Soltek's QBic EQ3901-300P SFF PC

Soltek offers the QBic EQ3901 in a couple of different trim levels. The model we're looking at here has the "Classic" trim, which consists of a mirrored front panel and metallic charcoal enclosure.  The "Mania" versions of this system come in four different colors - black, blue, red and yellow...

The Soltek QBic EQ3901-300P All Nice & Shiny

Front Panel I/O 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 Ports 1 x Mic-In Port 1 x Line-Out Port 1 x IEEE1394a Port 1 x S/PDIF Out Port	Back Panel I/O 2 x Serial Ports 1 x Parallel Port (via optional cable) 1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port 1 x PS/2 Mouse Port 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 Ports 1 x Gigabit 10/100/1000 LAN Port 1 x IEEE1394a Port 1 x Line-In Port (Blue) 1 x Front-Out Port (Green) 1 x Front Surround-Out Port (Gray) 1 x Center-Sub Woofer-Out Port (Orange) 1 x Rear Surround-Out Port (Black)

The QBic EQ3901-300P's front panel is outfitted with four hinged bay covers that fold down to reveal two 5.25" drive bays, a single external 3.5" drive bay, and a row of I/O ports.  We really like the bay covers, because the stealth drives aren't painted to match the case, and give the system a very sleek, elegant look.  There may be a problem lining up the eject buttons on the two top 5.25" bay covers with certain optical drives, but we didn't have any issues with the Lite-On or Sony drives we had available in the lab.

The rest of the enclosure is standard fare.  The enclosure cover is painted with a dark, metallic charcoal grey paint, that seems fairly resilient.  The mirrored front panel, however, should be handled with care. Any sharp objects that come in contact with the front panel are sure to scratch it.  On the bottom of the system, along its front edge, a row of ventilation holes are visible that match the holes drilled into both sides of the enclosure cover.  These holes are used to draw air into the system in an effort to keep its internals cool...