These days, many
"build-it-yourselfers" and PC Systems
Integrators are looking for pre-configured products
that take some of the busy work out of putting
together a system. Hence the
"Bare-Bones" package was born. The
premise of a Bare-Bones System is to provide the End
User or Systems Integrator, a base product that is
ready for customization according to the
individual's specific needs. The base product
should have fairly "universal appeal" and
be set up for the mainstream user for simple
configuration and expansion.
Enlight
has been designing, building and marketing Computer
Chassis since the late 80s. What you may not
have known is that they also have been building,
testing and selling Bare-Bones products for almost
as long. Keeping up with the times and
evolution of the PC, Enlight now offers a full
complement of ATX form factor Bare-Bones products
based on both the Intel and AMD platforms.
This is a Hot Hardware look at a product from their
AMD offering sporting a mid sized ATX Case, 48X CD
ROM and Gigabyte KT133 Mainboard.
Let's
have a look.
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Specifications
Of The Main Components - Enlight's
KT133 Bare-Bones Setup |
Gigabyte
Motherboard, Enlight Case and LiteON
CD-ROM Drive |
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Enlight's
7238 Mid Tower ATX
Gigabyte's
GA-7ZX - KT133 Socket A Motherboard
LiteOn
48X CD-ROM
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- Maximum Data Transfer
Rate up to 7200KB/sec (48X)
- Average access time
less than 80 ms (typical)
- Access all format
CD-ROM , CD-R , CD-RW title & disc
Advanced
Wire Suspension System (WSS)®
to reduce vibration & noise
- Standard ATAPI/E-IDE
interface supporting Ultra DMA/33
- Compliant with MPC
level 2 & 3 , PC97 , PC98 , PC99 ,
PC2000
- Plug & Play ready ;
Emergency manual eject
- Supporting DOS, Win
3.1/95/98/2000/NT and OS/2 Warp
- Auto switch speed &
auto detect IDE port 1, 2, 3, and 4
- Supporting power saving
function
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Pretty
straight forward stuff here actually. The case
is stylish and roomy with about as much expansion as
you could get in a Mid-ATX setup. Also it
should be noted that our KT133 Bare-Bones unit came
with a 300 WATT power supply not the 250W unit that
is specified for the case normally. This is
obviously because the AMD platform needs some pretty
robust power supporting it and Enlight made sure it
was in there.
Here
are more "candid" case photos for your
browsing pleasure. Try to keep calm
here. ;)
Click
images for full viewing
Once
again, fairly standard issue hardware. The
case has a solid construction with rounded edges to
keep you from bloodying yourself during setup.
The mechanics of the case require you to remove the
front bezel in order to then slide the side panel
back for access to the inside of the chassis.
We have never been found of this design frankly,
however it does work well and the pieces mate
together fairly easily.
Finally,
there is excellent room for expansion within the
drive bays and there is a front mount for an intake
fan that can be set up to draw cool air into the
system. That just about covers the case aspect
of our unit. Let's look at the motherboard and
CD-ROM drive.
Motherboard
Details and The CD Drive Performance
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