Desktop Computer Review: MSI Wind PC Atom 1.6 MHz CPU Intel 945GC 1 x 200Pin Intel GMA 950 Barebone

I bought this to run Windows Home Server and it's been a very good choice for me. The unit is VERY quiet-- it has a single fan in the back of case but it is quiet. It uses little power (under 30 watts under load) so leaving it on 24/7 is not a problem. It runs cool (because the motherboard is really just a low power laptop motherboard) and takes up very little space.

Physically it is about the size of an Xbox 360, with room inside for a SATA 3.5" and a SATA 5.25" drive (the 5.25 can be a exposed via a pop-out panel so it can be a DVD-RW drive). Cables and screws are included for the SATA drives so no cables needed.The built-in Gigabit Ethernet port is perfect for a home server; it also has on-board video and sound.6 USB 2.0 ports are externally exposed, 2 in front for mouse/keyboard and 4 in the rear (for external USB drives for example).The only thing missing is RAM (it takes a single laptop style 200pin DDR2 533MHz RAM card and you can easily find a 2Gig card for under $25 including shipping), and hard drive(s).In my case I installed a DVD-RW drive in the exposed bay however a USB DVD driver might be a better choice so that you can use that bay for another hard drive, since Windows Home Server has features that make use of multiple drives.

After the Home Server OS is installed you can remove the mouse/keyboard from the USB ports because after that all administration is done remotely and this unit will boot fine without either attached. You can certainly run Windows XP on this unit but in my case I bought it specifically to run Home Server.

Also on the motherboard is a Compact Flash (CF) slot (for OSs like Linux that can run off of a CF card, eliminating the requirement for a hard disk entirely) and a "mini PCI Express" slot (NOT a standard PCI or PCI Express slot!) mainly there to install a wireless network card (remember the motherboard is really just a laptop motherboard in a larger case).

Pros:
- Cool, quiet, very low power requirements, small cabinet
- Includes most everything you need except drives and RAM
- Onboard Gigabit ethernet, video and sound
- Plenty of USB 2.0 ports
- Sufficient drive bays for a typical home server
- Can run XP, Linux or Windows Home Server
- Well made and easy to open the cabinet to get inside

Cons:
- Only 2 drive bays, use them wisely
- No PCI or PCI Express slots so no standard add-on cards possible
- Power-on LED is a very bright blue on the front panel (cover with electrical tape or paint if necessary)

Bottom line: for what this box was intended (small space, low noise and low power requirement) it's a very nice unit.Ideal for running a smaller home server, but probably not your best choice if you plan to install more than 2 hard drives to your server -- although you could add plenty of external USB drives, that would defeat the reason for getting a small low-noise low-power case so you might be better off buying a larger cabinet instead.Very nice choice for Windows Home Server!

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Product Description:
MSI Wind PC is based on new generation platform which is designed for a mix of performance, low power usage, size and affordability which is suitable for mobile applications or for users who leave their computers on 24-hours per day. This highly-functional system is very space-saving; you can practically put it anywhere, on the table or bookshelf. The attractive design makes the MSI Wind PC sleek and modern which complements any room in your home.