Shuttle XPC G5 1100
This quiet, compact PC offers lots of ports and good performance but lacks graphics power.
Shuttle has always done an admirable job of squeezing a full-size PC into a small-form-factor case without sacrificing a lot of features. Its latest PC, the XPC G5 1100, is no exception. It offers respectable performance, ample ports, and a design that's easy on the eyes and the ears.
The 1100's simple, brushed-aluminum case is elegant, and its compact footprint of 12.2 by 8 inches rises only 7.25 inches high. Two unadorned doors on the front of the case cover the system's 160GB hard drive, four-in-one media card reader, two USB 2.0 ports, headphone and microphone jacks, and four-pin FireWire port.
The 1100 is quiet. And thanks to the low thermal output of the system's Pentium M processor--originally designed for laptops--the 1100h needs only a single, slow-moving--and hence very quiet--fan for cooling.
Does the use of the Pentium M processor mean compromised performance? Not at all. Even with only 512MB of DDR2-533 SDRAM installed in our test unit, the system's WorldBench 5 score of 86 places it on a par with several full-size desktops running on dual-core Pentium D CPUs and a full 1GB of RAM. (Keep in mind, though, that the Pentium D produces far from superlative performance; systems running on AMD's Athlon CPUs handily outperform Pentium D system on a regular basis.)
The Shuttle's overall graphics and gaming performance, on the other hand, was the worst among currently tested value PCs (as of 3/23/06). The integrated Intel 915GM graphics system delivered very low frame-rate scores. In our Return to Castle Wolfenstein tests, the Shuttle produced 39 frames per second at 1024 by 768 resolution and 16-bit color. In Unreal Tournament, the Shuttle produced 59 frames per second at 1024 by 768 resolution and 16-bit color. Informal game play on Doom 3 at its lowest quality setting was a bit sluggish but playable.
An extra 512MB of RAM and a dedicated graphics card would noticeably boost performance. However, if you want 1GB of RAM, you're better off getting it installed upon purchase; Shuttle sells the PC with its two motherboard RAM slots filled--with two 256MB modules in our case--so the only way to add more RAM is to completely replace the old modules.
Fortunately, adding an expansion card, swapping the optical drive or hard drive, or--if you have no other choice--adding new RAM is surprisingly easy despite the case's extremely cramped interior. The hardest task is opening the case; its small screws require a very small Allen wrench or a pair of needle-nose pliers. Once inside, we easily accessed the two RAM slots and the two expansion slots--one X16 PCI Express and one X1 PCI Express slot.
Likewise, the chassis holding the hard drive and optical drive pops out once you remove two easy-to-access screws on the top of the frame. Since the case holds only one hard drive and one optical drive, upgrades mean swapping out the existing drive.
The back of the 1100's case offers a better selection of ports than you'll find on some Media Center PCs, so it's almost too bad that our test unit came with Windows XP Home Edition. The internal graphics system offers both VGA and DVI connectors, and has an S-Video-out port as well.
Audio capabilities match those of Media Center PCs; integrated Creative SoundBlaster Live audio provides 7.1-channel sound, and S/PDIF optical input and output ports allow for digital audio connections to high-end audio components.
A stylish Logitech keyboard, which complements the case's design, feels sturdy and has multimedia control buttons. A short but well-illustrated user manual competently covers basic usage and upgrade tasks. Shuttle received average scores in our Reliability and Service tech support survey.
This stylish, small system performs well and quietly, but it's not equipped for graphics-heavy tasks like gaming.
Kirk Steers
