Why You Can Trust CNET Shuttle XPC X200 review: Shuttle XPC X200
Shuttle's updated supersmall home theater PC introduces a few new features to bring it inline with similar diminutive living room PCs. It also came to us with Windows Vista Home Premium. If you're in it for the looks (and you don't want HD video), you'll find a system to like here, but we think you'll be able to find more capable PCs on the market soon.
Shuttle's XPC X100 PC impressed us with its design this past summer, but its feature set lagged behind similar systems', such as Apple's Mac Mini and the WinBook Jiv Mini. With its updated XPC X200M, Shuttle brings the features in-line with what we expect from a smaller PC, adding an integrated analog TV tuner and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, but now it's performance that's the problem, at least with this $1,149 baseline model. Shuttle sent us this system with Windows Vista Home Premium, and we found anecdotally that Vista ran smoothly enough, but when we ran it through CNET Labs' benchmark tests, it lagged behind others in its class. We're also surprised that Shuttle doesn't offer an option for an HD optical drive. We attribute both of those issues to the XPC X200M's Intel chipset. Still, it is attractive, and it has the basics down, which might be enough to sway some of you.
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Like the original model, the Shuttle XPC X200M uses a laptop processor and chipset to help keep it small. Its footprint remains a svelte 8 inches wide, 2 inches high and just less than 12 inches deep. That's larger than a Mac Mini but smaller than HP's small-form-factor Pavilion SlimLine systems. Thanks to its size and its attractive black, brushed- aluminum chassis, you should feel comfortable placing the XPC X200M on display in your home, dorm room, or place of business. If all you're looking for is a basic computer for serving up media, this isn't a terrible choice. Just know that you can get more performance for your money.
A crowd-pleasing slot-loading DVD burner lines the front of the system. That feature comes standard, but we wish Shuttle gave you the option to go to Blu-ray, HD DVD, or a combination drive. We'd certainly expect to pay more for the privilege, but we have a feeling that Shuttle doesn't give you the choice because of the motherboard chipset. The board's integrated Intel graphics chip isn't exactly known for power and image quality. Dell's XPS M1710 laptop and its Nvidia chipset have shown that you can use laptop parts to process Blu-ray video, so we wish that Shuttle had taken a more aggressive stance on the XPC X200M's foundation.
As it stands, Shuttle has done about the best it can do with an Intel-based laptop design at the core of this PC. A 1.67GHz Intel T2300E Core 2 Duo processor and 1GB of 667 MHZ DDR2 SDRAM form the core components. Shuttle offers higher- and lower-end processors and memory allotments throughout its X200M line, but for Vista, you really don't want less than 1GB of RAM. We admit we were surprised by how well our configuration handled moving around the Vista operating system. We had Aero and Flip 3D turned on, including a window with a video playing on it, and the system was able to scroll through the different applications with no trouble. On the one hand, the XPC X200M performed better than we thought it would, because all signs leading up to Vista pointed to a 1GB RAM-integrated graphics chip combo not faring very well. The good news, then, is that Vista will work on this system; the bad news is how poorly the system performs overall compared to other PCs in its class.
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As you can see from CNET Labs' benchmarks, the Shuttle came in last on every single one of our benchmark tests. Its multitasking, media encoding, and image and audio processing performance lags significantly behind even that of the Acer Aspire L310, another small box that costs about $250 less. Whether it's the Shuttle's slower notebook processor and chipset, the overhead from Windows Vista, or a combination of those things (which is what we suspect), it's hard to say what's slowing down this system so badly. We also find it interesting that the HP TouchSmart PC with twice the memory and a dedicated graphics chip didn't fare that much better than the Shuttle. That system also uses laptop hardware, so we can't say anything definitive about Vista dragging down system performance until we can test true desktop parts. Still, it's fair to say that for these two Vista PCs, older Windows XP-based systems deliver more efficient performance for your computing dollar.
You may also notice that we don't have any gaming results for the Shuttle. Not that we'd expect gaming-powerhouse performance from the XPC X200M, but we'd at least expect Quake 4 to run--it did on the HP TouchSmart with its Nvidia chipset. We were never able to pinpoint why it didn't handle our Quake test, but since Vista hasn't officially launched, Shuttle still has time to get the kinks out. And since this isn't a gaming desktop, we can't be too hard on it for not running a higher-end 3D game such as Quake 4. We'll simply say that we'd be surprised if this were the last issue we saw as we make the transition to the new operating system.
With its integrated 802.11b/g wireless networking capability and built-in TV tuner, the XPC X200M makes a stronger showing than the X100, which lacked those features, made six months ago. The 250GB, 7,200rpm hard drive might be a little small for serious digital media archivists, but if you think you'll need more storage, you can add larger internal drives, up to 750GB, when you configure this system on Shuttle's Web site. Shuttle also includes an innocuous, four-in-one media card reader that's built in to its front panel, and you'll find an assortment of peripherals, such as an external Creative Sound Blaster audio card, speakers, and a floppy drive available as options, as well.
Shuttle's support is about average for a smaller desktop vendor. You get a one-year parts-and-labor warranty with the XPC X200M, and toll-free phone support from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. PT, Monday through Friday. Shuttle's Web site has a FAQ and a few other pages of troubleshooting help. We have a large issue with this system's support policy, however. A shiny sticker blocks one of the rear-panel screws advising you that if you remove the sticker, your warranty becomes void. Sure, the inside is tightly packed, and DIY upgrading or service is harder than it might be normally, but that restriction also means that even if you want to perform a task as simple as upgrading the memory, you have to take the system to a Shuttle-approved depot center. What a waste of time.
System configurations:
Acer Aspire L310
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2; 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6300; 1,024MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM; integrated 128MB (shared) Intel GMA 3000 graphics chip; 250GB Western Digital 7,200rpm hard drive
Gateway DX420X
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2; 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6600; Intel P965 Express chipset; 1,024MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 7900 GT; (2) 250GB Hitachi 7,200rpm hard drives
HP Pavilion SlimLine s7600e
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2; 2.0GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+; 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 500MHz; integrated 256MB Nvidia GeForce 6150 LE; 250GB Western Digital 7,200rpm hard drive
HP TouchSmart PC IQ770
Windows Vista Home Premium; 1.6GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-51; 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 7600 Go; 320GB 7,200rpm hard drive
Shuttle XPC X200M
Windows Vista Home Premium; 1.66GHz Intel T2300 Core 2 Duo; 1,024MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB (shared) Intel 950 GMA graphics chip; 250GB 7,200rpm Seagate Barracuda hard drive