Test of the Shuttle X 27: the Atom under Vista?

Times are hard. Although the processors and the most powerful graphics cards are now cheaper, a CrossFireX to four cards or a triple SLI, it's immediately less attractive when your banker is no longer your best friend. Suddenly, it said that pay €1,000 for an Extreme Edition processor, it is a nothing extravagant when a

Q9550 2.83 GHz processor offers performance close to a quarter of the price.If you want to save money, why not forget the usual architectures? The Phenom X 4 and Core 2 Quad consume up to 65, or even 95 watts. The Intel Atom, however, designed to preserve the batteries of netbooks and focused on Internet, is more "the consumer" devices extremely little gourmand, especially from the desktop processors.The Atom is also a boon to Shuttle, a company which mainly manufactures computers small format. It proposes models quite varied in terms of dimensions, but the most compact of its current range is X 27, whose volume recalls the Mac

 

Mini from Apple, some old chipset computers that everyone has forgotten, the Eee Box of Asus or Dell Studio Hybrid.In principle, a Shuttle computer based on the Atom is an excellent idea for professionals and individuals who prefer that the technology they employ remains discreet. At the level of entries / exits, there is not much: chipset includes integrated graphics chip, SATA and USB 2.0 and Ethernet port ports. Low consumption of X 27 is also a very quiet machine.There is a problem: we have already tested the Atom ("Atom against Athlon: dual low-power" and "Nano vs. Atom vs Athlon: the war of the Watts") and, although the processor itself is compliant according to Intel in terms of consumption, chipset that accompanies it is derived from that used for traditional desktop processors and, as such, consumes much too. It's a bit as if Toyota decided to equip its Prius to a lead frame: a misguided choice which completely cancels the efficiency of the engine hybrid.Nevertheless, at the time when the financial crisis in full swing, we are curious to see if Shuttle is able to make the Atom platform which would be both economical and efficient daily for desktop use.