AMS gBOX Blue - More benchmarking and conclusion

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Benchmarks Continued

SiSoft Sandra is a well known system benchmarking utility that will compare your system to others of varying degrees. While it is synthetic, it does give a great indication of the performance you can expect from your current setup. We are running the latest revision 2003 OCA Edition.

  

The gBOX Blue puts up some respectable SiSoft CPU Benchmark numbers. Notice the ALU is higher @2.4GHz than it is @2.6GHz but performs better in both FPU and SSE @2.6GHz. Benchmarks were run several times and the results were very similar each time. The 845GE seems to be a bit stronger in the ALU area than the 845PE. Lets checkout SiSoft Multi-Media.

  

Here the 845GE and PE chipsets are putting up almost identical numbers as they should. @2.6GHz we are seeing a small performance increase as expected. Again, very respectable numbers for this little system. 

Here we see very similar performance marks between 845GE and PE, and of course slightly higher when the gBOX with 845GE is overclocked to 144MHz FSB. Still continuing to prove that the gBOX Blue can hang with some of the best full blown systems.

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AquaMark by Massive Entertainment is a DX8 based gaming benchmark set in an underwater background and looks gorgeous with a good video setup. Lets see how the gBOX Blue compares at stock speed, overclocked and with the Intel Extreme Graphics.

AquaMark v2.3 was run with default settings and we are seeing some respectable marks from the gBOX with the Siluro Ti4200. The Intel Extreme Graphics are falling short again and the benchmark was super choppy when running. Graphically it looked nice enough, but it just couldn't process these pixels fast enough to produce a decent frame rate.

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LAN Gaming

I'm sure several of you out there will be considering the AMS gBOX Blue with the intentions of making it their next LAN gaming system. I know I was certainly getting tired of lugging a medium tower steel case around every few weekends so the gBOX Blue was the perfect solution. Not wanting to release the review w/out some real-time LAN gaming, here are a few pics of the little SFF in action dishing out plenty of frags in BF1942.

  

      

The system ran great for the entire party, about 10hrs or so. No problems whatsoever and I had my best frag day ever. This was pretty much the true testing grounds for the gBOX and she came through with flying colors.

Also, a quick mention regarding the various input options for the gBOX Blue. Seriously, this box as enough inputs to keep you happy for years. Lets take a look.

Front Inputs

Above you see the front input panel that includes SPD IN, Rear-out, Center/Bass, MIC IN, 2 USB ports with PS/2 mouse and keyboard. But wait, there's more!

Rear Inputs

On the back we have 2 serial ports, 2 1394 Firewire ports, video and S-video out, VGA port, 2 more USB ports, LAN port, headphone, speakers and mic input. Whew! Needless to say, you'll have plenty of flexibility with this board in just about any application you decide to use it in.

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Dual gBOX Blue's

I had a chance to get two of these beautiful gBOX's in the same room and here are a few pics of them.

 

 

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Conclusion

The AMS gBOX Blue Aluminum Barebone System has really impressed me today and is easily one of the best SFF systems you can currently buy. In fact, if you're in the market for a great Intel based SFF this is probably one of your only options. There are a few Intel/VIA systems out there but you can't touch Intel's performance when it comes to chipsets for their own processors. What AMS has basically done is take a full blown performance system, pack it into a tiny gorgeous aluminum box with acrylic covering and serve it up at a great price of $319 retail to the general consumer. Put in a processor and video card of your choice, memory and HD and you have a genuine miniature powerhouse that is portable, functional and extremely flexible for several different applications to include: Lanbox, MP3 Box/Server, Main System, DiVX box, you name it, the gBOX Blue can cover just about any application you need it to. Does this little SFF box get my recommendation? Your damn skippy it does, and I believe the AMS gBOX Blue P4 easily deserves the OCAddiction Recommended Award. There are a few other AMD based SFF boxes out there that may give the gBOX Blue a run for it's money in the price to performance arena, but AMS definitely has the best Intel based SFF box out there. Lets checkout a few Highs and Lows of the system before finishing up the review.

Highs

1. Great performance

2. Great price

3. Sexy looks with heavy duty aluminum and 3/4" acrylic casing

4. Excellent cooling for an SFF PC

5. Side window and Blue LED fan included

6. Bright HD and Power LED's installed

7. Expandability with AGP and PCI slots available

8. Onboard LAN, Video and Sound

9. Portable Handle (removable)

Lows

1. Only a 150w PSU

2. No CPU/Memory voltage options in BIOS

3. No PCI/AGP dividers in BIOS

That about wraps it up. I had quite a time trying to find any lows for this system. While the last 2 are quite nitpicky, I felt they warranted a mention for the diehard enthusiasts out there. But if you don't plan on any overclocking with this box then you can just scratch those 2 off the list as they would have no effect on a system running at completely stock speeds. In working with AMS the past few weeks they have big plans for the gBOX Blue P4. They are getting ready to release some accessories and upgraded items such as face plates, window etches and side panel mods that should keep all of you gBOX owners happy for quite some time.

We'd like to thank you for joining us here today at OCAddiction.com. We'd also like to thank AMS Electronics for working with us on this review unit. Interested in other AMS reviews here @DevH? Checkout the gTOWER and gMONO reviews.  Want to discuss this? Head to the Dev Hardware FORUMS.

DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware.

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