SHUTTLE'S XPC LINE OF small form factor barebones PC kits has an infectious appeal. They're small, stylish, relatively quiet, brimming with ports, and the hardware inside is often fast enough to please most users. Most users just use their PCs to surf the web, do a little word processing, and maybe listen to a few MP3s. The enthusiast community, however, is quite a bit more demanding than most users. We're a hard bunch to please, and Shuttle's mini barebones systems have always lacked the crucial AGP expansion slot necessary for the screaming fast graphics performance we've come to expect from our systems.

In my view, Shuttle's cubes have always been an AGP slot away from true greatness. So when I found out that Shuttle's latest cube, the SS51, would come with that elusive AGP slot, I was as giddy as a schoolgirl. Really, giggling and everything.

Can AGP elevate the SS51 to greatness? Let's find out.