The AOpen XC Cube EZ65 retail box contains the case and motherboard already assembled, and with all internal cabling attached. The other components include a CPU heatsink-fan, floppy (x1) and Parallel IDE (x2) "thin cables", one Serial ATA cable, one Serial ATA power adapter, a power cable, a hardcopy user manual, a quick install guide, a driver CD, and an assortment of fixed screws. The retail package includes everything you will need to fully assemble the XC Cube EZ65, and the documentation features a ton of informative pictures and diagrams to help you on your way.
Once the XC Cube EZ65 is opened up and laid bare, we get a better idea of what we're dealing with. The overall layout is quite good for such a small system, and AOpen has really done their homework concerning the best use of internal space. The first item of business is the removable drive bay. This attaches via two standard screws, and has enough room for three devices. The standard configuration is to add an optical, floppy and hard drive to the mix, although the floppy bay can serve duty for a second hard drive if required.
The rest of the internal components are laid out extremely well, and the 220W power supply is a slim line design that takes up very little room. The main power cord is attached to the upper case frame, and also covered in a plastic housing for safety. It really is pretty amazing how open the internals really are, especially with the amount of onboard components and pre-attached cabling.
The UX4SG-1394 motherboard may be small, but it certainly packs a punch. It is powered by the i865G chipset, and features two DIMM sockets, an AGP slot, a PCI slot, one floppy and two parallel ATA connectors, and even dual Serial ATA ports. This is serious hardware for a small form factor PC, and rivals many desktop configurations. The overall specifications are definitely high-end, with only the dual DIMM sockets coming at the cost of a smaller system footprint. Even so, these can handle a maximum of 2-GB of dual-channel DDR400.
The CPU socket is located in a central, open area of the motherboard, which is important due to the installation of both the CPU and heatsink-fan. We had no problem with the processors, and AOpen's bundled HSF is very easy to install and remove. This model features a side-mounted fan design, and with AOpen's SilentTek feature (modulates fan speeds based on core temperature), it kept the XC Cube EZ65 stable and quiet through all our testing. There is also a case vent right next to the side-mounted CPU fan, thus driving hot air outside the case.
The AGP slot also has a side-vent for air intake, and due to the limited space, AOpen recommends low-profile AGP cards only. While it may be possible to install higher-end video cards (with a power extension), we found that the Radeon 9600 and GeForce FX 5600 range of products offered the best potential fit, while not sacrificing performance or features. Lower-end products like the GeForce4 MX are also a good match, and the integrated Intel Extreme 2 graphics are also a viable choice. Just for fun, we slapped in a Radeon 9800XT, and while it did fit, there's not a lot of room for airflow and the power cord needed to be adjusted and extended. This system is tailored for mainstream video cards, and a slim card like the Radeon 9800 Pro would be about as high as we'd risk.
For a small form factor motherboard, the XC Cube EZ65 has an exceptional layout. The motherboard has the primary CPU, DDR, AGP and PCI components located near the middle, while connectors and ports are kept to the top and bottom, well out of the way. The only issues we could find were the floppy connector being on the opposite end from the PATA and SATA connectors and lack of a secondary cooling fan. The latter is really a function of including the AGP/PCI slots, and essentially leaving not room for a back-mounted cooling fan. Otherwise, the XC Cube EZ65 is about as good as it gets in terms of SFF internal layout and design.
The System BIOS of the XC Cube EZ65 was a real surprise, and it includes all of the high-end options, and is virtually a duplicate of the AOpen AX4SG Max II i865G motherboard. It features 1 MHz front-side bus overclocking to a maximum of 400 MHz, as well as CPU, DDR and AGP voltage options. The "Performance Boost" feature found in the AX4SG Max II is also present here, and is the PAT equivalent to the i865G, which increases memory timings and optimizes the data path to allow for higher memory performance. There is even AGP/PCI bus locking and overclocking, and DDR ratio selections. The BIOS, while definitely enthusiast level, seems like a bit of overkill for a small form factor PC. As such, we recommend caution when overclocking.
