Shuttle X27D
Nice CPU. So why the poor chipset?
Review We had something of a downer on the Intel Atom 230 as the single-core 1.6GHz processor could barely pull the skin off a rice pudding.
Our verdict was that "you can build an incredibly small and cheap PC around the D945GCLF mobo, but the Atom CPU is a severe disappointment on the desktop as it doesn’t have the grunt to do any useful work". And we hoped that "perhaps the next-gen, dual-core Atom will make a world of difference".
Shuttle's X27D: dual-core Atom on board
With the launch of Atom 330, we’ve got our hands on a Shuttle X27D - D for 'dual core' - which is very similar to the Intel D945GCLF motherboard that we originally reviewed. The only significant difference is the move from the one cored Atom 320 to the two-core 330 and yes, we are aware that Atom uses Hyper Threading to double up the number of virtual cores.
Shuttle has finished production of the X27 and has switched over to the X27D without changing the price from £199 for a barebones - which we think is jolly civil of it. If you want to buy the X27D as a PC, you’ll find it on sale online with prices starting at £321 for a complete system without OS, in case you fancy using Linux instead of Windows XP or Vista. The model code changes when you’re looking at a full PC instead of a barebones from Shuttle Barebone X27D to Shuttle X2700B Mini-PC System.
Building a Shuttle barebones is usually quick and easy as most models use regular desktop parts. The tiny X27D chassis only measures 250 x 185 x 70mm and uses a laptop hard drive and optical drive, although the single module of DDR 2 system memory is a desktop DIMM. That’s a nice cheap place to start as 2GB of PC2-5300 will only cost £20.
Not expensive to equip
Add in a 160GB notebook hard drive for £40 and the final piece of hardware is the optical drive. A basic DVD writer costs £25 and you may consider spending another £125 to add Blu-ray, but we strongly recommend against this course of action. The Intel GMA950 integrated graphics don’t have the grunt to handle HD playback, and the Atom 330 can't pick up the slack.
COMMENTS
Some Other Alternative? But of course!
@ storng.bare.durid: "Would that the powers that be would junk x86 in all its guises .... and give us some other alternative."
Um, we were headed that way once upon a time. But Someone... Killed... It... ALl... D-E-A-D...
With the Motorola 68XXX processor and the custom-built "blitter" chip that to this day Intel is apparently unable or unwilling to reproduce on its own, the old multi-tasking o/s-equipped Amiga Personal Computer series R-O-C-K-E-D the world. (Remember?)
To this day, I dearly wish I had kept mine. Even though at 14 screaming MHz clock, the A500 is a slug by today's gigahertz-driven Intel standard. But you want cool operation? Then build it to be EFFICIENT!
I do miss both my original A1000 and the A500 that superseded it. I was only able to keep the video monitor as things sorted out. (It still works just fine; I still use it on the VCR/DVD test/repair bench.)
Sidebar: Yes, I still salvage, repair and re-home my made-serviceable VCRs. So deride me if needs be; my Old School viddy-buff friends just love it. (Not much cash there, but a GREAT bartering-chip, that.)
So bring back the Blitter Chip - and start doing Block Memory Transfers to the video display hardware all over again! Heck, with a blitter-chip on board one can blap entire screen-fulls of graphic content straight into one's face all at one gulp - at a full video frame per two or three clock cycles max - again! The x86 "chipset" is truly *incomplete* without it imho.
Commodore f***ed the Amiga right up. Intel did the rest and swore he Nevver Done Nuthin'.
Murderers.
And Apple buyers are Mactards?
Looking at one of Shuttle's resellers in the UK (Ambros Direct), they offer a Shuttle X27D Base Spec (1GB of DDR2 and a 160GB SATA2 drive) for GBP 449.50 (incl. VAT and delivery). For a whole 50p more, Apple will deliver a Mac Mini with a 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo instead of that wimpy Atom.
The cube rocked!
" Hmm, where have we seen that before?"
The difference being the G4 cube is absolutely gorgeous, a work of modern art and at the time of release it was actually quite powerful. This on the other hand is ugly and seriously underpowered in comparison.
That's a awful lot of money for little power...
Aimed at Apple clients maybe?
4 cores at 50%?
4 cores at 50% still means you're cpu limited though, not graphics limited.
