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Stealth's WPC-500F waterproof SFF PC makes a splash

Sure, we give you the usual list of specs for Stealth's newest small form factor PC, the WPC-500F -- which, frankly, isn't any different than your garden variety netbook -- but if you ask us, its most noteworthy feature is the ability to pour water on it all day without worrying about it fizzling out. Orders for the waterproof / water resistant machine are now being accepted, with prices starting at $1,995 and shipments going out in early July. If you really must know all the technical details, it's got a 1.6GHz Intel Atom 330, integrated graphics, 2GB RAM, 80GB HDD with options for SSD, no optical bay, no WiFi, and Windows XP. However, we think it'll more fun to just send you past the break and watch the borderline sadomasochistic video demonstration.

[Via Engadget Korea]

Read - Press Release
Read - Product page

Maingear introduces eco-friendly, Ion-powered Pulse SFF PC


Stating that NVIDIA's Ion platform has already snagged wide industry support would be a gross understatement, but for whatever reason, Maingear decided to skip out on all the Computex revelry and blaze a trail of its own. Hailed as the planet's greenest gaming PC (which is certainly up for debate), the Pulse is an energy efficient small form factor PC that offers up Ion graphics. Said configuration is available with Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs and an 80+ certified 300-watt power supply; those who care more about frame rates than Ma Earth can opt for a GeForce 9800 GT ECO, which -- despite being a discrete, power-hungry GPU -- still swallows some 40 percent less power than a standard 9800 GT. You'll also find WiFi support, room for an optional Blu-ray drive and TV tuner, upwards of 8GB of RAM and room for a single 2.5-inch HDD or SSD. The whole box checks in at just 7.6- x 8.3- x 11.4-inches, and it's available for order right now starting at $799. Full release is after the break.

eMachines delivers EL1300 line of small form factor PCs


Once the laughing stock of the PC world, eMachines has managed to pull together some rather stylish looking rigs over the past few months. As the comeback continues, the company has outed two new Mini PCs in its EL1300 line, the $298 EL1300G-01w and the $398 EL1300G-02w. Both systems include a chassis that's 10.7-inches tall, 4.2-inches wide and 15-inches long (not exactly "mini" in our books...), and while the power ain't anything to write home about, it should handle Word processing and the occasional YouTube video fine. Speaking of specs, both rigs boast a 1.6GHz AMD Athlon 2650e CPU, NVIDIA's GeForce 6150SE integrated graphics, a 160GB SATA HDD, 18x SuperMulti DVD burner, nine USB 2.0 sockets and a multicard reader. Personally, we'd select the more pricey of the two, as that one arrives with a 20-inch LCD (E202H) and Windows XP rather than Vista Home Basic. Totally your call though, boss.

Zotac Ion-based IONITX-A SFF motherboard review roundup


Jonesing for a new small form factor PC, are you? Not so keen on selecting a pre-fabricated unit? If you definitely fit the bill here, it's worth taking a gander at Zotac's recently released IONITX-A motherboard. As the first of its breed to actually ship, a whole lot is riding on its solder points, and according to reviews found 'round the web, it's done a satisfactory job of living up to expectations. The test bench-abusin' kids over at Hot Hardware found that Zotac's board (and the included dual-core Atom 330 CPU) performed "as expected," notching results that were "significantly better than any of the single core Atom 230-based systems." The unique DC power input was also lauded, and the silent nature made this a perfect candidate for a low-power, highly-capable carputer building block. All in all, this here mobo won't transform your life, but it's certainly a welcome extra in the all-too-stale DIY SFF market. Check the links below for all the bar charts you can handle.

Read - Hot Hardware ("most appealing of the Ion-based products")
Read - PC Perspective ("an impressive motherboard for its size")
Read - The Tech Report ("as good as the Ion platform gets")
Read - Tom's Hardware ("it's most promising destination is in the HTPC space")

iBUYPOWER's Core i7-powered LAN Warrior makes other SFF rigs weep


See that, Shuttle? Yeah, that's your worst nightmare. iBUYPOWER has just shocked the small form factor (SFF) world with a new rig that's potent enough to act as your standalone gaming machine. Equipped with a menacing look, a carry handle and room for two full-sized dual slot video cards, the aptly titled LAN Warrior caters to no one outside of the enthusiast niche. For the crowd willing to shell out for the latest and greatest, they'll find a Core i7 CPU (920, 940 and 965 Extreme available, up to five ventilation fans, an optional liquid cooling system, ASUS' Rampage II Gene X58 motherboard, up to 12GB of DDR3 memory, twin GeForce GTX 295 / Radeon 4870 x2 GPUs, four internal 3.5-inch bays, up to 6TB of HDD space, up to two Blu-ray writers, gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n WiFi and a planet-killing 1000-watt power supply. Amazingly, the starting tag on this one is just $999, and it's available now from the outfit's website. Full release is after the break.

