Shuttle XPC G5 6801M review

Compact and quiet media centre PCs, such as Belinea's o.max 5 XS (What's New, Shopper 245) ,are now widely available and affordable.

However, many depend on integrated graphics processors, which prevent them playing high-definition video, and they often have no internal expansion options. Shuttle's XPC G5 6801M may seem expensive, but it's an upgradable media centre PC that can play HD video with ease.

The 6801M can play both HD DVD and Blu-ray movies. Even though Blu-ray has triumphed, this is still a useful feature since HD DVD movies are now available very cheaply. CyberLink's PowerDVD Ultra playback software is included. Unlike many DVD players bundled with media centre PCs, this supports surround sound. A surround-sound amplifier can be connected to the 6801M's coaxial S/PDIF connector.

Only a single TV tuner is included, but it's a hybrid model so it can show either analogue or digital TV programmes. The PCI tuner can easily be replaced in the future with a dual tuner card, such as Compro's VideoMate Vista T750F (What's New, Shopper 245), if you want to record two channels simultaneously or watch one channel while recording another.

The 500GB hard disk is spacious enough for recording as many shows as you like but, due to the 6801M's small size, there aren't any free bays for accommodating extra hard disks.

A Windows Media Center remote is included but, like the o.max 5 XS, the keyboard and mouse have to be bought separately. The remote's receiver is integrated into the 6801M's case, so there's no external box. This leaves all six USB2 ports free. A screen at the front displays information such as the track currently playing.

The case isn't the smallest we've seen, but we were impressed by how quiet the 6801M was, even when playing a Blu-ray movie or running our demanding Windows benchmarks. This is due in part to the passively cooled Radeon HD 3450 graphics card. The 6801M isn't aimed at gamers, though, so don't expect to be able to play the latest games.

Shuttle has chosen an Athlon 64 X2 6000+ processor and paired it with 2GB of RAM. It's not as fast as a T8000 or T9000-series Core 2 Duo processor, but it's more than enough for Media Center and general Windows Vista tasks.

If you're after a compact, quiet and easily upgradable media centre PC that can play HD video, the Shuttle is a good - if slightly expensive - choice. If you don't need HD DVD support or upgradability, Sony's Vaio VGX-TP2S/B (see First Looks, Shopper 245) is £100 cheaper.