Lacks in power, but terrific hardware design makes this an intriguing take on the Eee brand.

Shuttle's push on the small form factor market has seen the PC finally migrate from the bedroom to become an integral part of the lounge room and entertainment set up. Capable of a number of varied roles, these include file servers, HDTV receiving boxes and media streaming machines.

The Iwill ZPC is the smallest PC case we've seen to date, measuring a tiny 184mm x 54mm x 263mm. If you're after the ultimate in super compact computing, look no further than this unit.

Looking more like a corporate slimline desktop than a barebones system, this unit features a Mini ITX motherboard while the large form allows for good component layout. Minimal overlap between the motherboard and optical drives allows for free working space even around the CPU and RAM.

The XPC SS51G is the cheapest of the Shuttle offerings this month. Again, the ease of hardware installation makes this product fantastically user friendly, given the ability to just pop out the optical storage bay, insert your drive and floppy and whack it back in. No mess, no fuss.

One of the more difficult units to navigate whilst installing hardware, ABIT's DigiDice barebones was one of only two submitted systems to feature bay real estate to accommodate more than a single optical drive, the other system being the Soltek Qbic EQ-3401M.

The QDI 5968L is another system decked out in clear Perspex and solid silver panels. Side panels allow for easy access, although the large handle mounted on the top of the chassis does nothing but inhibit peripheral installation and replacement.