Final Words & Conclusion

Final Words & Conclusion

Admittedly, the Shuttle XPC Nano NC01U is an incredibly fun product. you do need to place it in the right mindset product stack wise though, this is not a fast PC. However this is a versatile PC that is fast enough for your multi-media needs, browsing the web, working with Words/ Excell and heck even Photoshop functions pretty decent on the NC01U. I can think of many purposes for this tiny yet feature rich unit, but also can see it functioning well as HTPC. Missing however is an optical audio output though you can make a SPDIF pass-through through HDMI.

Performance

The Shuttle XPC Nano NC01U is fast enough within its product stack, you probably will need to install Windows 10 as it doesn't use much recourses and as such your PC experience will "feel" much better. Also mandatory is enough memory and an SSD. As you have notice SATA and M.2. units can be installed, and removing that traditional HDD bottleneck from  your PC will make all the difference. Like any PC, system memory relaims mandatory, for very low spec 4 GB but we do recommend 8 GB as standard these days. We tested this unit with two sticks of SODIMM memory, that would be dual-channel. Combined with Windows 10 the experience is pretty nice, the OS doesn't feel too slow and again if combined with a SATA3 or M.2 SSD storage unit everything will speed up the OS and your end-user experience. This unit is a perfect little net PC as well. Though while fast enough for a bit of low level PC usage, we definitely would have liked to see more processor performance. Then again you are talking to the guy that runs a PC performance enthusiast website.

If you do like something more powerful in this tiny package, Shuttle can make that happen. The unit has three stronger brethren now with the  Shuttle XPC nano NC01U with Intel Celeron 3205U (tested today), the Shuttle XPC nano NC01U3 with Intel Core i3-5005U, there is a Shuttle XPC nano NC01U5 with Intel Core i5-5200U and finally a Shuttle XPC Nano NC01U7 with Intel Core i7-5500U.

The Shuttle XPC Nano NC01U offers plenty features for its form factor does everything you may expect from a small entry level PC. Speed and performance wise you can compare it to an entry level laptop and then a little more. The Dual core processor offers just enough punch if you combine it with Windows 10. The embedded GPU has a really OK video processor that can accelerate high-definition content all by itself, and 1080P is not a real issue. Though the GPU has very few shader processors, they are enough to apply say a little image sharpening through the playback software with software like Media player Classic.
 

Concluding

The Shuttle XPC Nano NC01U is incredibly fun, it can be used as HTPC (albeit the internal fan will make noise). The processor is fast enough for everyday PC usage really. The fact that you can combined this unit with fast SATA3 or a M.2. SSD is the icing on top of the cake. Combined with proper AC compatible WIFI, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0, DisplayPort and HDMI connectivity really the product is as versatile as it needs to be. For multimedia this box works out well, all the decoding on and post processing 1080P content did not make this unit consume more than roughly 10 Watt and that makes this a very energy friendly product as well.Overall, for low-level purposes the Shuttle XPC Nano NC01U definitely comes recommended. You can easily tuck it away behind your monitor over the VESA mount, and if you are on the road, just connect it to your HDTV HDMI in the hotel and you will have brought your fully enabled PC along with you. Albeit that might be thinking a little too far outside the box. The price of the unit with Intel Celeron 3205U processor as tested today is roughly 150 EUR/USD for the barebone unit. You can configure it with memory and storage or simply just order and fit that yourself in the incredibly small and fun product.

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