Introduction

Without a doubt one of the big attention grabbers over the past year or so has been the exploding popularity of the small form factor (SFF) barebones PC. I think it's fair to say the whole movement was Kick-started primarily by Shuttle who made quite an impact with their range of diminutive systems but now there are several vendors to choose from, and one that caught our attention was CubesystemZ.

Based in the UK, CubesystemZ offer a range of highly functional and very nicely designed Small Form Factor systems that are tailored to a whole range of potential customers. Perhaps even more impressive is that while the notion of an SFF system has always been one of compromising on power in exchange for compact dimensions, the CF-S968 which we'll be tackling today sets about completely destroying that myth with a set of performance results that would make many a fully grown system green with envy.

The SFF PC has really filled a gaping hole in the market in terms of its aesthetics, its portability and its size. From the wandering LAN addict to the regular householder fan wanting to incorporate some cutting edge technology into their home entertainment setup these "little silver boxes" as CubesystemZ calls them are a near perfect solution.

Before we get too involved, let's take a glance over the features that this little pocket battleship comes equipped with.