Shuttle specialises in small PCs, but even so, the SG31G2 is one of its smaller designs, standing just 18.5cm tall and 20cm wide.

It achieves these dimensions by only having space for one DVD writer, rather than two, and by having space for a single-width graphics card, ruling out high-powered double-width cards.

Ambros Direct, the Shuttle reseller that sells this system, includes a silver plastic DVD writer as the optical drive. It’s the only thing that stands out from an otherwise attractive, all-aluminium case. The front has a striking selection of buttons plus two easy-to-access USB2 ports and a four-pin Firewire connection. On the rear side of the rectangular cube there’s a six-pin Firewire and a further four USB2 ports.

Stereo and surround-sound audio connectivity is provided front and back respectively, while DVI and VGA outputs mean it can be fitted to either a digital or analogue monitor, or both at the same time for a bigger desktop space.

A Pentium Dual Core E2140 processor provides the brains of the PC. It’s Intel’s slowest desktop dual-core processor, with just 1MB of L2 cache and a clock speed of 1.6GHz. It is based on Intel’s Core micro-architecture though, making it an awful lot cooler and a whisper faster than Pentium Ds of yesteryear.

But if you’re thinking of upgrading from a Pentium Extreme Edition system, it’s worth remembering that these old chips score higher in PCmark05’s CPU test than the E2140.The system scored 4,220 overall in PCmark05, with 4,699 in the CPU section, and at this price it’s almost worth considering a notebook as an alternative.

Ambros includes 1GB of memory, which is less than impressive since Vista really needs more when multitasking, and the 160GB hard disk is rather stingy compared to most other desktop systems.

Vista Business comes installed, which is a better choice than Vista Basic because it includes the fancy 3D Aero interface and fax and scan software, but it’s less desirable than Vista Home Premium since it lacks Media Center software for easily browsing your photos, video and music.

Graphics are provided by Intel’s lowly GMA 3100 integrated chip. It averaged 17fps (frames per second) in Fear and a paltry 348 in 3Dmark06, which reflects that although the system is capable of running older games, newer games won’t run at anything other than the lowest quality settings, if at all.

The GMA 3100 isn’t capable at all of playing back high-definition content from HD DVDs or Blu-ray discs, so you’ll need to upgrade the graphics card.

Upgrading the processor or graphics card could be difficult since the power supply is rated at 250W. We successfully dropped a Radeon HD 3850 into it without a hitch, but 250W won’t be enough for faster components. Other than that, the power supply is fit for purpose, always remaining quiet and cool and, combined with the SG31G2’s diminutive size, makes it ideal to go into a living room or bedroom.

While some Shuttle PCs come with a remote control the SG31G2 doesn’t include one, relying instead on a cheap mouse and keyboard - both of which are wired. You’ll have to add your own monitor, which will push up the price if you don’t already have one, but otherwise this is an average-priced system.