Shuttle Updates X27 Barebone with Dual-Core Atom 330

[btarunr]

Barebone and nettop specialist Shuttle, has introduced a new version of the X27 nettop barebone, featuring dual-core Intel Atom 330 processor, running at 1.60 GHz. The X27D measures 250 (L) x 185 (W) x 70 (H) mm, and houses an Intel 945GC-based ITX motherboard featuring Intel GMA 950 graphics.

The motherboard feautures one DDR2 memory slot that has to be populated with a DDR2-533/667 MHz memory module, with up to 2 GB in capacity. It offers an IDE connector and two SATA II ports for connecting hard drives. Peripheral options include DVI and D-Sub connectors for video output, six-channel audio, and gigabit ethernet. The company marks this product as Windows Vista ready. It has started selling in Europe for €215.



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[[I.R.A]_FBi]

Why is intel going minmalist on the atom boards? need onboard wifi ftw

 

[insider]

The Atom board with the dual core chip costs only £65, a cheap mini mATX case with PSU included only costs £30, what a rip off.

 

[lemonadesoda]

http://eu.shuttle.com/de/Portaldata/1/Resources/download/specs/xpc_barebones/spec_X27D_en.pdf

 

[joinmeindeath417]

or for the price you can buy a mac mini and install windows on it?

 

[Swansen]

I always wonder why these little boxes don't have a TV out on them or something, or a HDMI out.

 

[lemonadesoda]

or for the price you can buy a mac mini and install windows on it?

I think you'll find a mac mini a little more expensive.

 

[Exavier]

I always wonder why these little boxes don't have a TV out on them or something, or a HDMI out.

+1

I'd love a /really really/ tiny box for media.
but then, this is the sort of thing I could use just as well for a download box if it had onboard wifi

 

[ste2425]

may be a dumb question but what use does it have? i mean are the dvd drive n hard drives built in? it dont look big enough? it aint got much for gaming. Is the proccessor any fast?

 

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

+1

I'd love a /really really/ tiny box for media.
but then, this is the sort of thing I could use just as well for a download box if it had onboard wifi

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/zotac-mini-itx-nvidia-630i,6548.html

 

[Mussels]

DVI is HDMI compatible, except for the audio (ATI cards are the exception)

Atom CPU's arent powerful enough for HD media, so its hardly worth giving them the outputs for them to just fail when people try and use them as media PC's.

 

[insider]

An updated IGP can provide the required hardware HD decoding assist so 1080P can work pretty well even for low performance CPU but that current out of date Intel chipset sucks.

 

[Mussels]

An updated IGP can provide the required hardware HD decoding assist so 1080P can work pretty well even for low performance CPU but that current out of date Intel chipset sucks.

intels highest chip, the GMA X3100 (its in my lan rig on its rare G35 board) still sucks terribly for HD video. The only way to get a HD media PC without a decoder video card, is a CPU that averages around 1 minute in superpi 1m - and the atoms average around 1m 30s

 

[insider]

Dang didn't know Intel IGP's sucks so much (never mind gaming) even with HD decoding lol, any low end budget third party IGP could do it but knowing Intel they probably would rather ship those boards with their own suckass mobo IGP chips.

 

[Mussels]

Dang didn't know Intel IGP's sucks so much (never mind gaming) even with HD decoding lol, any low end budget third party IGP could do it but knowing Intel they probably would rather ship those boards with their own suckass mobo IGP chips.

Intel chipset = intel GPU.

ell, Nvidia chipset = Nv GPU, and same with ATI i guess.
the problem is that video card acceleration is dodgy to get working, so you're better off with a powerful enough CPU... a 2.4GHz P4 can do it, so its not like you need a monster. its just that atom sucks.

 

[insider]

Wasn't there reports Intel were going with a third party mobile chip (SIS?) for HD decoding for their next power efficient mobile platform?

Hardware HD decoding actually works pretty well with any current low end ATI graphics, you could downclock the CPU right down and it'll still play 1080P content without a single frame dropped, shame they don't still have a power efficient Atom killer on the market yet.

 

[Mussels]

Wasn't there reports Intel were going with a third party mobile chip (SIS?) for HD decoding for their next power efficient mobile platform?

Hardware HD decoding actually works pretty well with any current low end ATI graphics, you could downclock the CPU right down and it'll still play 1080P content without a single frame dropped, shame they don't still have a power efficient Atom killer on the market yet.

hardware decoding only works on the actual disks (blu ray/HD-DVD) when it comes to files (H264/x264) its got about a 20% success rate, and even then its very... poor. theres jittering, seeking is slow, and so on.

Trust me, i've been working on it for months now and its very difficult to get hardware acceleration working. (Nvidia and ATI)

 

[Exavier]

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/zotac-mini-itx-nvidia-630i,6548.html

pow! thanks IRA, I saw this and thought it would still be a little large...even so, I'll give it a shot haha

 

[lemonadesoda]

The zotac is a lovely little board. If you find a supplier (at reasonable/fair pricing) in UK/Europe, then let us all know. Seems like it's not available here (or not yet!).

 

[lemonadesoda]

Just some quick feedback on this product, since I bought one.

1./ Very neat. Looks nice. Room for only ONE 2.5" drive and ONE slim CD drive and ONE stick of DDR2 RAM. No room for anything else.

2./ The mainboard was a location and tape-out for a PCI slot, however NOT PCI slot was soldered on. Shame, since there ARE some ultralowprofile cards out there, AND because if you decide to move the mainboard to a bigger case, it is handicapped without any slots.

3./ It is quiet but not silent. It sounds similar to a laptop with the fan at full blast. I have certainly built more silent systems that this using Pentium M.

4./ It actually gets quite hot. But it is the chipset not the CPU that is getting hot.

5./ The performance of the machine is excellent. It is better than expected; beating most other mini-ITX format boards. Only a specialist Core 2 or high Clocked Pentium M would be faster. But then it would be more power and more heat.