We went hands-on with the latest Mini-PC from Shuttle and discovered a suprisingly capable machine that could be just what your TV needed.
By Leo Stiles
I have to admit to being a bit sceptical of the latest mini-PC from Shuttle, particularly when I saw that the machine was based around Intel’s Atom CPU, a processor that is at the heart of many a netbook and hardly what you would call a high performance chip.
Yet I dug a little deeper into the machine and discovered that not only did the XS3510MA house a dual core version of the processor but that it was also packing 2GB of RAM and the latest version of NVIDIA’s ION mobile graphics chipset. Add in a HDMI port and a generous 500GB hard drive and suddenly the PC became a highly different prospect.
Hardware
The XS3510MA is designed to fit into just about any space, including the back of a HDTV with an optional mount. The unit measures 25.2 x 3.8 x 16.2cm and has a slightly industrial look to it that admittedly isn’t initially appealing but given that the PC is designed to be hidden away, it’s not really to its detriment.
Because the PC is built around low energy consumption hardware, the machine runs silently using a unique fanless cooling system that make the PC particularly at home in the living room space and is something of a novelty after our ears have been accustomed to the relentless hum of the Xbox 360 over the past five years.
The optical drive on the front of the machine is pretty standard with a slide out tray design. This is a bit disappointing as the spring on the release isn’t that firm and a slight pull was required. While this is fine if the machine is being used as a desktop computer, I can’t help but think that a slot loading drive would have been more appropriate, especially when you mount the PC to the back of your TV.
As far connections go, the XS3510MA sports five USB ports (one of them on the front of the machine), a HDMI port, two VGA connections, a microphone jack and a multi-format card reader. 802.11n Wi-Fi is also built-in for high speed home networks.
She’s not the prettiest, but she does the job
Performance
This is where the machine really surprised me with the combination of Intel’s Atom and NVIDIA’s ION proving to be a pretty powerful combination and the machine is nicely Vista-free with Windows 7 pre-installed. First up is the resolution output which goes all the way up to 1080p and looks nothing short of stunning on a HDTV, with web pages and windows sharply defined. Even web videos such as that on the RTE player performed well and high definition videos on YouTube looked particularly good.
Elsewhere, the upscaling capabilities of the ION graphics card made our movie files play perfectly with solid framerates and an absence of pixilation on high quality video files. Only the playback of DVDs seemed to lack the same level of impact but that could be reasonably solved with the addition of some decent playback software.
As far as productivity goes, the XS3510MA can handle most of the everyday tasks such as Office applications and the like but we wouldn’t imagine that the machine is up to the task of Photoshop.
Now you might expect the XS3510MA to be a bit of a gaming lightweight and it’s true that the machine will never compete with the Playstation of the Xbox but we tested World of Warcraft just to see what would happen. It ran just fine on the lowest settings and achieved a more than acceptable framerate, which I have to say is quite impressive. Other less demanding games fared even better with Plants Vs Zombies and World of Goo playing perfectly, a factor which makes the machine a perfect bit of kit to play games from the vibrant casual and independent gaming scene.
Verdict
Overall, the Shuttle XS3510MA is a pretty impressive piece of kit that packs a serious amount of punch for a machine of this spec. The real achievement here is the addition of the ION graphics chip, which makes the machine into a genuine media-focused PC rather that the glorified netbook that I was expecting. The big pluses here are the silent operation and the excellent video performance which really justifies the machines positioning as a living room PC and the surprisingly good gaming performance is a really nice bonus.
I’m not a big fan off the case design and it has to be said that the machine does ship without a keyboard or mouse, which could be a bit annoying for some. I used a standard Microsoft wireless set to review the machine but you could always buy something more to your own taste and budget. A name more inspiring than XS3510MA would be a tad more appealing too.
Overall I came away very impressed and I could see the PC along with an additional external hard drive turning the machine into a nice media box that many might choose over their home consoles or dedicated DVD/BluRay players.
The Shuttle XS-3510MA has a RRP of €640 (inc VAT) and details of where to find one can be found here. A barebones model that ships without an OS is available from Expansys.ie
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