smallformfactor
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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 ReleaseRead - Product page
Shuttle's H7 5800 packs Core i7 and all the trimmings into a small form factor PC
These days, Shuttle's particular brand of small form factor PC isn't as exactly stunning as it once was, but it's still fun to see just how much they can cram in there. Shuttle has taken its barebones SX58H7 Core i7 kit and is now offering it preconfigured with Core i7 Extreme processors, 6GB of RAM and GeForce GTX 285 graphics (With support for SLI or ATI CrossFireX). Unfortunately the base price for the H7 5800 is a silly high $2,149, and once you actually get to any of those previously mentioned trimmings, you're looking at around $4k for a computer. It might be slight technical feat, but we can't imagine Shuttle burning up the sales charts with this one. The barebones kit retails for $719.
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.
VIA Nano-powered Shuttle XS29F gets official
Well, Computex Taipei still hasn't formally kicked off, but it looks like it's close enough for VIA and Shuttle, who have now gotten official with that Nano-based small form factor PC that first surfaced earlier this week. Now dubbed the Shuttle XS29F, this particular version comes equipped with the low-power combo of VIA's Nano U1700 CPU and VX800 media system processor, along with support for up to 4GB of RAM, your choice of SATA II storage options, both VGA and DVI ports, four USB 2.0 ports and, perhaps most importantly, a maximum power consumption of just 50 watts for the entire system. That, as VIA helpfully explains in the video after the break, means the system can ditch all the usual fans and heatsinks and remain nearly silent during operation, not to mention let you save you a bit on your energy bills. Still no word on a price, sadly, but we're hoping Shuttle will be a bit more talkative once Computex opens its doors.
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.
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.
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]
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.%Gallery-42571%
Shuttle D10 desktop features built-in touchscreen, little else
The D10 is a barebones rig with the classic Shuttle form factor, but the addition of a 7-inch (800 x 480) touchscreen out front makes things a little more interesting. Intel Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Duo E4000 series, Dual-Core E2000 series and Celeron 400 series processors are all supported with up to 4GB RAM, and the kit ships with an Intel GMA 3100 GPU, 5.1 channel audio and SATA II support. A base configuration is offered on Shuttle's Japanese site with a 1.6GHz Celeron processor, 1GB RAM and a 80GB hard drive for ¥69,800 (about $648), but no -- it isn't available in the States. [Via The Boy Genius Report and Akihabara News]
Shuttle intros XPC G5 3201M, complete with Blu-ray drive
Although Shuttle just recently unveiled an XPC machine that stepped up in the HD realm, the G5 3201M leaves no doubt about its intentions. Packing that typical SFF Shuttle chassis and a VFD display, this bad boy includes Intel's E6300 Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a 250GB SATA hard drive, NVIDIA's 256MB GeForce 8600GTS graphics unit, a DVB-T TV tuner, 7.1-channel audio output, a wireless remote, and the obligatory Blu-ray drive to top things off. Notably, users can choose between the HDCP-compliant DVI or HDMI ports for video output, and a number of upgrades are available if you've got the necessary coinage. Per usual, this XPC won't run ya cheap, as the base configuration rings up at €1,419 ($1,953) -- and that's sans a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.[Via GadgetTastic]
Shuttle's XPC SG33G5 hearts HD, touts HDMI port
Before Shuttle goes and entertains any potential bids to sell itself, it's answering the demands of HTPC admirers hankering for a small-form-factor barebones system that integrates well into an AV setup. The SG33G5, straight from the egotistical Glamor series, sports an Intel G33 Bearlake chipset, 250-watt power supply, supports Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad Intel CPUs, handles up to 4GB of RAM, and features the company's own I.C.E. cooling technology. Furthermore, you'll find a PCI Express slot, Intel's GMA 3100 graphics set (weak, we know), 7.1-channel audio, Dolby Digital / DTS support, gigabit Ethernet, FireWire, SATA compatibility, VGA output, and the obligatory HDCP-compatible HDMI port. Of course, picking up a quasi-stripped box in order to snag the HD DVD / Blu-ray drive of your choice won't come cheap, as the currently available SG33G5 will set you back a whopping €303 ($405) right from the start.[Via PCLaunches]
Acer / ECS looking to pick up Shuttle?
