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Monarch Hornet Revenge - Appearance

Monarch Computers has been in business since 1991, and they've been growing in size and reputation throughout their history. While many of us have probably shopped at Monarch, Newegg, ZipZoomFly, and numerous other online resellers, one of the things that sets Monarch apart from many other e-tailers is the fact that they offer many preconfigured and custom built PCs and servers in addition to all of the components that they sell. Their build prices are quite reasonable, all things considered, and while many enthusiasts enjoy getting down and dirty with their computer parts and building their own systems, there are many others who would just as soon pay someone like Monarch $59 and have them put it together and test it. Yes, you can get prebuilt systems from many other companies - Dell, HP, etc. - but your choice of components is far more limited in those cases. With Monarch, if you want a specific motherboard and they have it in stock, you can get them to put it in a system for you. Couple that with a price that remains competitive, and there's a lot to like.

We're here today to talk about their new uATX Hornet Pro system, the Revenge SE (Special Edition). Monarch has been selling their Hornet computers for almost three years now, and they strike a nice compromise between the small form factor and ATX form factor systems, offering more expansion room than the former while not being quite as bulky as the latter. You could always go out and build your own uATX system using off-the-shelf parts, but up until now, you haven't been able to match the top-performing ATX designs, largely due to the lack of one specific feature: multiple GPUs. Monarch commissioned EVGA to create a uATX SLI-capable motherboard in order to meet this requirement. Imagine taking the EVGA 133-K8-NF41 motherboard, then shrink it and rearrange the layout a bit in order to meet the uATX form factor, and you'll have a good idea of what the board looks like.

Click to enlarge.

Before we get into the internals, let's start with the external appearance. The Revenge that was sent for review is a Special Edition model. Monarch has teamed up with EVGA and created a custom vinyl sticker wrap to go around outside of the case. Not everyone necessarily likes a flashy computer, but if you're willing to spend this much money on a high-end computer system for gaming, you probably wouldn't mind bragging a little bit at the same time. With the Monarch and EVGA brands advertised on virtually every side of the case (other than the rear and the bottom), you can be sure that everyone at your next LAN party will know where you bought your system and what kind of motherboard and graphics you're running. At the same time, the wrap does add some visual flair without going too over-the-top. The color scheme consists of muted grays, blues, and whites in a sort of abstract art/geometric design. We think it looks pretty cool, but if you don't like it, you can always opt for a plain painted model instead (and skip out on the Revenge brand and a few of the extras).

Click on images to enlarge.

The Revenge adds visual flair in other areas as well. A window comes standard on the left panel, allowing you to see inside the case, and what's the point of having a case window if you don't have some lighting to go with it? Inside the case are two 4" cold cathode lights, giving the interior a bluish glow. The right side panel has a vent with a 60 mm fan to help cool the CPU area. The front panel also comes with an 80mm fan vent, and it has a handle that can be used to carry the case around. Though, we should note that this certainly isn't a lightweight case; fully loaded, it weighs close to 20 lbs. Consider it more as a luggable computer than something truly portable, but that's perfect for LAN parties. Also on the front panel are two backlit LCDs that monitor system temperatures. The top one measures the hard drive temperature, and the bottom one measures the RAM temperature.

Overall, the Hornet Revenge is a nice looking system that will cater to the enthusiast and LAN party markets. The only real drawback that we see is that this really isn't a small computer. It's quite a bit shorter than a tower or mid-tower case, but it's also wider than most ATX tower cases. When compared with a small form factor like the Shuttle SN26P, it's obviously larger, and the Shuttle P chassis is already on the larger end of the SFF spectrum. If you're after a truly small computer, the Monarch Hornet Pro isn't going to impress you, but the target audience will likely be more than happy with the size, features, expandability, and performance.