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Introduction

If you've been reading my reviews on the Soltek Qbic line of small form factor systems, you'd notice a steadily weariness with the exterior - it is by no means bad, it just has not changed at all since our initial look at the Qbic. With SFF, appearance is as important as what is inside - Soltek has always managed to keep cutting edge in terms of mainboards but some of its competitors have concentrated more on the aesthetics side. Just as about as I was giving up hope, Soltek announced a long-overdue refresh of the Qbic design.

Enter the Mania line. The basic design of the Mania line is similar to the classic Qbics. In other words, the same motherboard form factor, two-5.25 inch bays, 250/300W power supply, similar size. The only real difference is in the look. With the Mania line, no longer do you get a metal case. Instead, you get a brightly coloured plastic shell attached to the metal case. The whole case has a mini-Cooper-esque feel with the brightly coloured paint scheme and the silver logo in front.