Related Articles

Specifications

We go over some of the technology behind the Socket-T in a bit more detail when we took a look at some of the ramifications of Intel's switch from Socket 478 in a previous article which we encourage readers to take a look at. Here is a transcription from the Kloss site with the detailed specifications of the KL-I915A.

There are a couple things to go on here - to add to the confusion, it looks like there are two models of the KL-I915A, one that comes with the ICH6 and another that comes with the ICH6W, the W is for integrated wireless and access point functionality which our review unit did not come with. Unlike nearly other manufacturer, Kloss has chosen to go with a C-Media codec instead of the usual Realtek unit. Generally C-Media is looked upon more fondly than the Realtek unit but it is still has to deal with the issues that plague onboard sound solutions.

Aesthetics

The Kloss is definitely on the larger side of SFF units and the dimensions are comparable to Soltek's Qbic lineup. The reason of why it is large will become more obvious when we pop it open shortly. Kloss does not try to redefine the SFF mold here, the KL-I915A is still definitely a cube but there are several touches that set it apart.

One of the strong points of the Kloss unit is the front panel. The LED display is very nice and provides processor clock speed, the amount of memory, the current time amongst other things. Also included are some standard multimedia buttons as well as a volume control knob. The setup is reminiscient of MSI's MEGA line up. The volume knob does stick a bit at a certain rotation point every full turn. It seems like the manufacturing on our particular unit was not perfect.

Although the front bezel is plastic, it does not come off as tacky. The 3.5" drive bay, a 4 pin firewire port and 2 USB2 ports are stealthed while a headphone and microphone jack are located outside of the bay area. I am glad to see that the designers at Kloss had some common sense not to put the optical out connector inside the stealthed drive bay panel area, especially when they are aiming for this unit to meld into the living room.

The satin finish of the case is very nice and is close to the quality of what would be expected with Lian Li cases. There are an ample number of perforations on both sides of the case and it should provide adequate ventilation even for hot running Prescotts. On the top of the case is another exhaust that is surrounded by a chrome ring. This provides outside air directly to the processor which in our experience can make a significant difference.