Conclusion

I like it!

It’s a cute little box - a far cry from the quad-core SX48P2 that I got to play with last time, but aimed at a completely different niche.  Some perks that this machine has above its competitors (Atom-based subnotebooks like the MSI Wind and EeePC) include the optical drive bay, dual video outputs (D-sub and DVI) and a plethora of USB ports - 4 in back, 2 in front, and 2 more available via motherboard header.

In fact, the USB headers on the motherboard make it rather expandable: Install a USB wifi adapter or USB bootable flash drive inside the box, leaving the rest of your ports free!

So let’s break it down:

Ease of Build: 9/10

To reuse the phrase, it’s a very straightforward box.  Uncomplicated. With the top off, you can get to the memory slot and IDE/SATA sockets with absolute ease. The tray they’ve included to hold the drives is very well designed, and fits perfectly in the space.  Only note, and I can’t stress this enough: GO SATA.  They’ve included an IDE port for a slim optical drive, but an IDE cable would just eat space and airflow. Once you’ve got the drives in the tray, it just slides into place and the whole thing is done two thumbscrews later. It’ll take you ten minutes, tops (including the part where you drop the microscopic drive screws into your pile carpet). It seems hard to beat.

Performance: 8/10

It’s not a screaming machine. You’re not playing any major modern 3D shooters on it. But if you need a simple, energy-efficient machine to teleconference, keep up on your email or Google docs, or even sit in your home theater and play movies, this is your box. It’s quiet and cool and does exactly what it’s intended to do.

Aesthetics: 9/10

It’s a purdy little box, would look nice on a bookshelf, in your kitchen, on a desk, in a library, etc.  The purpose of this machine is to be unobtrusive, and it manages that nicely.  The LED indicators on the front are not overwhelming, which can be hard to find these days.

Noise level: 9/10

I did wonder if the single fan in there could be disabled, but since it was just a loaner I didn’t feel like experimenting too much.  Purists will demand absolute silence, which is not found here - but I predict it will be no louder than the hard drive you install.

Features: 8/10

It includes hardware video playback assistance, 5.1-channel sound, plenty of USB ports, space for an optical drive, dual video outputs (capable of driving dual monitors, in fact!), and gigabit ethernet.  It was capable of pushing a 1600x1050 screen. For many people, this would be the quintessential media machine. 

However, to properly aim itself at the media market, I’d like to see an HDMI or Displayport output, and digital audio output - either coax or optical.  Maybe the next revision will have more modern video output.  Onboard 802.11g would be a huge selling point as well.  And I’m always a little surprised to see PS/2 connectors on the back. This isn’t necessarily a drawback, but I feel that even more USB ports (or even Firewire?)would be a little more useful in todays computing world.

Overall: 8.6/10

This is a neat machine.  I have an old(er) Athlon XP box sitting in my kitchen doing websurfing duty, occasionally playing a video for the kids - given half a chance, I would yank that out of there and replace it with an X27.   It’s superbly small, all but silent, and can handle day-to-day tasks without missing a beat.

Thanks to Shuttle for making it available for us to look at!

 

Yes, it’s another...

 

 

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