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A pull down flap covers the drives when not in use, which adds to the good looks of the system and also keeps the fingers or curious children away from the optical drive.

I almost forgot to mention the CPU and memory, but you’ll be glad to know that the CPU is a 2.66GHz Intel Pentium 4 that goes hand in hand with two 256MB modules of PC2700 DDR SDRAM memory. An interesting point here is the CPU cooler which is a custom unit from Biostar, featuring a heatpipe. There is a low speed fan fitted as well sucking cool air through the heatsink. As the CPU is fitted towards the rear of the case, there is a second fan right behind the heatsink sucking the hot air out.

The overall hardware specifications might not be amazing, but the overall build quality and the ultra low noise level of this system just makes it something special.

Included with the e-Style II is a 17in Philips 170B4BS TFT display, which is one of the best 17in displays you can get. It has a native resolution of 1,280 x 1,024 and features both D-SUB and DVI connectors. You also get a set of Creative I-Trigue 3300 speakers. The sound isn’t amazing with these speakers but you can’t get away from the fact that they look stylish and match the e-Style II perfectly. A wireless keyboard and mouse set from Microsoft adds a quality feel to the input devices.

Windows XP Home Edition comes as standard as well as a copy of Pinnacle instant CD/DVD. Microsoft Works is bundles for office duties. It’s a shame that Works Suite isn’t bundled since it includes Word, but at the asking price of £1,098.99 including VAT there have to be some omissions.

As far as performance goes the e-Style did well in SYSmark 2002 and PCMark 2002, but not amazingly. Where it suffers however is in 3DMark 2001 and 2003 where it lags behind due to the graphics card. But unless you’re a hardcore gamer this is not really an issue.

This is the kind of machine I would not be ashamed to have in my front room or anywhere else in the house. It looks very stylish and it is virtually silent, which is amazing for a machine this small. Did I mention that you ought to buy one?

Verdict

By far the best small form factor PC I have ever come across, with stylish looks and a great set of features that should appeal to anyone but the hardcore gamers.

Note

Due to an increase in the cost of TFT panels the price of the Evesham e-style has risen to £1,149 from its original price of £1,098.99. Even with this price rise we still consider this to be a superb machine and well worth the money.

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