What do you guys think of the MSI HERMES 845GL slim barebones system?

[flashbacck]

ello. Has anyone tried the MSI Hermes 845GL? It's a slim form factor barebones system from MSI. I was looking around for SFF systems and came across it. Shuttle and their line of SFFs seem pretty popular, but the 845GL seems to be pretty competitive to the old shuttle ss50, and a bit cheaper too.

anyway, just wondering if anyone knows if it's worth looking at compared to the shuttles, or are worthless. any info/opinions would be helpful!

EDIT: oh, I found a review via google. but it's not in english...
http://www.au-ja.org/review-msihermes-1.phtml

specs for the lazy...
CPU
Support Intel® Pentium® 4 processor up to 2.4 GHz
FSB @ 400MHz (100MHz QDR)
Chipset
Intel® Brookdale-GL GMCH chipset (760 mBGA)
FSB 400MHz.
Multiplexed AGP and IntelR DVO port interface.
Integrated 3D/2D graphic core. (Core frequency=200 MHz, 350 MHz integrated 24-bit RAMDAC)
Supports PC200/266 DDR technology.

Intel® ICH4 chipset (421 mBGA)
6 ports Hi-Speed USB (USB2.0) controller, 480Mb/sec.
AC'97 Codec supported (6 channel).
Supports both ACPI and legacy APM power management.
Legacy free support.

Main Memory
Provide two 184-pin DIMM sockets (DDR200/266)
Max memory size at 2GB

Slots
One PCI (v2.2) 32 bit master PCI slot
On-Board IDE
Support P/O, Bus Master, Ultra DMA 66/100 operation
Can connect to 2 IDE devices

Audio
AC'97 link controller integrated in ICH4
6 channels S/W audio codec ALC650
Compliance w/AC'97 v2.2 spec.
Meet PC2001 audio performance requirement

LAN
Intel® 82562ET chip
Integrated Fast Ethernet MAC and PHY in one chip.
Supports 10 Mb/s and 100 Mb/s.
Compliance with PCI v2.2.
Supports ACPI Power Management.

Dimension
Proprietary Form Factor : 32.5cm (L) x 19.5cm (W)
Mounting
4 mounting holes

 

[mechBgon]

I'd be put off by the lack of an AGP slot, as is the case with any i845GL-based motherboard. That seems to rule out its use with recent and future games. Might make a good office system?

 

[flashbacck]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
I'd be put off by the lack of an AGP slot, as is the case with any i845GL-based motherboard. That seems to rule out its use with recent and future games. Might make a good office system?

oh, good point... personally, I was thinking of using it as a tivo system, so a good videocard wouldn't really be necessary.

 

[bluemax]

The ATI All-in-Wonder LE would be perfect.
PCI, Radeon 7500, AIW.

 

[bluemax]

Forgot to mention: one, cheaper than shuttle is good. Two - I'll have to compare size.
Three - I like it.