XPC SS50

Up to date homecomputer
If you look at the PC case, you will be surprised how is it possible to fill so much objects into a small box. On the face of it the silver case looks great. Usability: The PC disposes of  high performance and is qualified for the work with office-applications as well as an entertainment media center - suitable for working and inspection of  picture recordings and video technologies.
Conclusion: This PC -set is a really good choice for an extravagant flat. The PC looks great on a manager-table, too.   

+ Possibility to connect whichever type of external peripheral (except parallel port)
+ Two DDR memory sockets
+ Two PCI slots
+ Large number of integrated components
+ Good manual
+ Acceptable overall performance
+ Front panel connectors for audio and USB
+ good BIOS settings

Fazit: Das SS50 ist ein edles Stück. Ein echtes Designerstück, dass den PC wieder auf den Schreibtisch holt und nicht mehr unter den Schreibtisch lässt. (...) Wer Games spielen will, der sollte vielleicht noch ein paar Euro in eine PCI Grafikkarte investieren. Mit einer aktuellen PCI Grafikkarte konnte man schon anständig spielen. So ausgebaut, kann man das SS50 von Spacewalker auch locker unter den Arm klemmen und zur nächsten LAN-Party fahren, ohne sich abzuschleppen. (...)

Conclusion:  The SS50 is a noble one. A real piece of designer art, making the PC reclimbing the desk and never let him leave. (...) If you want to play games, you should put a little more money  into the PCI grafic card. With a curent PCI grafic card you play respectable. So manufactured,  you can take easily the SS50 from Spacewalker  to the next LAN-Party. 

Shuttle shows how to build small PCs. At CeBit many have praised a small multimedia PC with all possible integrated interfaces as a new trend, but other manufacturers can only offer some specifications - nothing else. Here is Shuttle a trendsetter and create a well-balanced system (...) SS50 can be very well used as DVD player. Those who like it luxurios can also realize a harddisk videorecorder with SS50, by using a good TV card which supports this function. (...) firewire, LAN, sound and graphics in such a small case is perfectly. Also the quality is very good - both, mainboard and case are clean and thoroughly manufactured (...) Those will love Shuttle's SS50, who have seen it in action. Particularly the friends of extravagant PCs will be satiesfied - a really impressive development.

Positive: excellent features with sound, LAN, firewire and graphics, good office-performance, well manufactured, good quality, good TV out, innovative and interested design.

Barebone as defined by Shuttle clearly represents a new concept of PC. A concept with a future! (...) We see that the design of the tower is very ingenious during the assembly of the various elements. All components exactly fit in a their place. (...) Sound is very acceptable. Performance is similar (+/- 5%) to a "real" (ATX Form-Factor) SiS645/i845D based motherboard. (...) Moreover, it's necessary to note the extraordinary integration of the motherboard which gives proof of Shuttle's knowledge in mainboard designing.

+ Good overall performance
+ Stability without fault
+ Stylish Design
+ Excellent manufactured
+ Good expandibility
+ Availability

The Two Extremes:
Shuttle SS50 on top of the Swiftech Q Power:

Power Per Cubic Inch 
Performance metrics have been in the crossfire lately. We have MHz, IPCs, QuantiSpeed and PR ratings and all of them are somewhat arbitrary definitions of performance. To add to the list of metrics, we propose a novel metric and that is Power Per Cubic Inch or PpCI. According to the PpCI rating, and I don't see why we should not use this metric, the SS50 is beyond any doubts a performance megastar of galactic proportions.

General considerations 
(...) SS50: Reviewing this unit has been an eye-opener regarding many performance parameters for me, it's been a pleasure and utmost fun working on this tiny system and if there were one single word to describe why the conventional desktop PC will die sooner or later, this word would be "SS50". 

Conclusion: 
Attraktive mini-case for the authentic living-room PC. 
price/performance: good.

(...) I would go into all of the possible uses for an SS50 system, but I expect you've already got five or six of 'em in your head by now. No doubt many folks will decide the SS50 belongs in the living room with a DVD drive and a TV encoder card nestled into the case, and it's hard to argue with that assessment. However, we've seen a zillion cool uses for the SV24, from video editing to LAN-party rig, and I'm sure the SS50 will follow suit. (...)

Shuttle SS50 is quite a breakthrough from the conventional desktop or slim casing. Although the performance needs some tuning up as it has almost everything you could have thought of integrated on board. That box is really feature rich with all the necessary connectors already there for immediate usage. (...) Overall, I find SS50 a definitely replacement for the machine I am using right now which is a Slot A 550 Athlon. I have installed an ASUS DVD-ROM on it and it sit right next to my TV where I will hook up the speakers and S-VHS output for watching DVDs. I have tested and I can say the video quality is acceptable and it makes a cheap home theatre system for me. For that, you got my Editor's Choice!

As for expansion the SS50 was far more flexible than the SV24 featuring an extra PCI slot, more connections at the front of the case and a bigger power supply. There was also a lot of room to fit large PCI cards. I was able to install a 32/64bit Adaptec SCSI controller into both the first and second PCI slots. The SS50 is the perfect system for taking to LAN’s if you don’t mind playing games at 640x480 or 800x600. If you have a GeForce2 based PCI card then you are really going to have some fun with the SS50. (...)

Small - The SS50 is the smallest P4 system I have seen. (...) Being so small also makes it very portable and easy to fit just about anywhere to keep it out of sight, and is the primary reason it would function so well as a LAN box.

Performance - For such a small system, it sure packs a powerful punch. This is seen largely in Sysmark which tests office productivity and internet content creation

Features - The SS50 is packed with tons of features. P4/DDR Support, USB, Firewire, onboard LAN, TV-Out, C-Media Sound, front access ports and 2 PCI slots, all packed onto a small motherboard placed in a small case. (...)

Versatility - This is a big plus for the SS50, and ties in with the above mentioned features. Sporting 2 PCI slots this time around gives the SS50 an expandability advantage over the SV24. Also with the other myriad of features, you can add and use just about any device with this system. Add to that it's small size and quiet design and you have a great system which can be used in a variety of different ways.

Style - The SS50 is quite stylish. Silver and aluminum are definitely in for computer cases these days, as is pretty much any color that isn't beige. (...)

Noise - Shuttle has quieted down the rear fan and the power supply fan significantly with the SS50 (and I'm told the production units will likely be even more quiet). This is something a lot of people had issues with when they got an SV24 barebones system and found it to be louder than they would have liked. It's good to see Shuttle addressing this issue with the SS50. (...)

Overall the SS50 is a great little system. (...) I will probably end up using it as a file server for my network so that my main machine can stop functioning in that capacity and the SS50 can quietly run and take care of that task. Not to mention that it takes a LOT less power to run than my main system. (...) The SS50 can run Quake 3, Counter-Strike, Unreal Tournament, and other games just fine in lower resolution, which suits LAN's well. (...) That said, I think you can see the many uses of the SS50. (...) Shuttle has a huge lead on their competition in terms of innovation and design. Shuttle has taken an already great concept and made it into a high performing small form factor PC. The uses for the SS are wide open and we hope your are you prepared to unleash your imagination.

... yes, go for the SS50 as it's much more up to date and you'll get a good system for your money. (...) I really like the SS50.