Hardware Review: Shuttle LinuXPC SD3002Q (Page 1 of 1)
Written by
Steve Lawson
Posted on: Apr 18, 2008 at 03:05pm
Section:
Hardware
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Small form factor PC with Linux
pre-installed
PERSONAL computers with Linux pre-installed have been springing up all over the place
in recent months. Now Shuttle, the Taiwanese
company famous for making small but perfectly formed PCs, have gotten in on the act.
I’ve been spending some time in the company of their LinuXPC SD3002Q, which is
sold with openSUSE 10.3 Linux pre-installed. Before I give you my impressions of the
Shuttle, here’s the technical run-down on what you’d get if you bought a
LinuXPC:
(click to enlarge images)
Shuttle LinuXPC SD3002Q is based on the XPC Barebone SD30G2
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E4500
Memory: 1GB DDR2-800
HDD: 1x 250GB SATA2
Intel GMA 950 onboard graphics with DVI add-on card for dual monitor support
Memory Card reader (MS/SD/MMC/CF/SM)
Optical drive: DVD writer
6 USB ports (2 front, 4 rear)
Firewire and wired Ethernet connection
openSUSE 10.3
Bear in mind that you are able to change the configuration of your LinuXPC before you
buy by using the online
configurator. Now, to give you an idea of how diminutive the LinuXPC is, imagine
one of those ludicrously expensive, two-slice toasters built by Dualit and you’ll not
be far off. That’s actually a reasonable visual comparison because the LinuXPC
looks lovely in its Apple-like brushed aluminium casing – it wouldn’t be out of
place in the trendiest of lounges alongside a plasma TV and hi-fi.
It’s also possible to have the LinuXPC case in black, if that’s to your
taste. Further enhancing the LinuXPC’s claim to being a lifestyle machine is
the fact that it’s whisper quiet and, thanks to efficient cooling, never gets more
than moderately warm. For this review I paired the LinuXPC with a Fujitsu Siemens
USB keyboard/mouse and speakers, and an Acer AL1912 19inch LCD monitor with 1280x1024
resolution.
The LinuXPC was hard-wired to my Netgear broadband modem/router – there is no
Wi-Fi in the LinuXPC although, with six USB ports, it’s easy to add an adaptor if you
need it. Upon first switching on the LinuXPC, you’re asked to complete a few
simple administration tasks – set your root and user details, locale etc –
before the default openSUSE 10.3 desktop loads. Take a look at the screenshot of the
default desktop and, apart from being an unsettling shade of green, it’s a pretty
standard KDE 3.5.7 desktop environment – solid, functional and professional.
KDE 4 is available in the openSUSE repositories, but I’ll come back to that later.
By default the LinuXPC comes with an 8GB root partition and the rest of that 250GB
drive is devoted to /home, which means the user can try other Linux distributions later
without affecting all their data on the /home partition. All my hardware was
detected and correctly configured – I had sound and network access without any manual
intervention, plus all the memory card slots worked as expected.
You don’t get Compiz with the LinuXPC and, with such limited case space,
there’s no option to add a more powerful graphics setup, so if 3D desktop
functionality or hardcore gaming is important to you, better look elsewhere.
Nevertheless, I found the Shuttle’s Core 2 Duo processor and onboard Intel
graphics chip pushed things along at a really brisk pace – heavyweight image editing
tasks using the included GIMP application were quick and easy and multi-tasking was a
breeze.
The LinuXPC’s default software selection is modest but enough to get you going
– there’s Mozilla Firefox, Kmail, Amarok (which, incidentally, played my MP3s
flawlessly, OpenOffice, GIMP, digiKam, K3b, Kaffeine and RealPlayer 10. And that
brings me to my major criticism of the Shuttle machine – the lack of guidance for new
users wishing to install more software. The Shuttle came to me with nothing in the
way of a paper user guide, nor is there anything on the default desktop apart from a link
to online openSUSE help.
I don’t think that’s enough for a new Linux user – there really ought to
be a desktop link to a user guide which explains basic system and software management.
I put these concerns to Christian Scheibel of the Shuttle marketing team in
Germany, and here’s what he said: “If a first-time Linux user opts for one of
our LinuXPCs we and our network of resellers don't leave him groping around in the dark,
but make sure he knows what he is about to purchase.
“Unlike Windows, open source Linux requires browsing the web and searching
communities for additional software and advice.
“As for software-related support of the SD3002Q, consumers can always turn to us
via our online support form and we will try to find an answer.
“On the other hand, we also encourage them to refer to Linux communities for
workarounds.”
OK, but I still maintain that a simple desktop guide, ready and waiting for the user on
first boot, would be immensely helpful, particularly if PC manufacturers are serious about
attracting new users to Linux systems. To be fair to Shuttle and openSUSE, this is
something many Linux systems lack. Anyway, to return to my test. In openSUSE
all the system configuration and software management is done through the Yast utility (Yet
Another Setup Tool), which to my mind is overly-complex.
The LinuXPC came with Yast configured to use the included Restore DVD as the only
source for software. This is despite the fact that, within the Community
repositories in Yast’s software management section, all the main openSUSE
repositories were listed, along with the useful Packman repository. For an
experienced openSUSE (and Linux) user, this is easily resolved but a first time Linux user
needs more guidance, and in this the Shuttle’s default setup is lacking. Once I
had enabled the required repositories and updated Yast, I was able to download and install
several other useful programs and utilities.
Returning to my earlier point about KDE, version 4 is available in the repositories if
you want to take it for a spin but – be warned – it requires a lot of MBs of
downloads and is not yet considered stable enough to be a default desktop by many Linux
developers. What the Shuttle LinuXPC boils down to is this: A degree of compromise is
required. On the plus side, it’s a superbly built, highly polished small form
factor PC with a stable, professional Linux operating system. There’s enough
hardware and software included to make you highly productive, and with the included
two-year, pick-up-and-return free warranty and official openSUSE support, it’s
remarkably good value at around £500 (626 Euros, inc 17.5% VAT, or about $1000USD).
On the negative side, that small form factor means there’s little room for
upgrades or expansion if your needs change in the future. And I’d really like
to see both Shuttle and openSUSE do more to help new users manage their system. That
said, the Shuttle LinuXPC still comes highly recommended and is a very welcome addition to
the growing ranks of Linux-based PCs hitting the market.
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