14 DAY TRIAL // Barebone PCs are usually the size of media players or game consoles, but Shuttle decided to release a much smaller one that, nonetheless, doesn't sacrifice anything when it comes to performance. Not more than usual at least.
It's impossible to make a micro personal computer that has all the trappings of a high-end gaming system, although some laptops, like Dell Alienware, come close.
However, when you only need to provide enough performance headroom for web browsing, doc editing and a bit of multitasking, it's a lot easier to cram anything in a small footprint.
Intel showed it with the NUC, and now, Shuttle has revealed a Barebone PC that isn't that much larger than one of those things.
The Shuttle Barebone XH97V
First off, this product measures 240 x 200 x 72 mm / 9.44 x 7.87 x 2.83 inches, making it a fair bit less tall than a media player, though set-top boxes still beat it in that area.
Of course, if you choose to have the thing stand upright on one side, the length becomes the height, so maybe we shouldn't be too quick to call this thing short.
Fortunately, you can mount the product at the back of a monitor or TV easily enough, so the physical dimensions ultimately don't matter all that much.
Hardware-wise, we're looking at up to 16 GB of DDR3 SO-DIMM memory and up to three 6.0 Gbps hard disk drives (HDDs) or Solid State Drives (SSDs), although hybrid drives (HHDs or SSHDs) should be easy enough to use as well.
The units can work normally or in RAID. You can install three HDDs/SSDs or two 2.5-inch SSDs and one slim optical drive in the space.
Moreover, there is Gigabit Ethernet inside, as well as a VGA port, two mini PCI Express slots (for Wi-Fi or an mSATA SSD) and three video ports: two DisplayPorts (4K at 60 Hz) and one HDMI (4K at 30 Hz).
Everything revolves around an Intel H97 chipset and the fifth generation Intel Core CPU you choose to install in it, provided the Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 CPU doesn't have a TDP (thermal design power) higher than 65W.
Availability and pricing
The Shuttle Barebone XH97V sells for €193 / $245 with PS01 (pedestal), PHD4 (mounting frame for 3.5" drive), WLN-S (WLAN kit) and the PV02 (VESA mount). Unfortunately, the SSDs, CPU and memory you have to buy separately will pull the final cost a lot higher than that. Then again, this is the case for all barebone PCs, so Shuttle isn't disadvantaged here.