I Finally got my new little Shuttle X27D and all needed hardware to complete it, well actually I have had if for a week now but I haven't got the time to put it up here.
The reason I bought this is basically that I have been using my workstation as a media server and since we are talking a Core 2 Duo 6600, 4GB DDR2 RAM, 3x160GB + 1x320GB Disks, GeForce 9600GT and some more, one can imagine that it consumes a bit of power.
Of course I could turn it of when I don't use it, at least that was what I told my self when I moved in to my new apartment, well that is 1 year and 6 months ago now, and it still tends to be on over night more than 4 times a week, I am just to damn lazy to walk back in and turn if off after use.
Plan B!
So Plan B became to get a Media Server that I could leave on when I was done working an went to watch TV or listen to some music in my living room, a big requirement for this was of course low power consumption, since this was my main issue with using my workstation.
However a few other requirements was added, first of I wanted something small, and i mean really small. It should also have other capabilities than just being a media server, hereunder download center and build server so I could host my projects when i finally got around to it. Finally, it should have a DVD drive at least so i did not have to be creative in how to install OS and such (I already have my Tablet PC which i restore over network, and it is not because thats difficult, it just requires more of me than what I'm bothered with).
Final Requirements (brief):
- Low Power Consumption
- Runs Windows.
- 160GB disk space or more.
- 2 GB Memory or more.
- Small
- DVD Drive
The Solution
Well I already mentioned this at the start, but Shuttle X27D became my solution, I had both considered the Asus EeeBox, which would be out-of-box with the obvious lack of a DVD drive or alike. I also considered building a system from scratch, but I must say that there is a real lack of stylish housings out there for that purpose, also these considerations was some I had before I even discovered the Shuttle X27D.
When I first discovered the Shuttle X27D there wasn't much more to think about except where to get the money, and this kind of solved it self when i got ~900€ back from tax. Basically it had what i needed, and it was stylish to.
Here is a picture.
My final configuration includes the following:
- Shuttle X27D Link
- 2GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 Link (CM2X2048-6400C5)
- 320GB, 5400 rpm, 2.5" Western Digital HDD Link
- Samsung SN-T083A Slot-in DVD-R/RW Link (go to products -> select product: slim -> Select model: SN-T083A[Slot-in] )
Here is an image of the system inside with the above installed.
To give you an idea of the size of the thing, I have taken an image of it along with one of my .NET MCTS Books, it is a 800 pages book, so it is a rather big book, yet still no bigger than a normal book with that many pages.
As you can see theres not much difference in size, so it is rather small.
This total cost ended around 375€ plus ~100€ for a Windows OEM License, i had one already so I didn't need to buy one, but I would say thats a very acceptable price for such a system, and it can also cover a more general use. So if your not looking for much more that a computer to E-mail, Office applications and Internet, this would certainly be an acceptable solution as well.