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1 2 3 4 5 6 NextJune 21, 2005 by Devon
Cooke
An excellent choice of computer for a home theater PC (HTPC) is a small form
factor system. The small size and the attention paid to aesthetics of SFF systems
make them more livingroom-friendly than a standard mid-tower. It's not
surprising that many brands are targeting SFF systems specifically at
the HTPC market.
The tagline for Trigem's Kloss line of SFF systems is "Defining Convergence",
as in the convergence of SFF and HTPC systems. The flagship of the line includes
a remote control panel to make the PC to livingroom integration as painless
as possible, but a more conventional version without the remote is also available.
Both configurations are based on the same motherboard and chassis; the remote
control panel is the only difference between the two models. Although our review
sample did not include the remote control panel, our noise and
airflow analysis should apply to both models in the line.
Trigem's position as the largest computer manufacturer in Korea means that
the company could afford to experiment a bit with the design of the Kloss. The
resulting product is unusual for a SFF system, featuring a double-decker
chassis and a CPU duct. Hopefully, this design can help address some
of the space and heat issues that often affect systems of this size.
The box is quite large for a SFF system.
Accessories include two user's guides, a driver CD, appropriate cables,
and all the necessary hardware for installation.
The Kloss is well documented in two user's guides and a quick installation
sheet. The manuals are well translated and well illustrated, and provide straightforward
and understandable installation instructions.
SPECIFICATIONS & FEATURES
The Kloss is based on a proprietary motherboard from Trigem. Intel's 915 chipset
is the standard for Intel motherboards, and the Kloss is no exception.
Its feature set is comparable to other 915-based systems: Integrated graphics
and sound, support for PCI-e, and only one IDE header.
The most distinctive features of the Kloss are the front panel controls (not
supported on our review sample) and the SPDIF I/O ports. It also manages to
fit in the parallel port that is missing on so many other SFF systems.
The layout of the Kloss limits the number of drives that it can support. There
is only a single internal 3.5" bay, which is somewhat limiting if the system
is used for media storage, but a second drive can be added by sacrificing the
floppy bay.
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Processor
|
Intel® Pentium®4 Prescott (FSB 533 / 800)
/ (Intel® LGA 775) |
| Pentium®4 Family : 2.8GHz~4GHz |
| Celeron®Family : 2.53GHz~3.33GHz |
|
Memory
|
Dual-channel DDR 333/400 |
| 2 DIMM slots (2GB max) |
|
Chipset
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Intel®915G + ICH6 Chipset and Integrated VGA |
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Audio
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C-Media CMI9880 Codec with Intel®HD
Audio Interface |
| 5.1-channel support |
| Expansion Slots |
1 x PCI Express x16 |
| 1 x PCI Slot |
|
Integrated LAN
|
Gigabit-Ethernet |
|
IDE / ATA Support
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PATA 100 (1ch) |
| SATA (2 Ports) |
Storage Bays
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1 x External 5.25" Bay |
| 1 x External 3.5" Bay |
| 1 x Internal 3.5" Bay |
|
Front-panel I/O
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2 x USB 2.0 Ports |
1 x Mic-In Port |
| 1 x Headphone Port |
| 1 x 4-pin IEEE1394 Port (Firewire) |
Rear-panel I/O
|
1 x Serial Port |
| 1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port |
| 1 x PS/2 Mouse Port |
| 3 x USB 2.0/ Ports |
| 1 x Gigabit 10/100/1000 LAN
port |
| 1 x IEEE1394 Port (Firewire) |
| 1 x SPDIF-In Port |
| 1 x SPDIF-Out Port |
| 1 x Parallel Port |
| 1 x VGA Port |
| 1 x Speaker-Out Port |
| 1 x Line-In Port |
| 1 x Mic-In Port |
Power Supply
|
250W Switching PSU (Active PFC
Function) |
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Dimensions (W x L x H, mm)
|
223 x 303 x 221
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