Reviews Of Desktop PCs, DIY PC Builds, All-In-Ones, And Small Form Factor PCs
In-depth product reviews and news of Computer Desktops, DIY PC Builds, All-In-One PCs, and Small Form Factor PCs. If it crunches numbers, pushes pixels, throws down the frag or provides a digital canvass for content creation, you'll find it there.
With the advent of the mini-PC, a completely new industry has been born. Well, maybe it isn't so new anymore, but what started out almost as a novelty has matured into a major craze in the enthusiast market. Today's mini-PCs come in a broad range of flavors with a wide variety of features. Sitting high atop the list of unique...
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So what does a PC Geek and EIC for a Hardware Enthusiast site do on a holiday long weekend? Well, beside sipping a few umbrella decorated drinks by the sea, at night you can find this odd breed playing with the latest Tech Toys of course! This weekend I built a new high performance Workstation/Gaming Rig - something I haven't...
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It seems that Shuttle consistently expands their line of XPC small form factor systems as new core logic chipsets are released. A quick trip to their product page reveals a current line-up of XPCs based on chipsets from Intel, NVIDIA, ATI, SiS and VIA. There are no less than six different chassis designs available as well, with each one designed...
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When it comes to making Small Form Factor PCs, we find that most manufacturers need to make compromises in order to create a viable product. Radical heat dissipation techniques typically consume much of the area in already cramped confines, motherboards are usually cut-down versions of full-sized models which, in turn, have...
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Normally, when a new Small Form Factor PC arrives in the lab, the unit is generally a single manufacturers combination of form and function. Inside and out, everything is designed by only one OEM in a singular effort. From Shuttle to Epox and more recently Foxconn, the outer chassis is meant to support the technology within. Not...
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In what seems to be an ever expanding market, we've got yet another look at a new Small Form Factor system on HotHardware. This time the system comes to us by way of Foxconn. The same company that's been putting their stamp on motherboards and other OEM hardware since 1991. Following their recent successful foray into...
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Every time a new small form factor system arrives in the lab, inevitable comparisons are made to Shuttle's popular line of XPC systems. The simple fact of the matter is that Shuttle's XPCs have set the bar for the rest of the industry. And their XPC systems have sold so well, they've transformed Shuttle from a second tier motherboard...
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In this our first article of 2005, we're going to take a look back at recent history and examine a driving force in computing technology that was dominant throughout much of 2004. Intel launched its mobile Centrino technology in mid-2003. It took a while to ramp up but once this new platform initiative gathered steam,...
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When we pause to think of some of the more memorable, market driving, changes to the computer industry, the advent of the mini-PC is one of the first to come to mind. What started out as a single offering from Shuttle has grown into a market in and of itself, with new entries from a wide range of companies hitting the retail channel...
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Shuttle went through a complete metamorphosis as a company a few years back, and they haven't looked back ever since. Their wildly successful line of "XPC" small form factor (SFF) PCs has taken off like no other physical incarnation of the PC has in a very long time. Not even Mr. Jobs could have predicted the kind of...
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When it comes to manufacturing motherboards, Taiwan-based Epox is well respected amongst enthusiasts. While we've only had the opportunity to review a few of their motherboards over the years, the small sample we have tested were fairly impressive. In fact, late last year we reviewed the Epox 4PDA2+ v.2, one of the many Springdale...
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Although they now face some stiff competition from the likes of Biostar, Iwill, Soltek and MSI, among others, Shuttle deserves credit for almost single-handedly spurring the so-called small form factor revolution. When they initially released the venerable SV24 almost three years ago, many PC lovers were immediately enamored by the tiny...
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Watch any episode of "This Old House", "Hometime", "The New Yankee Workshop", or any other Do-It-Yourself type program for that matter, and you're bound to hear a certain phrase repeated over and over. Carpenters, mechanics, plumbers, chefs, they all use it. This phrase has almost become a mantra for anyone who...
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By, Marco Chiappetta April 8, 2004 Almost four years ago, we took at a look at Asetek's original version of the Vapochill designed for the Pentium III, and we came away impressed. The enclosure was a basic beige full-tower, which by today's standards isn't very exciting. The installation was...
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The Shuttle ST61G4 XPC ATi's Radeon 9100 IGP In Action... By, Marco Chiappetta January 26, 2004 A quick glance and Shuttle's XPC feature comparison table hints at one of the reasons why they have been so successful with their line of small form factor systems. Browse over to that page and you'll see that they have consistently...
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The AOpen EZ65 & Biostar iDEQ 200T Shuttle Isn't the Only OEM Making SFF Systems... By, Marco Chiappetta December 16, 2003 With all of the buzz surrounding Shuttle's popular XPC line of small form factor systems, you'd think they were the only company producing these diminutive machines, which obviously...
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The Shuttle SB65G2 & SN85G4 XPCs They Just Keep Getting Better... By, Marco Chiappetta November 13, 2003 It has been almost two full years since we first got our hands on one of Shuttle's original small form factor systems, the SV24. The first few products in their mini-barebones lineup, as it was then known, generated quite...
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asetek Vapochill Extreme Edition How can cooling be such a hot topic? Written by: Robert Maloney September 29, 2003 What a better way to end the summer season then to write a review about CPU cooling, in this case about the latest Vapochill unit from asetek, the Vapochill XE. For the uninitiated, asetek, based out of Denmark, has been...
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asetek's ChillControl Windows beta An exclusive look at asetek's latest efforts Written by: Robert Maloney October 12, 2003 A first look at asetek's Windows-based ChillControl The best just got better As we alluded to in our review on the Vapochill XE Cooling Unit review, asetek has been working on a Windows-based version of their ChillControl...
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The Iwill XP4-G Mini-PC Iwill Enters the SFF Fray... By, Marco Chiappetta June 25, 2003 Small Form Factor, or SFF PCs have been getting a ton of press lately. In late 2001 Shuttle introduced their SV24, and from then on the market has simply exploded. Now, a myriad of different OEMs offer mini-PCs that cater to a wide variety of...
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The Shuttle XPC SB61G2 Pint-Sized P4 Powerhouse! "Burned in" by Robert Maloney June 8th, 2003 A major trend in the technology industry is miniaturization. It's no longer good enough to be the fastest or more technologically advanced anymore. These days everything from cell phones to MP3 players to digital cameras, are...
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The Shuttle XPC SN41G2 Small Form Factor + nForce2 = Perfect Combination By, Marco Chiappetta February 27, 2003 There is no denying that Shuttle Inc., started a trend that got PC enthusiasts and mainstream users interested in SFF (Small Form Factor) systems. Way back in December of 2001, we took a look at the SV24, and were immediately...
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