I just bought a Shuttle SG31G2 for my sister. It's a Shuttle barebone system came with a good looking case, a tiny mobo and a power supply, all together US$200, not bad, considering it's a Intel G31 chip system and does come with dual output (VGA & DVI). I added a E7400, a Pioneer DVDRW and a WD500GB Green Power and 4GB of RAM, so the total cost was US$450. Still quite worth it considering it's a small form factor system (300L x 200W x 185H) and the decent hardware. The processor runs at 2.80Ghz which is about 1Ghz faster than the Intel system I built for my brother 2 years ago and the new chip is even cheaper.
My only complaint is that Intel 'still' does not suppot 1360 x 768 resolution, it would be a problem for me as I am using my TV as a monitor. But it shouldn't be any problem for my syster. In summary, the shortfalls, as far as HTPC is concerned, are as follows:
1. No HDMI output,
2. No optical output,
3. Can't support 1360 x 768 resolution; bad for those who have a 1366 x 768 tv, and
4. The power supply is marked with 250w max, maybe a problem if you pop in a graphics card.
But, the good things are:
1. You can add in a PCI-E card if you want, plenty of space there for your card,
2. Two Hard Disk slots, should be enough for those who have a lot of HD contents,
3. An absolute quiet system, the CPU is cooled by pipes and heat sink, no fan,
4. Two DDR2 slots, supports up to 4GB of RAM,
5. Steel flush finish, looks so nice you may even mistake it as a aluminum case, and
6. The case is solid, cables inside are neatly arranged and clean.
That's ALL!
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