Fujitsu Siemens Scaleo E

A bulky, yet versatile Media Center PC designed to fit under a TV

Built to match other home entertainment equipment, both in terms of looks and versatility, the Scaleo E from Fujitsu Siemens is a feature-packed Media Center Edition (MCE) PC.

In fact, if you weren't to look around the back or flip down the panel on the front, it could quite easily pass for an oversized DVD player.

Hiding inside this 15kg behemoth is a Pentium 4 630 (3GHz) processor and 1GB of DDR 400 Ram. The basic version ships with 512MB and is £50 cheaper than our review system.

For most forms of computing work, the Scaleo E will cope with ease, as the Sysmark 2004 SE score of 179 testifies. It's not lightning fast, but will be able to handle MCE applications efficiently.

The Intel 915 integrated graphics are pretty weak though and will definitely struggle with 3D games at any sort of decent detail settings.

This computer's real talent lies with its entertainment features. As well as running MCE, it has an impressive collection of ports and sockets on the back, catering for both computer and standard AV devices, along with a detailed LED panel on the front.

On the back sit RGB Scart, DVI, VGA and S-Video sockets for connecting to all manner of displays. Running Windows through the Scart cable lacked in definition and was only really suited to live TV or video playback - you're much better off using the DVI or VGA connection.

There's a second Scart socket too, for looping through a VCR, PVR, satellite, cable TV or games console.

The dual digital/analogue TV tuner is capable of recording two channels at once, but only when using the same format - you can't record a digital channel and an analogue one at the same time.

The 250GB hard disk is big even by PVR standards and will provide space for plenty recorded video before any additional gigabytes have to be added. If you do start running out of space, recorded TV can always be archived on the double layer, dual format DVD writer.

Quiet operation is imperative when it comes to Media Centers - you're not going to want a noisy PC sitting in your lounge. Thankfully, the Scaleo E is reasonably discreet.

However, noise levels increase when a DVD is spinning or the fans need to crank up to cool down the processor. It's not as hushed as the Pentium M Media Centers we've seen such as the Shuttle M1000.

The on-board 7.1 soundcard has an eight-channel output for hooking up to speaker systems and there are S/PDIF optical and digital co-axial outputs for connecting to external digital decoders.

Sticking with A/V connections, there are S-video input and composite inputs behind a flip-down panel on the front. The headphone and microphone ports are also located here.

No wireless adapter is supplied as standard (Fujitsu Siemens will include a USB device for an extra £30). In total there are six USB2 and two Firewire sockets, plus a card reader on the front that accepts five types of card.

The Scaleo E comes with a MCE remote control and a keyboard with built-in trackball for surfing the web from the sofa, which is a nice touch. There's no extra software apart from MCE but it does carry a one-year collect and return warranty.

Priced at £870, this Media Center represents good value. There's also lots of room for expansion and it offers a host of connections.

Quick look performance results:
Sysmark 2004 SE: 179
3Dmark05: 322

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