While this one may seem a tad out of left field, rumors are swirling that either Acer or Elitegroup Computer Systems could be fixing to pick Shuttle up if it decides to sell itself. According to an admittedly brief writeup at DigiTimes, ECS reportedly has a "good relationship with Shuttle," and is being named "by market sources as one of two potential buyers" with Acer being the second. Interestingly, "sources" at ECS purportedly insinuated that there "was no need to acquire Shuttle" in order to meet its strategic goals, and while spokespeople for Acer were tightlipped, it wouldn't be too far-fetched for the partnership-happy firm to ink yet another deal.
Shuttle X38-based desktop spotted at Computex
It looks like blistering fast DDR3 RAM and new Draft 2.0-spec 802.11n gear aren't the only new wares taking the stage at Computex, as an X38-based SX38P3 Deluxe was spotted comfortably residing within a Shuttle XPC. Of course, this isn't the first motherboard news coming from the Shuttle camp of late, but the camera-wielding crew at HotHardware was able to snap a few shots of the new flagship system all the while. The SX38P3 will reportedly replace the SD37PV2 as Shuttle's high-end Intel based barebone system, and will sport a single PCI Express x16 slot alongside a vanilla PCI slot -- something the SD37PV2 lacked and received healthy amounts of criticism for. Interestingly, the rear of the machine purportedly held no legacy ports whatsoever, instead opting for six USB 2.0 connectors in hopes that you've upgraded your input peripherals and printer relatively recently. As expected, no availability and pricing details were to be had, but feel free to click on through for more sneak peeks at the newfangled rig.[Via Inquirer]
Shuttle to ship standalone XPC motherboards?
Considering the recent onslaught of Pico-ITX and other diminutive motherboards hitting the scene, it's not too surprising to hear that Shuttle could end up shipping standalone mobos for its widely recognized XPC series of small form factor PCs. According to an interview with DigiTimes, a Shuttle spokesperson purportedly revealed that the company was "planning to start shipping standalone motherboards for its XPC line" of computers, which would allow current XPC barebone kit owners to upgrade just their mainboard in the future rather than having to buy an entirely new setup. Moreover, this decision would enable owners to mix and match current motherboard offerings with the variety of chassis options, and while there were no hints as to when Shuttle would make the final call on this reported decision, we can't imagine it hanging around for too much longer while competitors eat away at SFF market share.
HP launches environmentally friendly rp5700 slim desktop PC
As the green trend looms ever larger over the consumer electronics industry, HP is taking full advantage of the opportunity by unveiling the environmentally friendly rp5700 slim desktop PC. The company toots its own horn by boasting about the Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Gold award that the machine has garnered, and we'd assume that building it from 95-percent recyclable components and packing it in a box made from at least 25-percent post-consumer recycled cardboard had something to do with it. Additionally, the unit sports an uber-efficient power supply and comes with "an optional solar renewable energy source" to extract juice from the sun. As for hardware, you'll find Intel Core 2 Duo chips up to 2.13GHz, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, SATA hard drives as large as 250GB, optional RAID 1 setups, and your choice of operating system. Of course, the EPEAT Gold-certified machine steps it down to a Celeron 440 CPU with 512MB of RAM, and while this particular configuration will start at $817, other options are available today from $648 right on up.[Via Slashgear]
Via's VT6047 mainboard becomes first in Pico-ITX lineage
