Externals
Although we all like to pretend personality is the most important trait for a small form factor system, external appearance matters.

The MEGA651 probably isn't for those with a distain for orange or silver, but I think the two actually look quite good together. Then again, I've never had much luck putting together outfits that don't clash, so I could be way off the mark. At the very least, MSI has managed to create quite a distinct face for the MEGA651.

Instead of building the MEGA651 with a 3.5" bay suitable for an antiquated floppy or Zip drive, MSI equips the MEGA651 with a six-in-one memory card reader that's nicely integrated into the front panel. The card reader is optional, so those who need to install 3.5" floppy drive in its place can remove it. MSI supplies a silver 3.5" floppy face plate with the MEGA. I can't imagine many users will opt for a 3.5" floppy in lieu of MSI's slick memory card reader.

Now that we've covered the MEGA's 3.5" drive bay, what about the 5.25" slot? It's there; it's just hiding.

A spring-loaded panel covers up the MEGA651's 5.25" drive bay face. The panel pops up and down automatically as the optical drive's tray slides in and out. This drive bay door preserves the MEGA651's aluminum aesthetic without the owner having to worry about painting a drive face or hunting around for an orange or silver optical drive; nothing would make the MEGA look worse than an ugly beige DVD drive.

The MEGA's drive bay cover worked with both the DVD drive MSI sent over with the MEGA and with a spare optical drive I had sitting around the benchmarking sweatshop. That doesn't mean that every optical drive will be compatible. The drive bay opening is just a hair under an inch tall, which may not be enough clearance for optical drives with larger drive tray faces. Those looking at picking up a MEGA651 should make sure their optical drive has enough clearance for the drive bay door.

Unfortunately, I don't have a slot-loading optical drive in house to test with the MEGA651's door mechanism. Based on how the door works, I don't anticipate that a slot-loading drive will have any problem ejecting disks. However, I do have some concern that the bottom of an ejected or inserted disk could be scratched by two protrusions on the drive door. To be on the safe side, I'd stick with traditional tray-fed optical drives for the MEGA651.

The MEGA's optical drive bay isn't the only component to get the slick aluminum door treatment. MSI also covers up the front port cluster with a handy little door that keeps everything neat. The port cover swings down to reveal an optical S/PDIF input port, headphone and microphone ports, two USB 2.0 ports, and 1394-1 and 1394-2 Firewire ports.

Personally, I like having an optical S/PDIF input out front with the companion optical output in the rear. However, I'm not such a big fan of having both Firewire ports at the front of the box. It's nice to have both types of Firewire connectors offered, but I wish one of the ports were available at the back of the machine.

MSI provides access to the rest of the MEGA651's ports at the rear of the cube. Unlike some competitors, the MEGA has parallel and modem ports, which, in all honestly. will probably go unused by the vast majority of users.

The MEGA651's rear port cluster provides access to the box's on-board video via a standard VGA output port, but no additional video outputs are available. The MEGA651 is practically begging to be used in a home theater system, which makes the omission of TV-friendly video output ports especially disappointing. Those looking to hook the MEGA651 up to a TV will have to add their own graphics card or use MSI's optional TV tuner card, which includes a video output port.

The port cluster also includes a serial port, PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports, a couple of USB 2.0 ports, a connector for an included FM antenna, and the analog and digital audio output ports. The MEGA's complement of four USB 2.0 ports seems a little weak. Anyone looking to mate the MEGA with a stack of peripherals will probably need a USB hub.

Double duty
One of the coolest features of the MEGA is its ability to act as a HiFi audio system independent of its functionality as a PC. Without fully powering on the system, users can play standard audio CDs, play CDs burned with MP3 files, and tune in radio stations—all in an environment almost completely free of system noise. However, the MEGA651's HiFi capabilities are limited to audio playback, so those looking to watch DVDs or VCDS will have to boot up the system and use a software video player.

Controlling the MEGA651's HiFi component is a simple affair. Buttons mounted on the face of the system handle all the standard playback features. Users can also control the HiFi component of the MEGA with a provided remote, making music playback from the couch a snap. Heck, the MEGA even includes a front panel display screen that looks more like it belongs in a car stereo than a small form factor system.

As slick as the MEGA's HiFi implementation is, it has a few limitations to keep in mind. First, the PC system must be turned off before the HiFi component can be used. With a system fully booted into the operating system, users should have full access to a wide variety of audio playback software, so there really shouldn't be a need for the MEGA651's HiFi component. MSI even includes a software FM tuner for radio fans. Still, the HiFi component's preference for a powered-down system isn't compatible with Windows XP's "Standby" power saving mode.

Another limitation of the MEGA651's HiFi component is that it will only work with the system's on-board audio ports. Fortunately, the MEGA651's built-in audio can be disabled in the BIOS and still work with the HiFi component, which should make life easier for anyone looking to avoid conflicts with a PCI sound card.

Perhaps the greatest limitation of the MEGA's HiFi component isn't so much a limitation as it is a little bit of wishful thinking on my part. The HiFi component's back-lit screen is probably one of the neatest elements of the system, but it only works when the HiFi component is active. When the system is booted into the operating system, the display screen's back light goes off and only the time is displayed. That just seems like a waste to me.

If MSI were really creative, I'm sure they could have rigged up the MEGA's display screen to work in Windows like one of Matrix Orbital's LCD displays. Heck, I'd even be happy to see the screen displaying system temperatures. At least then the display would be used for something other than a clock when not in HiFi mode.

Oh, how I wish I could play with you in Windows