CyberPower Syber Vapor PC Gaming Console Review
Design and Layout
13.81 inches by 13.58 inches by 3.88 inches. And at 36 pounds, it's considerably heavier than an Xbox One, which weighs around 7 pounds. Nevertheless, if you have room in your A/V rack for a console, you should be able to slide the Syber Vapor in without issue.
You have two color options when shopping a Syber Vapor. One is glossy black on the top and bottom with a matte black mid-section, and the other sandwiches the black mid-section with white panels. Both sport LED lighting on the front that you can turn off or cycle through different color options by pressing a button on the left side of the chassis.
The design of the custom case features angled lines and a sort of a stealth fighter motif. It's not overly busy, but definitely carved for an aggressive appearance. There's a fine line when molding systems that appeal to gamers, and when overstepped, the result is gaudy and obnoxious. It's subjective, but to our eyes, the Syber Vapor doesn't cross that line.
If we were to change anything about the construction, we would trade the plastic chassis for aluminum. That would probably add to the cost, but it would also give the Syber Vapor a more premium feel and superior cooling potential, both of which are important for a home theater appliance.
 |  |
When you're dealing with a small form factor (SFF) PC, and one that might potentially sit in an A/V cabinet, cooling is one of the primary concerns. To combat high thermals, the Syber Vapor is vented in several places, including both sides of the chassis. However, the only case fan sits on the right of the system and is situated next to the power supply. This is an exhaust fan that expels warm air from the PSU (and case in general), while the other vents passively allow cool air to enter.
Having another fan or two would give us better peace of mind, but to Syber's credit, we didn't experience any overheating issues throughout our test runs and benchmarks.
Having another fan or two would give us better peace of mind, but to Syber's credit, we didn't experience any overheating issues throughout our test runs and benchmarks.
Like most PCs, the bulk of the ports are on the back. Which ones you have and how many will depend on the motherboard you choose. Our review model came with a Gigabyte GA-Z97N-WIFI mini ITX motherboard with four rear-mounted USB 3.0 ports. two USB 2.0 ports, two HDMI ports, DVI port, dual Gigabit LAN ports, a PS/2 port, optical S/PDIF output, and analog audio ports.
On the front are two additional USB 3.0 ports, a single USB 2.0 port, and separate microphone and headphone jacks. A few things you won't find on this particular configuration are eSATA ports, memory card reader, optical drive, FireWire, or DisplayPort/Thunderbolt ports.