Making good on its promise to deliver an uber-small mainboard for tight-space and media-centric applications, Via has announced its first product in the 10- x 7.2-centimeter Pico-ITX lineup. Checking in over 75-percent smaller than Mini-ITX boards of the past, this x86-based reference design seeks to embrace a "new world of ultra compact embedded PC systems and appliances." The board was purportedly designed to be powered by one of Via's own C7 or Eden CPUs, and should be available shortly to board vendors and hardware designers interested in concocting even smaller PCs for their customers. The design also relies on the firm's VX700 chipset and provides Ethernet, eight-channel HD audio, four USB 2.0 ports, a SATA connector, and a multi-format card reader. Reportedly, the VT6047 will be priced anywhere from "$300 to $500," but we guess that's just the premium you pay for a palm-sized PC.[Via LinuxDevices]
Shuttle XPC SD39P2 handles Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Extreme
Although Shuttle's been known to kick out a few majorly fresh offerings that deviated from the company norm from time to time, the XPC SD39P2 seems to be sticking quite firmly to the beaten path, as it retains the stylish good looks of its all-black predecessor and just adds support for a few new pieces of hardware. The SFF barebones kit boasts Intel's 975X / ICH7-R chipset and supports up to 8GB of DDR2 RAM, Intel's latest Core 2 Quad / Core 2 Extreme processors, NVIDIA's 7950 GX2 / 8800 GTX and ATI's Radeon X1900 graphics cards, and eight-channel HD-audio as well. Moreover, users will find expanded BIOS settings for CPU clock ratio and DDR2 voltage, a PCI-Express slot, room for a trio of 3.5-inch hard drives along with a single optical drive, gigabit Ethernet, a whopping seven USB 2.0 ports, FireWire, eSATA, and a 400-watt SilentX power supply. The 12.8- x 8.7- x 8.3-inch box also sports Shuttle's I.C.E. heat-pipe cooling module and linear fan control to keep the heat (and noise) out of your machine, and while we still dig the idea of a portable LAN gaming rig at our disposal, we'd certainly think twice before dropping €419 ($554) for just the enclosure.[Via TGDaily]
Lenovo intros Vista-equipped SFF A55 ThinkCentre desktop
With all this talk about small-form-factor PCs going on, not to mention the Vista-equipped computer bandwagon that's steaming through today, Lenovo apparently figured it might as well hop on. Rather than changing the model name completely, the A55 SFF simply sports a trio of extra letters, a 64-percent smaller enclosure than its larger counterpart, and a claim to be around 25-percent tinier than "the conventional small desktop." Moreover, this wee PC will pack a mysterious Intel Core 2 Duo processor, Windows Vista, DVD writer, an optional floppy drive (saywha?), and a whole smorgasbord of other not-yet-mentioned components within a case not much larger than "your average briefcase." Customers who pick this up will be graced with the outfit's ThinkVantage Technologies, such as Rescue and Recovery and Client Security System, and considering the relatively low starting price of $579, this unit might not be a bad fit for your overly cramped office when it lands next month.[Via 64-Bit-Computers]
Via Epia PX motherboard spawns Pico-ITX SFF form-factor
Although it wasn't too awfully long ago that AMD unveiled what it hoped would become an accepted standard for small form factor PCs, it looks like Via is already trying to one-up DTX. The forthcoming Epia PX media-oriented motherboard will clock in at just 3.9- x 2.8-inches, which provides "half the surface area of its already-tiny 4.7- x 4.7-inch Nano-ITX" standard and looks utterly dwarfed beside the 6.7- x 6.7-inch mini-ITX. Via's boards have become commonplace in applications which can sacrifice raw horsepower for low-power requirements and cool operation, such as being housed in Mini-Box's VoomPC-2. Consequently, the the Epia PX will purportedly tout just a 1GHz C7 processor (at least initially), and there's speculation that some flavors might actually support HDTV resolutions and video-in, but most of the expansion will be done through pin headers. Via hasn't opened its mouth to divulge details surrounding price nor availability, but it's assumed that this wee motherboard will run folks between $250 and $350 whenever it finally lands.
