Physical Overview

At first glance, the MEGA 180, with its cube like design, looks like any other small form factor PC. However, it quickly becomes apparent that there is far more here than meets the eye. The MEGA 180 has a wonderful mix of black and blue colors accentuated by the reflective panels that line the front of the PC. Here is a shot of the front of the MEGA 180.

The left side of the front has the following switches (from top to bottom) - Hi-Fi Power Switch, Shuttle Controller, PC Power Switch, PC Reset button, and Front I/O Release button.

The front top portion is the DVD/CD-ROM drive door which flips down when the drive tray comes out. Though MSI recommends installing an MSI branded DVD-ROM drive, you can use nearly any type of DVD-ROM drive inside this system. We used a Liteon 16X DVD-ROM drive without any difficulties.

Underneath the drive door is the flashiest component of the MEGA 180 - the beautifully large LCD display that operates whether the PC is on or off. The display is either showing the current time or the current audio playback mode that the system is in. Insert an audio CD and you'll find a circular graphic equalizer come up with the volume control along the bottom edge of the display. Below the display are buttons for controlling music playback. Here are snapshots of the LCD display in various modes:

Below the LCD display, you'll find a 6 in 1 media card reader - something that is slowly becoming common on SFF systems.And finally, at the bottom of the facing, you'll find another hinged door that opens up when the left side button is pressed. The panel comes down and reveals various I/O ports. From left to right: SPDIF-IN, Microphone, Headphone, Two USB ports, and two FireWire ports (both 6 and 4 pin versions). Kudos to MSI for bundling more than one FireWire port in the front of the system.

The following is a snapshot of the rear of the MEGA 180.

The rear ports are as follows: (from left to right): Dual VGA ports, PS/2 Mouse and Keyboard Ports, Ethernet Port, Two USB Ports, Parallel Port, S-Video out port, SPDIF-Out port, Speaker out, Line-in, Microphone in, Modem phone jack, and radio antenna jack.

The sides of the case have plenty of air vents to help cool the inside of the MEGA 180.

Here's a look at the inside of the MEGA 180. MSI uses a proprietary cooling solution that utilizes two fans. The fans circulate air horizontally through the case as opposed to front to back making use of the side air vents. There is additional cooling provided by the power supply fan.

If you're curious about the construction of the MEGA 180, we've placed the setup details in a separate article here.

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