Shuttle X50 All in One

Shuttle unveils an Atom 330 desktop computer with Linux inside.

The Linux PC – available in black or white – is fitted with Intel’s Atom 330 dual-core processor (2x 1.6 GHz), 1 GiB DDR2 memory, 160 GB hard disk, 15.6" touchscreen (39.6 cm, resolution 1366x768), 1.3 megapixel webcam, card reader, microphone and stereo speakers.

Shuttle's X500V All-in-One PC has an array of additional expansion options with rapid Gigabit network, WLAN (Draft-N), 6-channel audio, VGA output and five USB ports. It can be fitted to monitor arms or wall brackets with the VESA mount. The Kensington Lock provides anti-theft protection.

The new All in One is priced at 450eur, without VAT, in Europe. It's an interesting price but it should pack at least 2GiB for this price. Other than that, it seems like a very interesting non-gaming machine.
The Atom 330 is about equivalent to a Core based Celeron at 2GHz, or a similar Sempron, but does outperform them in some applications. Its advantage is lower power consumption from both those parts while still being able to handle 1080p video without a problem.

The bundled Linux version is OpenSUSE 11.1, which I have already tested on an Acer One netbook and which has revealed itself as a very decent OS. It's supported for 2 years, after which you should update it to the next (free) version of the OS from Novell.

Linux compatible hardware is something still hard to come by these days and a price premium may justify itself if you don't get any problems. I've had more than my share with motherboards from ASUS.


Source: Shuttle computer

HP Refreshes Its Slimline PC

The HP Slimline is a line of computers from HP typically targeted at "everything but gaming" computers. They are slim, very aesthetically pleasing and have a good amount of processing power without being too expensive.

This new model is selling for around $650 and features an Intel Q8200, 6GB of 1066MHz DDR3 RAM, Gigabit Ethernet, an Nvidia GeForce G210 and a 750GB HDD. There's also a Blu-Ray drive mounted vertically and a front accessible card reader.

Like it's older brother, the latest Slimline is also a silent computer but it probably won't be like that for long. HP doesn't use any dust filters and you may have to clean it thoroughly after a year or so, to keep it running silent and cool.

This PC is excellent for cramped spaces as it is half the width a Micro-ATX case. It is powerfull enough for most tasks and the PCI-Express graphics card can be upgrade as long as you can find an half-height one. There usually are mainstream, decent cards available in that form factor, the last of which was the 9600GT.



Review @ Digital Trends