Shuttle XPC G5 8300mc

Shuttle's XPC G5 8300mc ($1,452 in our test configuration) is a fine example of what the company does best: build slick little boxes that fit equally well in the home or in the office. The XPC G5 8300mc measures just 7 inches high, 7 inches wide, and 12 inches deep, notably deeper than it is wide, and features a mirrored front panel. Given its size and style, the XPC G5 8300mc will blend into any room in your house. We just wish you got more Media Center power for your money.

The included remote is all you'll need to control the Windows Media Center OS 2005 Edition (MCE) functions, including FM radio; live and recorded television, with an online program guide; and music, photo, DVD, and video playback. A 16MB Nvidia TV tuner card lets you input a TV signal, and you can then archive your favorite shows on disc with the G5 8300mc's double-layer DVD burner. In addition to four USB 2.0 ports, a four-pin FireWire port, and headphone and microphone jacks, the system features six-channel sound and an Ethernet connection.

Shuttle offers five different Logitech speaker systems and five of its own 17-inch LCDs, plus one 19-inch Samsung LCD. You can opt for none of the above and choose to have just a keyboard and mouse accompany the system, which is how our test system arrived (it included a wireless Logitech duo). We connected the Shuttle XPC G5 8300mc to our main audio system via the S/PDIF port and sent video to a CRT television. Setup wasn't difficult, taking about half an hour, but the complete lack of documentation slowed us down. We used MCE's software tools to overcome picture bowing and make the image fit the screen.

While you're manipulating media, remember that the Shuttle XPC G5 8300mc is also a capable computer. The 3.0GHz Intel Pentium 4 530J CPU, the 512MB of memory, the 250GB hard drive, and the 128MB GeForce 6600 graphics card are competent, midrange components. At 39 frames per second on Half-Life 2 at a resolution of 1,024x768, the PC will handle only lighter gaming tasks (you'll have better luck if you lower the detail levels), but running Microsoft Office apps or browsing the Internet is a snap, in addition to Media Center functions, such as watching and recording TV. The PC scored a respectable 173 overall on our SysMark 2004 benchmark, putting it right in line with HP's powerful z555 Digital Entertainment Center PC. Power-hungry Media Center shoppers can choose a faster Pentium 4 500-series processor, 1GB or 2GB of memory, and the more powerful ATI Radeon X800 XL graphics card, which won our Editors' Choice award earlier this year. If you're more interested in recording reruns of Buffy than playing the latest 3D games, the GeForce 6600 is up to the task; it supplies both VGA and DVI connections.

Shuttle's support remains lackluster, with little help inside the box. There's no printed manual and not much else on the Web site that you couldn't find in a 5-minute Google search. The tech support is toll-free at least, open weekdays from noon to 8 p.m. ET. Shuttle protects the XPC G5 8300mc with an average one-year warranty on parts and labor coverage, with no onsite help. You can extend the warranty to up to three years for $150, although you'll still have to put your system in the mail for service. Outgoing packages are on your dime, but Shuttle will cover the cost of the return trip.

Application performance
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

BAPCo SysMark 2004 rating

SysMark 2004 Internet-content-creation rating

SysMark 2004 office-productivity rating

Sony VAIO VGC-RB44G (3.2GHz Intel P4 640, 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz)

193 

214 

174 

HP Media Center m7070n Photosmart PC (3.2GHz Intel P4 640, 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz)

193 

214 

174 

HP Digital Entertainment Center z555 (3.0GHz Intel P4 530, 512MB DDR SDRAM, 400MHz)

174 

192 

158 

Shuttle XPC G5 8300mc (3.0GHz Intel P4 530, 512MB DDR SDRAM, 400MHz)

173 

195 

153 

Dell Dimension 5100 (3.0GHz Intel Pentium 4 531, 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz)

161 

187 

138 

Half-Life 2 Custom Demo (in fps)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Half-Life 2 1,024x768 4xAA 8xAF

Shuttle XPC G5 8300mc (Nvidia GeForce 6600, PCIe)

38.5 

HP Digital Entertainment Center z555 (Nvidia GeForce 6600, PCIe)

37.7 

Sony VAIO VGC-RB44G (ATI Radeon X300, PCIe)

20.7 

HP Media Center m7070n Photosmart PC (ATI Radeon X300, PCIe)

18.1 

Dell Dimension 5100 (3.0GHz Intel Pentium 4 531, 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz)

13.4 

Find out more about how we test desktop computers.

System configurations:
Dell Dimension 5100
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005; 3.0GHz Intel Pentium 4 531; Intel 945G chipset; 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz; ATI Radeon X300 SE; Maxtor 6L160M0 160GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA

HP z555 Digital Entertainment Center
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005; 3.0GHz Intel P4 530; Intel 915G chipset; 512MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; 128MB Nvidia GeForce 6600 (PCIe); Maxtor 6B250S0 250GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA

HP Media Center m7070n Photosmart PC
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005; 3.2GHz Intel P4 640; Intel 915G chipset; 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz; 128MB ATI Radeon X300 (PCIe); Seagate ST3250823AS 250GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA

Shuttle XPC G5 8300mc
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005; 3.0GHz Intel P4 530; Intel 915G chipset; 512MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 6600 (PCIe); WDC WD2500JD-98HBB0 250GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA

Sony VAIO VGC-RB44G
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005; 3.2GHz Intel P4 640; Intel 915G chipset; 1,024MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; 128MB ATI Radeon X300 (PCIe); WDC WD2500JD-98HBB0 250GB, 7,200rpm Serial ATA

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