Zotac jumping in Ion-filled waters with new Mini-ITX motherboards

We'd heard a few whispers rolling through the gentle breeze that Zotac would be hopping on the Ion bandwagon early on, and sure enough, it looks like said firm is indeed latched on. Reportedly, the outfit will be producing a few Mini-ITX motherboards in the near future that support Intel's Atom 230 / 330 processors and come loaded with NVIDIA's GeForce 9400M G chipsets. The mobos would also include all of the basic amenities: Ethernet, two RAM slots, HDMI / DVI / VGA outputs, a trio of SATA ports and a WiFi module. There's still no word on what system maker is looking to slap these into their next-generation nettops, but who knows, maybe this will end up being the first standalone Ion-based board for the DIYers in attendance.

[Via Expreview, thanks Shawn]

Shuttle intros Atom 330, SUSE Linux-packin' X270V nettop


Go 'head, Shuttle -- break on out of that shell! The company notorious for pumping out the same barebone rectangle with a different model name and a few extra ports has finally seen fit to do something a touch different, and what we're dealt is the X270V. This so-called Mini-PC relies on Intel's 1.6GHz Atom 330 to push the computations, while up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM keeps things in order. There's also gigabit Ethernet, 6-channel audio, a PS/2 connector for the retro folks, six USB sockets and VGA / DVI outputs. Shuttle also claims this bugger is energy efficient, though it doesn't go into great detail about just how much it'll save you each month. Oh, and it also comes loaded with openSUSE 11 (a Linux flavor, for those unaware). Interested? Move to Europe and plop down at least €299 ($390).

[Via Slashgear]

VIA's VX855 Media System Processor handles the 1080p


Big news, folks -- 1008p is about to hit the minuscule PC market, and VIA's making darn sure it doesn't miss the boat. Hot on the heels of HABEY's BIS-6550HD announcement, VIA has stepped in to formally introduce its VX855 Media System Processor, which aims to bring hardware-based 1080p decoding to VIA-based rigs. The highly integrated single chip package sucks down just 2.3 watts and provides hardware H.264 video acceleration when snapped in alongside a VIA Nano, C7 or Eden processor. Other specs include a 400 to 800MHz FSB speed, support for up to DDR2 800 memory (4GB maximum), six USB 2.0 ports and the company's own Chrome9 graphics set. There's no mention of when this bugger will find its way into shelf-bound rigs, but we're hoping Computex sheds some light on the situation.

[Via HotHardware]

Shuttle XPC Barebone SX58H7 wants a piece of your Core i7


Shuttle's newfangled XPC Barebone SX58H7 is hungry, and nothing but an Intel Core i7 CPU and twin GPUs hooked up in unison can satisfy it. Those looking to pack a lot of power into a relatively small box need look no further, as Shuttle's latest SFF case comes loaded with an X58 Express chipset, 500 watt power supply, two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots, space for up to 16GB of DDR3 RAM and room for two SATA II hard drives. You'll also find twin gigabit Ethernet jacks and a case that looks pretty much exactly like every other Shuttle case produced in the past five years. Oh, and then there's the heart-stopping €483 ($611) price tag. Gotta hate that.

[Via I4U News]

CyberPower intros Atom-powered Windows Home Server 100


The Windows Home Server parade has slowed to a crawl, but we figure we speak for each and every streaming media lover out there when we invite more companies to give this whole thing a go. CyberPower, a firm that generally sticks to gaming towers, has apparently done just that with its Windows Home Server 100, a plainly styled SFF machine that automatically backs up local PCs and provides networked access to all sorts of files. But for those who look closely, you'll realize that the model name here is just coincidental, as it's "Windows 2003 Server OEM version" running the show. If you're still interested, the rig boasts a 1.6GHz Atom 330 processor, a mini-ITX motherboard, GMA 950 graphics, gigabit Ethernet, a 500GB SATA II hard drive and 2GB of DDR2 memory. Shame on you for getting our hopes up, CyberPower.

