Hi guys,
Beginning of november I took the final step, after a long time comparing barebones, and bought the Aopen EZ18 (cheap, quiet, AGP slot, covered CD-front).
I was pretty happy with it for the one single day it worked. Then the motherboard didn't even posted at startup and the fan kept on going at full speed.
I returned it to the shop and they sent it to Aopen. Now in mid January they haven't heard from Aopen and they want me to forget about my EZ18 and pick a new barebone.
They have removed every Aopen barebone from their assortment due to Aopens way to treat customers.
Now I don't know what have happend on the market the last months.
Is there any barebones out there that matches the AOpen EZ in noise-level, except ST62K (ugly CD-front and no AGP-slot)?
What to replace Aopen EZ18?
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
It seems that most manufacturers are phasing out their AMD XP boards/systems, which is a real shame for people looking to build a system on a budget or with old parts. But since you mentioned the ST62K, I assume you're looking for a new P4 or AMD64 system.
Some of the newer Shuttles might be a good choice. SFFTech has some reviews of the new case design. Here's one:
http://www.sfftech.com/showdocs.cfm?aid=608
I notice it has covered drive bays so already it's a lot more comparable to the AOpen.
I like my EZ18; it's far from perfectly silent (see other thread) but it was certainly the quietest given its features and cost. AOpen is still making new barebones, including a Pentium M one (another thread), so you might want to check with them again. Otherwise I'd recommend checking out one of the newer Shuttles, or maybe the Mac Mini.
Some of the newer Shuttles might be a good choice. SFFTech has some reviews of the new case design. Here's one:
http://www.sfftech.com/showdocs.cfm?aid=608
I notice it has covered drive bays so already it's a lot more comparable to the AOpen.
I like my EZ18; it's far from perfectly silent (see other thread) but it was certainly the quietest given its features and cost. AOpen is still making new barebones, including a Pentium M one (another thread), so you might want to check with them again. Otherwise I'd recommend checking out one of the newer Shuttles, or maybe the Mac Mini.