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Shuttle piqued our interest recently when it announced the KPC -- a low-cost Linux desktop PC you'll be able to buy for around a paltry £180 including VAT, or roughly £85 in K45 barebones form. Especially attractive to us is that the lack of high-performance components in the KPC's standard from means it's relatively energy efficient.
Shuttle says it uses approximately 33w while idling and no more than 55w under full load -- approximately 30w less than ordinary systems. It's also very quiet -- just 28db, which is about the same level as inside a library.
You'd think a tiny Shuttle PC would be earmarked for the Media Center crowd, but that's not the case. KPC actually stands for Korporate Perfect Cube (we're not kidding), so it's aimed at the offices, libraries and hotels of green-conscious establishments.
The fully kitted-out KPC is based on Shuttle's existing K45 chassis. Inside you'll find an Intel Celeron 430 CPU running at 1.8GHz, 512MB of RAM -- upgradeable to 2GB -- an Intel GMA 950 graphics adaptor, and an 80GB hard drive. Other bits include six-channel audio, one PCI slot, Gigabit LAN, four USB ports, two SATA2 ports, and a 100w power supply unit. The whole thing runs on Foresight Linux, not Windows, in order to keep the price down.
The complete KPC isn't very quick, but if gaming or HD movie playback isn't a requirement, you're good to go. More demanding users should check out the barebones version, since that lets you supply your own CPU, graphics card, memory and hard drive.
We're loving this thing. You still have to buy a keyboard, mouse and monitor to go with it, but you really can't complain given how affordable and good looking it is. Watch for a full review on our sister site, CNET.co.uk.
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Got a green product that you love or hate? Share the word by writing a review and telling the world.
