Review: Ambros Shuttle SS31T

Ambros’ small form factor PCs make regular appearances in PCW. This time, though, the company has opted for a bigger Shuttle chassis that measures about a foot high – although it’s still noticeably smaller than the micro-tower designs of its low-cost rivals.

The compact, matte-black chassis is easy on the eye, but the components inside it are more of a mixed bag. The Celeron D processor may be a little on the old side (in processor terms, anyway), but its healthy clock speed of 3GHz and 64-bit support mean that it’s certainly not obsolete.

It should be able to handle most office software with ease, along with 2D graphics, digital photography and even a bit of video editing. It’s a shame, though, that there’s no Firewire interface for connecting a DV camcorder. The 80GB hard disk is also a little skimpy compared with the 160GB and 250GB disks found elsewhere.

There are no speakers supplied with the SS31T, either, other than the small ones built into the 17in TFT monitor. However, the real weakness lies in the integrated Sis300 graphics chip on the motherboard, which is left trailing behind all its rivals when it comes to 3D graphics performance.

Admittedly, it’s not fair to expect leading-edge 3D performance from a PC in this price range, but the Shuttle’s meagre two frames per second (fps) in our Far Cry test still leaves it far behind rivals from PC Nextday and Watford, which can manage a respectable 40-50fps.

Of course, if you’re not a games fan then this isn’t too much of a problem, and the Shuttle should still be able to handle most other tasks that home users are likely to throw at it. And, of course, the compact design will appeal to anyone for whom space is at a premium.

This article is part of a group test of bargain PCs.
Other articles are:
Evesham Axis STR Plus
Mesh D820 Value +
PC Nextday Zoostorm 1-3301 Versatile PC
PC Specialist Trident s500
Watford Aries Performa 3500+RV
Is the desktop PC dead?
Graphs and table of features can be read via our Pdf downloads.