Ordinarily, yes – but Shuttle doesn’t like to use the big tower cases that have room for all that. Instead, the SX58H7 Pro has a specification we never thought we’d see in a small-form-factor chassis.

For starters, the interior is dominated by an AMD Radeon HD 6950 – the third-fastest card in AMD’s current range, and one that requires a dual-slot cooler to keep the core chilled.

You’d think that wouldn’t leave much room for other components, but we’re struggling to find an area where Shuttle hasn’t gone way beyond the call of duty. The impossibly small CPU heatsink covers an Intel Core i7-950 processor, and storage is provided by both a 60GB Corsair Force SSD and a 1TB hard disk. There’s Blu-ray too and, more impressively, a massive 12GB of RAM.

As usual, Shuttle has done a stellar job cramming it all in, and there’s even a little bit of upgrade room, with a spare DIMM socket and empty SATA port ready for additional memory and storage. USB 3 and SATA/600 are also both included.

That’s not to say we don’t have concerns. When I announced what was inside, the entire office recoiled for fear of the heat it’ll surely belch out into a confined space. There’s little in the way of through-flow: one 80mm fan on the heatsink attached to the back of the machine, a single fan on the graphics card and just two small grilles down either side where air can be drawn into the case.

There’s the other major caveat, too: price.  Shuttle hasn’t let us know how much this particular build of the SX58H7 Pro will cost, but the barebones unit – without processor, graphics card, memory, storage or any other components – is slated to cost £532.

Nevertheless, we’re mightily impressed, so check back next week for the full review. In the meantime, we’re going to take bets on just how hot the SX58H7 Pro will get during our benchmarks and, just as importantly, how much it’ll cost. Got a guess? Let us know in the comments.

You may have noticed the latest review up on the PC Pro homepage, of HP’s Pavilion HDX9320EA laptop. A gloriously over the top machine, with oodles of style and a price tag that’s certainly not as high as we expected when it was crane-lifted out of the box.

But is it actually a laptop? Could it feasibly be argued that this leviathan will comfortably sit on the average lap? At some point a desktop replacement becomes, well, just a desktop by another name.

The HP weighs 7kg on its own, and a back-breaking 8.2kg when you chuck in the power brick too. Add the fact that none of the major UK bag makers produce anything to fit such a beast and I’d argue the HP “Dragon” is actually not much of a portable at all.

Yes, you could tuck it under one arm (if you’re a freakish giant like our very own Mike Jennings) but that’s hardly feasible on public transport. Which limits you to car journeys – a mode of travel which is equally hospitable to desktop PCs and their multiple peripherals – and use around the home.

I like the HP, I really do, and I can see the appeal in a sense – Mike would argue that it’s great to be able to play a game upstairs with the power of a PC, then sling it on the coffee table while the football’s on, all before sitting down to a movie in HD on the huge 20in screen.

Power, clarity and flexibility in one versatile package – perhaps it belongs more in the lifestyle PC category with the wonderful Dell XPS One (right) than it does with other laptops. (In fact, Dell has form in this area – remember the XPS M2010?)

But if it was my wallet involved in the decision, my hard-earned pennies being slapped down, would I really choose such a form-factor for myself?

In a word, no. I’d spend the same amount on a desktop and monitor, and I’d probably get more from my investment. Look at the A List. I could save £150+ and get the Cyberpower Gamer Ultra M2 Quad, with its awesome graphics, huge hard disk and 22in TFT.

Not portable enough? How about the Shuttle XPC P2 3500G (left), with its huge hard disk, strong graphics and tiny size? With the £200+ saved I could take my pick of the best 22in TFTs out there.

In fact, there are all manner of alternatives I’d go for before I’d buy the HP, and all of them fall firmly into traditional “laptop” or “desktop” categories.

The HP Pavilion HDX9320EA is undoubtedly a fine machine, and I won’t deny it’s fully deserving of its Recommended award. But I’d beg HP, Dell and anyone else who’s listening: for the sake of our spines, let’s stop at 20in, hey? Please?