Shuttle Shuttle XPC G5 2100

The system's compact design has other disadvantages. For one, it's a pain to open; you'll need a screwdriver to get in, and adding an extra hard drive or replacing the single optical drive involves removing several screws, disconnecting several cables, and lifting out the entire drive bay assembly. You have to do the same thing--an awkward process at best-- if you want to access the motherboard to add more memory.

As you'd expect, the small system leaves little room for expansion. You have space for a second hard drive (our system came with a single 200GB hard drive) or a media-card reader (a $16 option) in the open 3.5-inch externally accessible drive bay, but not a second optical drive. And if you want to introduce expansion cards, you'll need to use ones that are designed for tight spaces; neither the available PCI Express 16X slot nor the single vacant PCI slot can accommodate full-size add-in cards.

The compact case offers a reasonable selection of connectivity options, including two FireWire ports (one at the back, one up front), up to 5.1 channels for audio, and an SPDIF output. However, the case has just two USB 2.0 ports in front and two at the rear. If you use a lot of peripherals, you'll need to buy an extra USB hub to plug your devices into

The 17-inch Shuttle XP17 LCD monitor displayed strong colors and reasonably good detail in shadows. It's not as good as the larger monitors we've seen shipped with some other value desktop PCs, but it is much more portable--and it even has a handle.

Shuttle doesn't supply a system manual in the box; all you get is a quick-start guide and component manuals. The company doesn't offer a manual online, either--a distinct disappointiment considering how awkward the case is to navigate inside.

If you need a well-equipped system that won't take up a lot of real estate, the Shuttle XPS G5 2100 should fit the bill. But users who want lots of expansion opportunities will need something larger.

Richard Baguley