Soltek QBIC EQ3801: nForce3 250Gb goes SFF

Final Words

After thorough stress testing and general usage, we have come to several conclusions. The first conclusion is that the vast majority of users who have any interest at all in a fast 64-bit system should seriously consider the Soltek EQ3801. Users interested in a quiet system will be delighted to hear that the EQ3801 is quite silent, while using all the stock settings and hardware that comes with this SFF. Normally, you'd have to sacrifice performance and/or low temperatures for a silent SFF; yet the EQ3801 is both a high performance and low temperature system. Soltek's patented STF (System Tunnel Fan) does an excellent job of pushing hot air over the CPU HSF and out of the side of the case. And when tuning the BIOS properly, the EQ3801 is only a step behind the fastest equivalent Athlon 64 desktop systems on the market.

The EQ3801 literally contains the whole package: quiet, cool, small, and fast. At its current price of just $270 shipped online, it's also a bargain too. In fact, the Soltek EQ3801 is significantly cheaper than Athlon 64 SFFs from most other manufacturers, including the industry leader, Shuttle. All in all, the EQ3801 is an impressive feat of smart engineering and we see no reason why you shouldn't be seriously exploring this satisfying barebones system.