Shuttle ships liquid-cooled SDXi Carbon SFF gaming PC


Got a hankering for an all new gaming rig, preferably one that could fit in your over-sized backpack should the need arise? Ready to spend boatloads of cash to make it happen? If you're eagerly nodding your head up and down, have a look at Shuttle's liquid-cooled SDXi Carbon, a fancily painted machine that checks in at 7.3- x 7.9- x 12.2-inches and gets powered by a 3GHz Core 2 Duo E8400 CPU. Other specs include 2/4/8GB of RAM, between 250GB and 2TB of hard drive space, an optional Blu-ray writer, your choice of NVIDIA GPU, gigabit Ethernet and optional WiFi. The starting price on this bugger is an amazing $2,599, and if you plan on customizing the base configuration whatsoever, you should probably plan on taking out yet another line of credit on what's left of your home.

[Via HotHardware]

Microsoft places stamp of approval on Vista-based Ion SFF PCs


Not that NVIDIA really needs Microsoft to give the ole thumbs-up here, but having that seal of approval may convince some currently wary manufacturers to jump in and support the Ion platform over one of those perfectly fine alternatives. As with so many other devices in the world, NVIDIA's Ion platform is now Certified for Windows Vista, meaning that PC users could one day experience all the joys of the aforesaid OS on Ion-based rigs as low as $299. We're told that such machines could be on the market by summer, and they'll be positively ready to deliver smooth Blu-ray playback while supporting DirectX 10, Aero Glass, Flip3D and GPU acceleration. Bring it, we say.

Atom-powered Stinger 553 SFF PC could likely withstand nuclear stresses


For the man who proudly owns an Impenetrable Iron Drive comes this, the Atom-powered Stinger 553 from CodaOctopus Colmek. Hailed as a rugged tactical small form factor PC, the box you see pictured above measures just 5- x 5- x 3-inches and is built to MIL-STD-810F and MIL-STD-461E environmental standards and MIL-STD0704E power supply voltage standards. For the layperson, that means it can withstand an almost ungodly amount of vibration, dust, humidity and sandblasting. Packed within the aluminum alloy chassis is an unnamed Atom CPU, 2GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD, eight USB 2.0 ports and plenty of other goodies that'll handle mission critical applications. It seems as if you'll have to phone up the company in order to get a price, but considering that you could almost take this to war, we wouldn't bank on it being cheap.

NVIDIA Quadro NVS 420 GPU brings powerhouse graphics to SFF rigs


NVIDIA's Quadro NVS 420 is quite the unique offering -- on one hand, it's rather intriguing that a workstation card has been whittled down to fit within a small form factor PC, but then again, who else outside of advertisers (and their digital signage applications) will even need it? Nevertheless, said card is the industry's only low-profile professional GPU that can sneak within SFF PCs and still power four 30-inch displays at 2,560 x 1,600 resolution via DisplayPort / dual-link DVI. As for specs, it's boasting 512MB of memory, 11.2GB/sec (per GPU) of memory bandwidth and a CUDA Parallel Computing Processor. It'll be available next month for the niche that needs it at $499.

[Via HotHardware]

Acer intros Aspire X1700 SFF PC, 23-inch H233H 1080p LCD monitor


Looks like Acer's expanding its small form factor PC family once more, and this time it's the Aspire X1700 slotting itself in between the X3200 and X1200. Measuring in at 10.4- x 4- x 14.4-inches, the mini PC includes a 2.4GHz Intel dual-core E2200 CPU, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 7100 graphics, nine (yes, as in the number prior to ten) USB 2.0 sockets, a multi-card reader, 640GB SATA II hard drive, dual-layer DVD writer, an HDMI socket, eSATA port and a USB keyboard / mouse combo to boot. In somewhat related news, Acer is also choosing today to introduce the H233H 23-inch display, which touts a 1,920 x 1,080 native resolution, 5-millisecond response time, 300 nits of brightness, 160-degree viewing angles, twin 1.5-watt speakers and a maximum contrast ratio of 40,000:1. Both products should be available as we speak for $479.99 and $229.99 in order of mention, but it's on you to hunt down a reseller. Full release is after the break.
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