Lunch box PCs to surpass notebooks?

With Universal Serial Bus (USB) peripherals so widely available nowadays, do we still need expandable PCs enclosed in regular mid-tower housings that occupy a sizable amount of real estate on our desks? Maybe not anymore.

True, there are still expansion cards out there that have no USB alternatives. One such device is the multiplexing card that can receive video feeds from four security video cameras. If you intend to buy a PC to guard your property, you do not really need a regular size PC.

Our children, too, may not require the ordinary PCs that we have come to be familiar with, especially if their desks are already cluttered with other things such as a boom box, an MP3 player, a monitor and a telephone. As long as the machine has enough power to surf the Internet, they will be happy. For them, the so-called lunch box PCs will be a better alternative than notebooks.

First, there is price consideration. In general, a decent notebook still costs more than US$1,000. The so-called "bare- bones" PC the size of a lunch box is certainly a much cheaper alternative. Two very popular bare-bones PC makers are ASUS (www.asus.com) and Shuttle (www.shuttle.com), and they have been offering several models for some time.

Do not let the word "bare bones" mislead you, as these systems already come complete with the LAN port, video graphics, audio capability, USB ports and even FireWire both at the back and the front panels. Some models even have memory card readers, TV-Out port, PC-Card slot and a Bluetooth module. All you have to add are the replaceable components such as the processor, the hard disk and the memory.

The bare-bones PCs are of course heavier than notebooks, they do not run on a battery and they actually have very few expansion slots. On the other hand, they do not take up much space, they are good looking and you can easily and cheaply replace the parts such as the hard disk and the CD-ROM drive when necessary.

ASUS offers three different designs. The $289 Pundit line has a slim case and can be placed on its side, while the $263 Terminator is more like a mini-tower PC. ASUS' $520 DIGIMatrix is loaded with multimedia features, including a TV tuner, a TV and radio recorder and an MP3 player (hopefully we will be able to have a closer look at it one day).

Shuttle has several models of its XPC bare-bones PCs, and you can choose different graphics subsystems to suit your needs.

The casings of the PCs are stylishly designed, complete with the cover. Shuttle also makes changeable color acrylic covers for the XPC's front panel. You can even buy a shoulder bag so that you can carry them more easily.

What do you have to check when considering buying one of these space-saving PCs? First, make sure that you are not going to need more than two internal expansion slots. Most of the expansions will have to rely on the USB connections, and this includes adding a TV tuner. Then, when shopping for a lunch box PC, make sure it has a quiet fan. It must also have an effective cooling system, as the cramped space inside the housing will build up heat very quickly.

Also make sure that the system has all the connections that you need -- even an Sony/Phillips Digital Interface (S/PDI) if you plan to connect it to some external digital audio equipment.

Finally, decide early on whether you want to use one of the Intel processors or the slightly less expensive AMD processors. These processors use different socket types and therefore require different mainboards.

If you are not a traveling professional and all you need is a space-saving PC, these bare-bones PCs will be right for you. --- Zatni Arbi

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