and no RAID support. Go figure. The EX915's heatsink does get noisy under a heavy load, and there is almost no provision for overclocking, but my system did prove stable. The EX915 is no headline grabber and doesn't quite earn its price tag, but it's still a respectable SFF box.  by William Van Winkle |
