Shuttle has begun offering Europeans a new ultra-compact desktop with enough graphical prowess to drive 16 displays. The XPC H7 5820S makes the most of its 12.8 x 8.2 x 7.7-inch chassis, serving up quad- and hexa-core Core i7 processors, 8 to 16GB of DDR3 1333MHz RAM and up to two storage drives – be they mechanical or flash-based. The mini PC can also be configured with a DVD or Blu-ray drive and it's cooled by the efficient heat-pipe technology of Shuttle's Integrated Cooling Engine (I.C.E.).
The Intel X58-based motherboard offers at least two PCI Express x16 slots, which can be outfitted with Matrox M91xx LP or Nvidia Quadro series graphics cards. The Matrox cards (M9128, M9138, M9140, M9148 and M9188) are geared toward multi-monitor setups such as security surveillance and the last model can power up to eight 2560x1600 displays. Pair them up, and you'll have double the display output. Nvidia's workstation series is better for tackling 3D applications such as CAD or DCC.
The GPUs are complemented by eight-channel audio via the Realtek ALC888 codec, which supports the usual band of line in/out ports, including optical S/PDIF. Other connectivity includes dual gigabit Ethernet with Teaming support, eight USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0/eSATA combo on the front panel along with eSATA data and power connectors around back. The system is fed by a 500W 80 Plus Bronze certified power supply with active PFC. Pricing starts at €1,446 (roughly $2,013).