Shuttle XPC Prima SX48P2

Our only real major concern with the Prima is the price. At £330, it's not cheap - especially when you factor in the cost of the components you'll need to put together a decent system: processor, graphics card, DDR3 RAM, optical drive and a hard disk.

If you're willing to shell out, though, then this is a superb barebones offering from Shuttle. Minor niggles - such as the close proximity of PCI Express slots and no integrated graphics - are outweighed by the constant attention to detail and careful design.

As we've seen before, Shuttle's cases can usually handle a powerful processor and GPU without too much noise or heat being produced - and we see no reason to doubt that the Prima will follow on in this tradition. If you're looking to build a small gaming machine that's portable and powerful - and you're willing to stomach the cost - then this is a good place to start.

Author: Mike Jennings