I have had a Shuttle mini PC for about 3 years now. It's probably the best out of all computers I've assembled and is incredibly well designed inside. I'd say I only like Apple or Sony's hardware better - but those are turnkey systems that generally aren't customizable. Its small factor, coupled with the optional travel bag, has made it great for VJ'ing. I also own their XP17 flat panel monitor which is equally as portable with its built-in handle and carry-case. The only LCD monitors I've seen that are better are the Apple displays (which coincidentally have traditionally been manufactured by Sony).

But what I want to review today is Shuttle, the company. They were the pioneers of the mini-form-factor PC bevore the Mac mini was a gleam in Steve Jobs's eye, but what I want to praise most of all is their customer support.

I've only had to call their U.S. tech support line twice in the last two years, but I have to share how exceptional it was. If you have purchased hardware from other southeast asian manufacturers you've probably gotten other good quality stuff, but if you run into any trouble, you'll often find their U.S. customer support presence is nil. A lot of them make good hardware, but once you buy, you're generally on your own.

Not so with Shuttle. Both times I have called their California call center, I have gotten to a real person who was knowledgeable and ready to help me with my technical problem within 30 seconds. Within the first minute of the call, the rep had called up spec sheets for my hardware and began walking me through troubleshooting my problem. They weren't reading from a script, they knew what they were talking about and they were fully able to engage with me in a technical dialogue on the level one who would build using their barebones systems would expect.

When a problem was determined to be caused by a defective part, they quickly matched me with the proper replacement and provided me the form to order it. The price was completely reasonable despite their systems having fairly proprietary elements in their design. A rep actually called and left a voicemail to confirm that the part shipped out and I received it in a couple of days.

I know early on, their mini-form systems got a bad rap for overheating and noise, but I can assure you they have really perfected their systems to overcome those issues.

I think I am going to stick with their systems, as well as their peripherals in the future. I definitely recommend the Shuttle brand to anyone reading this.