The fresh DS47 surely isn't a performance monsters, but being one simply doesn't suit its purpose. It was built with HD digital signage applications in mind and does very well therein by easily reproducing any multimedia content. Its fanless design also ensures an ultra-quiet operation, and its ultra-low voltage (ULV) Celeron CPU makes sure it operates efficiently. The DS47 consumes very little energy in all modes and actually requires the least amount of all slim-PCs I have taken a look at so far. It is definitely ErP Lot 6 2013 compliant by consuming less than 0.5 W in standby, and comes with a great number of I/O ports to support digital signage applications, including two RS232 ports, which may come in handy with older devices. But the best part is probably its affordable price and the fact that you only need an HDD or SDD drive and DDR3 memory to make it fully operational. I forgot to mention the DS47's very important, built-in IEEE 802.11b/g/n Wireless Network card; it gives the unit wireless connectivity out of the box. Drastically increasing this slim-PC's usability, the card makes connecting the DS47 to the Internet or any wireless network a breeze. I did spot a couple downsides, with the most significant being the weak CPU and its IGP (Integrated Graphics Processor). Neither can cope with heavy tasks or 3D games well. Another crucial pitfall is its short one-year warranty in the US. One year is very short, and Shuttle really should increase it by another year if they want to keep up with the scarce competition in this market segment.

I do think that the DS47 meets its purpose as a full HD digital signage media player well, and it can be used for other task that don't require high computational throughput, since the Celeron CPU clearly sets the limits here. I can easily state that I really enjoyed reviewing this small system because it didn't give me any prolems at all during my installation and testing procedure. The DS47 actually managed to earn itself a place in my lab as a NAS-stressing tool, thanks to its compact dimensions and dual Ethernet ports with teaming functionality.