Product Reviews

If you want to build a media centre PC, an HDMI output is a valuable option as it lets you connect your computer to an LCD TV easily. With Shuttle's XPC SG33G5 you get an onboard HDMI output, so you don't even need to add your own graphics card. Sadly, the on-board graphics aren't good enough to decode Blu-ray or HD DVD movies.

The SG33G5 uses the same case as other XPCs, but that's no bad thing. It's compact, and the black brushed-metal finish looks stylish and neat. A flap covers the optical drive, so you won't need to find one with a bezel that matches the SG33G5's colour. A second flap hides the front-mounted audio, USB2 and FireWire ports when they're not in use, keeping the PC looking neat.

Unusually, the SG33G5 has no legacy ports at all, so you'll need to use a USB keyboard and mouse. While most modern mice are USB models, there are still a lot of PS/2 keyboards about and it's a shame that you'll have no choice but to upgrade if you've got a perfectly good one.

Taking the PC apart is very simple, as just three thumb screws hold the lid on. Once you're inside you have to remove the drive bay, which holds the hard disk and optical drive and has space for a third 3in drive, such as a second hard disk, floppy drive or memory card reader. It lifts out of the way easily to give you access to the memory slots and LGA775 processor socket.

Shuttle uses its ICE cooling system, which runs heatpipes from the processor's heatsink to a single cooling fan on the rear of the case. There's just one fan inside this case, which keeps the noise down compared with some XPCs we've reviewed that contain four fans. Even so, the SG33G5 isn't silent and creates a gentle hum when it's turned on. This wouldn't be

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very noticeable for a PC in an office or spare room, but if you plan to build a media centre, that sound could invade your living room.

The motherboard uses Intel's G33 chipset, so the barebones kit will accept all of Intel's new Core 2 Duo processors with a 1,333MHz frontside bus (FSB). It provides some basic overclocking options, including the ability to change the processor's FSB speed and increase its voltage; however, you can only change the voltage offset by +10 to +500mV, rather than setting the voltage at which you want to run the processor. We had a little trouble trying to get our Pentium Dual Core E2140 to overclock to its limit and overclocked it to run with an FSB speed of only 1,066MHz.

After installing Windows Vista we ran our usual benchmarks, with the SG33G5 connected to a monitor through its analogue output. Its 2D benchmark scores were about what we'd expect from our test Intel Core 2 Duo E6300, but our graphics tests ran into the same problems we've discovered with other G33-based computers. Call of Duty 2 refused to run, displaying a DirectX 9.0c error. We updated the graphics driver with drivers from both Shuttle's and Intel's websites, but neither update fixed the problem. Running Prey returned an unplayable result at all resolutions, so the onboard graphics are definitely unsuitable for playing games. Windows Vista's Aero Glass 3D interface ran flawlessly, though, so they are fine if you don't want to play games.

Fortunately for those who do like games, there's a PCI-E x16 slot for a dedicated graphics card. Before you can use it, you have to change a row of jumpers to switch the SG33G5 from using HDMI to using the PCI-E x16 slot. There are 12 pairs of pins that need to have the jumpers changed, but Shuttle provides the jumpers as two blocks of six, so making the change is quick and easy. Strangely, the power supply doesn't have a PCI-E power connector, so you'll need a Molex-to-PCI-E adaptor to power any graphics card that requires it.

Shuttle's XPC SG33G5 is an attractive mini-barebones PC. It accepts all the latest processors and has space for a full-sized graphics card, while the HDMI output is useful for those with an LCD TV. However, it's quite expensive, not the best design for sitting quietly beneath your TV and the graphics are no good for HD.