Our Labs Winner this month represents what a mini barebones PC should be: it's small yet easily accessible; it's attractive, but has a quality build; and it has all the features you need for a full PC or a media centre. The AOpen XCube EZ65 is housed in attractive white powder coated steel and is the epitome of minimalism. Snap release panels cover not only the optical drive bay, but also the floppy disk drive and front connectivity ports, much like the Soltek Qbic.

The easy access case is secured by thumbscrews and can be effortlessly removed in a single piece to reveal the optical bay rack and PC's innards. The optical drive rack is secured by two screws and comes out and can be re-assembled smoothly without the need for much work. Slide your devices in and pop it back into place.

The included heatsink is large and features a side mounted fan, the perforated single piece lid providing plenty of airflow and ventilation to extract hot air from the case, a major concern in small form factored units.

The only downer we could find with this unit is its quickly tarnishing housing; small scratches and flaws occur easily and lessen the look of the machine.
A great case with plenty of potential for your first or latest barebones project, give this one a burl.