SINCE SHUTTLE STARTED the small form factor craze with the seminal SV24, other manufacturers have been eager to carve themselves a slice of the market. Rather than simply releasing XPC clones, these new entrants have usually offered interesting new features and chassis designs, injecting a little flavor into a market largely dominated by Shuttle.

Biostar's iDEQ 330P is the latest small form factor system to offer something a little different. Based on a 939-pin Athlon 64 socket and NVIDIA nForce4 chipset, the 330P sports BTX-style front-to-back cooling and an innovative chassis that hinges open to provide better access to system components than any other small form factor enclosure. But does this newcomer have what it takes to match Shuttle's nForce4 XPC? Read on to find out.