Transtec Senyo 610 review

Thankfully, the proliferation of mobile components, installed to save power and space, hasn't had a huge impact on performance. A 2D benchmark result of 1.36 is streets ahead of every other small form factor PC we've recently reviewed - the Nova and Treeton scored 0.74 and 0.8 respectively. The cheaper MSI Titan crawled through our benchmarks at 0.36. The integrated Intel X3100 graphics won't have you playing modern games at any kind of acceptable speed, however.

The performance is undeniably improved by the inclusion of Windows XP Professional - our past tests have proven that PCs operate faster when running Microsoft's older OS. However, there is the option of an upgrade to Windows Vista Business and Ultimate if you're desperate to keep up with the Joneses.

One area where the tiny, space-saving design of the Senyo falls behind is in upgrade potential. Other small PCs, such as the Treeton, and Shuttle XPC P2 3500G (web ID: 191256), offer free PCI slots and 5.25in hard disk bays, but there's no room for any practical addition inside the Senyo, and the 160GB hard disk could become full pretty quickly. At least the FireWire and USB ports allow external storage to be added.

Elsewhere there are few areas of concern. Unlike the Asus Nova or Treeton, there's no stand included that enables the Senyo to be positioned horizontally or vertically. It's also slightly pricier when compared to the competition: the Senyo costs £543, which is pricier than the £486 Treeton, £500 Nova and £200 Titan.

That sort of money could also buy you a fully-fledged PC system if space-saving isn't your main concern, however, where size matters nothing can touch the tiny Transtec. The impressive specification provides more performance than any of its rivals while keeping power requirements down.

Factor in cool, almost-silent running and a space-saving, intelligent design and it's clear that the Senyo 610 deserves our unreserved recommendation - it's worth paying the slightly higher price to acquire such an impressive, and tiny, PC.

Author: Mike Jennings