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Shuttle X 5000TA review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £535
inc VAT and delivery

The X 5000TA is a sleek computer, which is let down by its lack of touch-aware software, the lack of an optical drive and its high price.

Specifications

1.66GHz Intel Atom 330, 1.000000 RAM, 15.6in 1,366×768 display, Windows Vista Home Basic

http://www.ambros.co.uk

The X 5000TA is a slim device that, like MSI’s Wind Top model, consists of a touchscreen monitor with the guts of a netbook built into the case.

Shuttle has opted for a dual-core Atom 330 processor, but most of the other components are identical to the Wind Top: a 160GB hard disk, integrated Intel graphics, Draft-N WiFi and a memory card reader.

Despite the high price, the X 5000TA lacks an optical drive, which will make software installation a pain and rule out watching DVDs. It also comes with no keyboard or mouse, and without a touch-aware operating system such as Windows 7, the touchscreen is pretty useless on its own. Shuttle hasn’t included any touch-aware applications, either.

Despite having the same 1,366×768 resolution as the Wind Top, the X 5000TA’s monitor is 3.4in smaller, so the image appears crisper because of the smaller pixels. The touch-sensitive layer adds a grainy quality, though. We preferred Shuttle’s design to MSI’s, with much simpler lines and none of the extraneous clear plastic or fake chrome. Build quality was sturdier, too. The simple metal stand doubles as a carrying handle – a useful touch – and when removed it reveals a VESA mount, which the Wind Top lacks.

Performance from the dual-core Atom was better than that of the single-core nettops in the group. The fastest PC in the group was over 60 per cent faster in our benchmarks, which serves to highlight how much performance you sacrifice when you choose a nettop over a traditional desktop PC.

Until the release of Windows 7, with its native support for touch-sensitive controls and multi-touch gesture support for applications, nettops such as the X 5000TA will remain a novelty. The slim form factor, appealing design and touch-sensitive screen will appeal to some, but the X 5000TA is just too expensive for us to recommend. Novatech’s Ion Fusion has the same processor, was slightly faster in our benchmarks and comes with a larger, higher-resolution monitor, yet costs over £200 less. Unless you want an all-in-one computer, it’s a better choice for most people.

Basic Specifications

Rating **
Processor Intel Atom 330
Processor external bus 133MHz (533MHz quad-pumped FSB)
Processor multiplier x12
Processor clock speed 1.66GHz
Processor socket Socket 437
Level 1 cache 2x 56KB
Level 2 cache 2x 512KB
Memory 1.000000
Memory type DDR2
Maximum memory 2GB
Motherboard Shuttle SX50
Motherboard chipset Intel i945G
Power consumption standby 1W
Power consumption idle 37W
Power consumption active 42W

Ports

USB2 ports (front/rear) 5/0
Firewire ports (front/rear) 0/0
eSATA ports (front/rear) 0/0
Wired network ports 1x 10/100/1000
Wireless networking support 802.11n
Other ports minijack audio output, minijack audio input, minijack microphone input

Internal Expansion

Case mini-ITX
PCI slots (free) 0
PCI-E x1 slots (free) 0 (0)
PCI-E x16 slots (free) 0 (0)
Free Serial ATA ports 0
Free memory slots 0
Free 3.5in drive bays 0

Hard Disk

Hard disk model(s) Western Digital Caviar WD1600BEVT-22ZCT0
Interface SATA 300
Total storage capacity 160GB
Spindle speed 5,400rpm

Graphics

Graphics card(s) Intel GMA 950
Graphics/video ports VGA

Sound

Sound Realtek High Definition Audio
Sound outputs stereo line out
Speakers integrated

Removable Drives

3.5in floppy drive no
Supported memory cards SD, MMC, Memory Stick Pro, xD
Optical drive model N/A
Optical drive type(s) N/A

Display

Viewable size 15.6 in
Screen model integrated
Native resolution 1,366×768
Screen inputs N/A

Other Hardware

Modem No
Keyboard none
Mouse none

Software

Software included none
Operating system Windows Vista Home Basic
Operating system restore option restore disc

Buying Information

Warranty two years collect and return
Price £535
Supplier http://www.ambros.co.uk
Details http://global.shuttle.com

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