Inside the fit-PC2
CompuLab fit-PC2 Preview - Nettop PC with Intel Menlow - Systems 21

If you remove just the small panel on the bottom you can access the standard 2.5-in hard drive location; our model shipped with a 160GB hard drive but you can replace it if you wish.  And because it’s the standard 2.5-in size you could even use an SSD if you so desired. 

CompuLab fit-PC2 Preview - Nettop PC with Intel Menlow - Systems 22

If you take off the entire back you can see the mobile-sized hard drive revealed and it basically takes up the entire visible space. 

CompuLab fit-PC2 Preview - Nettop PC with Intel Menlow - Systems 23

The Seagate 160GB hard drive is a 5400 RPM model.

CompuLab fit-PC2 Preview - Nettop PC with Intel Menlow - Systems 24

Once we free the board itself from the tiny fit-PC2 chassis we can see all the chips and technology used in the design.  There are hynix memory chips on both sides that make up the 1GB of fixed memory (no upgrade options here).

CompuLab fit-PC2 Preview - Nettop PC with Intel Menlow - Systems 25

Here you can see the three chips that make up the Menlow platform including the Intel US15W chipset, Intel Atom Z530 processor and WiFi card plugged into the mini-PCIe slot. 

CompuLab fit-PC2 Preview - Nettop PC with Intel Menlow - Systems 26

I placed a quarter in the shot to give you a greater sense of scale; the bottom chip is the single-core Atom processor while the larger is the US15W SCH that includes the single channel memory controller, I/O technology, graphics with HD decode acceleration and more. 

CompuLab fit-PC2 Preview - Nettop PC with Intel Menlow - Systems 27

The top part of the fit-PC2 is actually functional – it is used as the heatsink for the Atom CPU and Poulsbo chipset. 

There are a couple of drawbacks to this system though that stick out; most notably is the inability for audio to be output through the HDMI connection – you HAVE to use the analog audio outputs.  There is no VGA display support, the SD card slot doesn’t support SDHC and the system will not support Wake-on-LAN.  None of these are really deal killers for me but it might be for some consumers.

CompuLab does support Linux more that most vendors and in fact the fit-PC2 ships with not only Windows XP ULCPC but Ubuntu 8.04 as well. 

There are various models of the fit-PC2 and the one we are testing is the priciest at $399.  Here are the models available:
  • fit-PC2 Value – $245
    • Atom Z510 1.1 GHz CPU
    • No hard drive
    • No WiFi
    • No OS
  • fit-PC2 Value WiFi – $255
    • Atom Z510 1.1 GHz CPU
    • No hard drive
    • 802.11g WiFi
    • No OS
  • fit-PC2 Diskless – $305
    • Atom Z530 1.6 GHz CPU
    • No hard drive
    • 802.11g WiFi
    • No OS
  • fit-PC2 Linux – $359
    • Atom Z530 1.6 GHz CPU
    • 160GB HDD
    • 802.11g WiFi
    • Ubuntu 8.04
  • fit-PC2 XP HD – $399
    • Atom Z530 1.6 GHz CPU
    • 160GB HDD
    • 802.11g WiFi
    • Windows XP Home SP3 with CyberLink PowerDVD codecs
All the systems come with standard features like 1GB of DDR2 memory, 12V external power supply, 1920×1080 display support, Gigabit Ethernet, HD audio support, IR receiver, miniSD slot, etc. 

Despite some reservations on performance and that lack of HDMI audio, I am excited to plug this system into various areas in the office and home and see how it stands up.  You can check out the working fit-PC2 website today and be sure to check back here at PC Perspective in a couple weeks for the full review.

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