Kloss KL-I915A SFF Review - PAGE 1

Introduction

One of the big success stories in the computer industry in the last couple years is the rise of the small form factor and for good reason. SFF units today rival their desktop counterparts as far as technology goes. There are few things on full size ATX boards that are unavailable on SFFs. Although it seems like everyone would like a piece of the SFF pie, there are few who innovate and when SFF comes around, Shuttle's name always comes up and for good reason; they generally set the bar as far as SFFs go. This is not to say that other quality manufacturers do not exist but the basic drive tray design that sits on the chassis are all variants of what Shuttle has initially done. There are some very unique designs also as seen with FIC's Condor but unfortunately these are more the exception rather than the rule.

Besides the novelty factor, one of the driving forces behind SFFs is integration into the living room. While any computer can serve as a HTPC, a stylish unit that can blend in with other CE components is a lot more appealing than a regular tower. While a SFF system will probably not be mistaken for a component like a receiver any time soon, there are a few that can likely pass as a HiFi unit.

Today we take a look at a SFF, the KL-I915A from a relatively unknown manufacturer, Kloss, who has some pretty big claims - their motto is "defining convergence." A quick visit to the Kloss page shows that they are based out of Korea, and they have but two products, both SFFs based around Intel's 915G chipset. Come find out if they live up to the claims of defining convergence or if they are merely another imitator riding the SFF wave.