The fresh Shuttle XH97V is based on Intel's H97 express chipset and uses a 3.5-litre chassis, which, despite its compact dimensions, provides it with enough internal space for an effective cooling system and support for up to three HDDs or two 2.5" HDDs and a slimline ODD. This barebone features lots of I/O ports and support for up to three monitors with 4K compatibility. Equip it with an efficient Haswell CPU and you will reap the benefits of low power consumption and a near-silent operation, which is very important to a significant portion of users. Compared to the older XH81(V) and XH61V barebones, the XH97V supports an additional display, is equipped with more SATA III connectors, and has more USB 3.0 ports. The only compromises are the single Gigabit Ethernet port as compared to the two the older models have and the single serial port, as previous model had two. Nowadays, however, serial ports are of no use to the majority of users.

To ready the XH97V for action, you will need to purchase an HDD, preferably an SSD because it will boost performance, DDR3 RAM, an LGA1150 CPU with up to 65 W TDP, and an operating system; that is, unless you decide to go with a free Linux version. Should you want to use this barebone as a media player, you will probably also need a Slim SATA DVD drive of up to 12.7 mm in height. Some of the more interesting accessories Shuttle provides are an optional vertical stand, a VESA mount we believe they should provide for free, like with so many of their other barebones offerings, and the WLAN module.

The XH97V left a very good impression on me because of its good performance, elegant design, and compact footprint. It might be a little larger than my favorite DS81, but isn't so by much, and it has the advantage of better cooling, which results in safer operating temperatures and a quieter operation. Energy consumption wasn't all that low with the G3258 I used as the CPU was a little more power hungry than anything else in its range, but even a stronger CPU wouldn't have increased power consumption significantly. However, I would like to see a stronger power brick with, ideally, 120 W maximum power output. If you need a strong quality PC with compact dimensions, I strongly suggest you take a good look at Shuttle's offering since they have been a part of the market for many years—the company has collected a ton of experience over those years, and their products are good. The XH97V is a fine example of their work, and it earned a place in my lab, right next to their DS81 Slim-PC.