Specifications and external appearance
| System name | Shuttle X100HA |
| Chassis | Shuttle X-type (210mm x 296mm x 55cm DWH) - 3.41kg |
| Processor | Intel Core Duo T2050 (1.60GHz, 133MHz FSB, 2MiB L2 cache, S479, dual core) |
| Motherboard | Shuttle Intel 945PM northbridge and ICH7R southbridge |
| Memory | 512MiB (2x 256MiB) Samsung PC4200 SODIMMs at DDR2-533 4-4-4-11, dual channel |
| Hard drive(s) | 200GB Samsung SpinPoint P120 SP2004C SATA300 |
| Screen | None, optional extra |
| Graphics card | ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 128MiB. 445MHz core 675MHz RAM. DVI-I and S-Video outputs |
| Optical drive #1 | Shuttle SlimSlot (Read speed: DVD-ROM 8x, CD-ROM 24x, Write speed: DVD±R 8x, DVD±RW 4x, DVD-RAM 5x,DVD+R DL 2.4x, CD-R 24x, CD-RW 16x |
| Audio | High-definition audio. Realtek ALC880 codec. 6-channel sound. S/PDIF optical output. |
| Speakers | None, optional extra |
| Modem | None |
| Networking | Gigabit Ethernet from Realtek 8110 PCI Intel 3945ABG WiFi card - 54Mbps |
Ports connectivity (usable) | Front - USB2.0. Rear - DVI-I, S-Video, 4x USB2.0, FireWire400, RJ45, audio, digital S/PDIF (optical), DC-in |
| Operating system | Windows XP Home SP2 |
| Additional software | TBC |
| PSU | Shuttle external SilentX fanless power adapter (120W) |
| Warranty | 2 years BTB |
| Price | £820 including VAT |
| Shipping | £7.50 |
| Other notables | Vertical stand, near-silent operation, integrated card reader |
Take a look at those specifications in detail and given the choice of CPU, chipset, WiFi card and graphics adapter, many would be forgiven for thinking that Shuttle has branched out into manufacturing notebook computers.
Shuttle has realised the effective performance that present notebooks offer and taken the Intel's Napa platform and housed it in a stylish chassis, as shown below.
First thoughts are good. The chassis has an A4-sized paper's footprint so it will sit on most users' desks without problems. The high-quality chassis is reminiscent of high-end hi-fi equipment both in looks and sturdiness. It certainly won't look out of place in a bedroom or lounge, we feel.
We've reviewed practically every Shuttle XPC at HEXUS and often bemoaned the lack of port stealthing on the front of the cubes. To this end, the Shuttle X100HA is equipped with a slot-loading multi-format DVD ReWriter, and only a single USB2.0 port and power button break up the colour scheme. If Shuttle's basing part of the appeal on aesthetics, which it should, the X100HA scores well.
Switch the unit on and the only indication of activity is a blue LED under the power button, such is the unit's quietness. However, when putting the X100HA to 'sleep' (S3 STR) the LED blinks every second. Doesn't sound like a problem, does it? Try sleeping with your bedroom intermittently bathed in a faint blue light. It's not a dealbreaker, sure, but something Shuttle should have considered at the design stage.
The 4-in-1 cardreader is located between the power switch and LED; you wouldn't even know it's there without specifically looking for it. Another example of form and function.
The majority of the connectivity options are housed at the back. The X100HA's dimensions are such that Shuttle thought it prudent to locate the PSU externally. We agree with that thinking and it brings further comparisons between it and a host of laptops powered by Intel's Napa platform.
Going from left to right, there's the obligatory DC power inlet. Next door is a dual-link DVI-I port for exporting video to your monitor or TV. A couple of USB2.0 ports sit underneath the RJ45 socket for the X100HA's Gigabit Ethernet. Audio and video can also exported by optical S/PDIF and S-Video ports, respectively, and the usual analogue ports sit next to a single FireWire400 (6-pin, fullsize) and a couple of further USB2.0 ports. There's no room for legacy components here and no internal expansion slots available, so please bear that in mind if you need to run older devices.
