Nettop moves to dual-core Atom

By Eric Brown
2009-04-17

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Shuttle Incorporated is shipping a "nettop" mini-PC built upon its mini-ITX based "X27" design and running OpenSUSE Linux. The X270V (pictured) moves up to a dual-core Intel Atom 330 processor, clocked at 1.6GHz, with 1GB DDR2, and offers gigabit Ethernet and USB connectivity, the company says.

(Click here for a larger view of Shuttle's X270V)

Shuttle announced its "bare bones" X27 nettop last August, equipped with a single-core Atom 230 processor, and claiming 38 Watt power consumption using a passive cooling system. The X270V and the almost identical Windows Vista version, the X2700B, instead move up to the newer dual-core Atom 330 clocked to 1.6GHz, along with the same Intel 945GC + ICH7 Express chipset used by the X27.

Shuttle X270V

Shuttle does not list the power consumption for the new models, but the Atom 330 is said to have a TDP of eight Watts, enabling Shuttle to continue using the same "almost fanless" passively cooled design used by the X27. The X270V is said to be equipped with the same 60W AC adapter.

The nettop has a single SODIMM slot that is equipped with 1GB of memory, but accepts up to 2GB, says Shuttle. Like the X27, the device measures 9.85 x 7.3 x 2.75 inches. Additional features include a gigabit Ethernet port, four rear-panel and two front-panel USB ports, plus PS/2 connectors for keyboard and mouse, mic in, and line in/out.

Shuttle X270V (rear view)

Building upon the X27's "barebone" configuration, the X270V fills one of the two empty bays with a 2.5-inch, 160GB hard disk drive (HDD), while the other bay is designed to hold a slimline 5.25-inch DVD burner optical disk drive. Shuttle equips the nettop with OpenSUSE Linux, the open source community distro that forms the basis for Novell's commercial, enterprise focused SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE) distributions.

Features and specifications listed by Shuttle for the X270V include:

Processor -- Intel Atom 330 with dual cores clocked at 1.6GHz; 533MHz FSB; TDP 8 Watts
Cache -- 2 x 512KB L2 cache
Chipset -- Intel 945GC + ICH7 Express Chipset with Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Memory -- 1GB of DDR2-800 memory, expandable to 2GB
Expansion -- PCIe expansion slot
Display -- Outputs to DVI
Storage -- 2.5-inch 160GB SATA HDD; bay for 5.25-inch optional DVD burner optical drive
Networking -- 1 x gigabit Ethernet port, with RJ45 connector
Other I/O:
- 1 x VGA
- 1 x serial
- 6 x USB 2.0
- 2 x SATA
- 1 x IDE
Audio:
- Realtek ALC 662 6-channel 5:1 High Definition Audio
- 1 x mic in
- 1 x line in
- 1 x line out
Dimensions -- 9.85 x 7.3 x 2.75 inches (25 x 18.5 x 7 cm)
Power requirements -- 60W AC adapter
Operating system -- OpenSUSE Linux

Shuttle X270V

Availability

The X270V appears to be available now, starting at 299 Euros (about $390 US), says Shuttle. The Windows-based X2700B starts at 394 Euros (roughly $514). More information may be found here.

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