Some PCs look great on an office desk, while others are more suited to a home study. The Shuttle X200M, an update to the X100 media PC, looks great next to the TV.
This PC, which starts at $1,149 in its most basic configuration, weighs six pounds and is about 12 inches wide, about as big as Apple’s Mac Mini.
In its most expensive configuration, about $1,833, the X200M includes a tuner for TV and FM, a remote control and software to record live television and burn DVDs.
The X200M, available at www.shuttle.com, has 2 gigabytes of memory and a maximum of 750 gigabytes of hard drive space. It uses a 2-gigahertz Intel processor and offers 7.1 HD surround-sound audio playback for more realistic Hollywood explosions.
Designed to act as a living-room media device, the X200M can run Windows Vista Ultimate as well as Microsoft’s Media Center software, which lets you record and play back video, select music for playback and create networks with PCs in the home wirelessly or over Ethernet.
Don’t be misled by its size. The Shuttle X200M offers Media Center performance in a PC the size of a personal pan pizza box. JOHN BIGGS
