To promote the first production run of its PCIe-enabled pico-BTX XPC model SB86i, Shuttle Computer will bundle a free BTX CPU cooler with each barebones system, according to sources. Although the sources claimed the 5000 units will begin shipping next week, the company refuted the claim and stated that the systems will not begin shipping until mid-December, although they will be available in retail outlets before Christmas. The first shipments will mostly be to the US and European markets, the company added. According to a Shuttle press release, the SB86i XPC will be the first commercial application of the pico-BTX design specification. The barebones system is built around the Intel 915G chipset, which integrates Intel’s Graphics Media Accelerator 900 and features Microsoft DirectX9 support. The SB86i XPC will also support 16x PCIe graphics cards. Intel launched channel sales of its BTX products on November 15. Before then, BTX based PCs had been only available through OEMs. Intel claims it introduced the BTX form factor to meet the growing need for smaller, sleeker and cooler PCs. Compared to ATX motherboards, BTX boards will run cooler and quieter since the improved motherboard layout and chassis design deliver an increased airflow to high-power components and require fewer fans and lower fan speeds, an Intel press release stated. Shuttle estimates that 20% of its XPC shipments this year will be PCIe systems, while 80% will be AGP-based. The company expects to increase its ratio of PCIe systems to 50% next year. Intel-based systems will account for 65% of the company’s XPC shipments this year, the company added. In related news, Shuttle confirmed that it will debut its 16x DVD Dual DL burners next week. The burner will be available in assorted colors, including white, silver and black and will be sold separately, as opposed to bundled with the company’s XPC barebones systems. Shuttle XPC-SB86i Photo: Shuttle Taiwan. Shuttle 16x DVD Dual DL burner-CD40 Photo: Shuttle Taiwan.

Intel yesterday introduced a series of BTX (Balanced Technology Extended)-compatible products, including boxed processors, thermal modules, motherboards, chassis and power supplies in Taipei. The products will be sold worldwide through channel distribution. Previously, BTX-based PCs had only been available from OEMs, but with the release of these boxed BTX-compatible products, worldwide channel customers can now provide BTX systems as well, according to an Intel press release. With support from a number of leading vendors and OEM makers, Intel expects the BTX form factor to become the mainstream for the PC industry by 2006, said Stanley Huang, Intel’s director of marketing and business management for the Asia Pacific region. Some sources at Taiwan makers of small-form-factor (SFF) systems said that the introduction of the BTX form factor systems may negatively affect the future development of SFF systems. However, sources at Shuttle Computer, the leading designer and manufacturer of small-form-factor (SFF) computers, said that the impact of BTX form factor system on sales of its SFF PCs, the XPC line, will be limited. The sources said that Shuttle will also cooperate with Intel to develop and market BTX-compatible systems.

Taiwan-based Shuttle Computer, a designer and manufacturer of small-form-factor (SFF) computers and accessories, announced yesterday that it will begin marketing complete systems from its XPC line of small-form-factor (SFF) computers worldwide. The company already markets complete XPC systems in the US and some European countries. Shuttle aims to ship about 10,000 complete XPC systems a month in the fourth quarter of this year, including 5,000 units for international markets and 5,000 units for the domestic market, according to company chairman David Yu. Yu said that Shuttle began shipping complete XPC-branded PCs in the US market in May and to Europe in September. The company’s total SFF PC shipments, including barebones units, are expected to increase 20% this year from 650,000 units in 2003. The company also plans to ship 800,000 units in 2005, Yu asserted. Yu expects shipments of complete XPC systems to account for 15-20% of Shuttle’s total shipments next year. Yu also said that Shuttle’s gross margins will improve substantially in 2005 since its complete systems will carry price tags ranging from US$700 to US$1,000, compared to an average of US$200 for its barebone SFF PCs. Shuttle displays its small-form-factor products Photo: Allen Lin, DigiTimes

AOpen, a manufacturer of optical disc drives (ODDs), motherboards and barebone PCs, has decided to overhaul its strategy and will focus on barebone systems, according to company sources. Currently, ODDs and motherboards account for 50% of AOpen’s total revenues, while small form factor (SFF) PCs and system solutions form the remaining 50%. The proportion of SFF PCs and system solutions should increase substantially by year-end, the sources stated. The company posted a record loss of NT$660 million in the first half of this year, with the losses stemming mainly from the decreased value of its ODD inventory as well as royalties paid for patented ODD technology. With its production concentrating more on system solutions, which normally carry higher gross margins, the company hopes that its operations will be back on track starting in the fourth quarter or early next year.