Shuttle X5000TA in Desktop PCs

The situation is exacerbated by the provision of Vista Home Basic rather than XP, which more usually accompanies Atom PCs. Vista can feel decidedly sluggish on a system with less than 2GB of RAM and a slow processor, and we were irritated by juddery window movements and maddeningly unhurried menus.

Of course, Vista won't be your only choice for long. Windows 7 is designed to be more responsive on lightweight hardware, and when we tried the Release Candidate on the X5000TA our interface gripes evaporated. Aero transparency worked too, even with the Atom's weedy Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics.

But there was still one disappointment: the display isn't recognised by Windows 7 as a touch device. We were able to prod the screen to simulate mouse clicks, but advanced OS features such as gestures and flicks weren't available. We hope that'll be fixed with a driver update, although, since the panel is single-touch only, it'll never support all of 7's multi-touch capabilities.

All told, the X5000TA clearly isn't a slam dunk. Coming out of the box with no optical drive, no keyboard, no mouse, a mediocre screen and - for now - an inappropriate OS, it's hard to recommend as a general-purpose PC, even for light use.

But that's clearly not what the X5000TA is meant for. And if you're just looking for a simple web-browsing appliance with little need for the versatility of something like, say, the Advent AIO-100, there's a lot to like about the way the X50 marries the Eee Top's all-in-one simplicity with a front-room-friendly chic. Sure, it's a little more expensive than its rivals: but weigh in its technical and ergonomic advantages too and it adds up to a likeable, if niche, package.

Author: Darien Graham-Smith