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 Ever
since we saw the first mini PCs from Shuttle back in
December, we've been impressed with the XPC Mini PCs
themselves, as well as how quickly new models have become
available. Starting with the release of the SV24, the first of
the mini PCs, we've seen Shuttle maintain a rigorous
timeline, releasing new and improved models in rapid
succession. Yet with this aggressive timeline, we've
seen no signs that Shuttle was cutting corners. In fact, we
have quite the opposite impression. Instead, we've seen
Shuttle add new features as well as make design improvements
that clearly show they've been listening to the feedback of
both reviewers and users alike. What is even more
impressive is that they have developed an entirely new product
line without experiencing any major issues or design flaws.
This is a testament to their rock solid development plans that pay
special attention to quality.
So what have
reviewers and users been saying anyway? From what
we've seen, there have been a number important concerns.
What we think were the three most common issues of previous
XPCs were; a lack of an AGP slot, noisy system fans, and
support for the latest available technology. After
roughly seven months, Shuttle has released a system that has
taken into account all of these wishes and the end result is
the Shuttle SS51G XPC Mini Barebones System.
This is the first of the XPC mini PC product line that has an AGP
slot, native USB 2.0 support, ATA133 compliance and support
for PC2700 DDR RAM. This is by far Shuttle's most
impressive endeavor, designing a mini PC that
has the performance to rival some high-performance full-size
systems.
Let's take a
look at what the Shuttle SS51G XPC has to offer.
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Specifications / Features of the Shuttle SS51G XPC Mini
Barebones System |
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The Baddest of Them
All! |
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Chipset
North Bridge SiS651
south Bridge Sis962L
Chipset Detail Spec
CPU
Socket 478
Intel Pentium 4/Celeron
478 pin package with 400/533MHz Data Bus Speed
Soft configuration FSB from 100Mhz to 166MHz
Form Factor
Flex ATX
Memory
2 x 184pin DDR DIMM
Support DDR200/266/333 un-buffer DDR SDRAM
up to 2GB capacity
Expansion Capability
AGP Slot X 1 Supports 2X / 4X AGP Device
PCI Slot x 1
USB port x 4
IEEE1394 x 3
5.25? Reserved Bay x 1
3.5? Reserved Bay x 2
(TWo HDs or Singel Floppy + Single HD)
Onboard Graphic
Integrated SiS651 VGA
VGA Memory cache up to 64MB
VGA driver
Audio
Realtek ALC 650
AC '97 v2.2 (supports 5.1 channel) compliant CODEC
on board
Support Digital SPDIF In/Out
Audio Driver
Onboard LAN
Realtek RTL8139 Family PCI/Cardbus Fast Ethernet
10/100Mb Fast Ethernet LAN
Support Wake on LAN, Boot to LAN, PXE 2.0
LAN driver
USB 2.0
Integrated SiS 962 USB 2.0
Onboard 1394
VIA VT6306
Complies with 1394 OHCI specification revision 1.0
Support 400Mb/s, 200Mb/s, 100Mb/s data transfer rate
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IDE interface
2 x UltraDMA/100 IDE Channels Master from SiS962
80-pin Cable Backward Compatible Legacy ATAPI
Devices
ATAPI IDE CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, and LS-120 Supports
Case
Aluminum chassis 200(w) x 181(h) x 280(d)mm
Power supply 200Watts 110 / 230V
1 x 3.5? bay
1 x 5.25? bay
1 x 3.5" bay (Hidden)
Front Panel
2 x USB ports
1 x 1394 ports
1 x 1 x 5.25" bay
1 x 3.5" bay (Hidden)
SPDIF Out
1 x Mic-In
1 x Speaker-Out
Power-On
Reset
Back Panel Ports and
Connectors
Power code/AC
1 x PCI slot
1 x AGP slot
1 x PS/2 Keyboard
1 x PS/2 Mouse
1 x VGA port
2 x Serial Port
2 x 1394 ports
1 x SPDIF In
2 x USB ports
1 x RJ45 port
1 x Front out connector
1 x Rear out connector
1 x Center/Bass connector
Accessory:
Mainboard User manual
Mainboard CD-Driver
XPC Installation Guide
I.C.E Technology CPU heat-pipe
Cables:
FDD Cable
HDD Cable
CD-ROM Cable
Power cord
Screws
Twin Adhesive
Friendly Front Feet |
Like many of the mini PCs
that preceded it, the SS51G comes complete with an
excellent complement of additional items. Shuttle
has put together a package that was well thought out. The package
comes with enough data cables to connect a Floppy, CD-ROM
and hard drive. A small bag is provided that
contains a packet of thermal grease, as well as
several zip tip ties and double-sided sticky tape for
tidying up any loose wires after all of the hardware is
installed. Shuttle also includes two "Friendly
Front Feet" that match the unit's silver finish,
giving the SS51G an upward tilt.
Lastly, we were surprised to see an AGP adapter that
provides DVI connections for Flat panel displays,
Digital Out and RCA output. Although not a
full-fledged video card, the adapter was designed for taking full
advantage of the system's onboard video capabilities.
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The
BIOS & Setup |
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Looking Good! |
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The BIOS of the
SS51G is derived from the all to popular Award BIOS found in
most motherboards on the market today. When we first
took a look at the BIOS of the SS40G in our last XPC review,
we found it to be rather ordinary with little useful extras.
With the SS51G's BIOS, however, the BIOS had a bit more to
offer than its Socket A counterpart. We were
particularly happy to see a more robust Frequency/Voltage
Control screen that offered a decent selection of options
for maximizing system performance. The CPU:DRAM Ratio
offered three settings for balancing CPU/DRAM performance;
1:1, 3:4 and 3:5 with a FSB range of 100-132MHz. With a
Pentium 4 Northwood B installed, the FSB range changes to 133-162MHz., the ratio settings run at
intervals of 1:1, 4:3 and 4:5.
The Advanced
DRAM screen didn't offer us a lot of memory options to play
with, although the screen was fairly useful in tweaking
memory performance. The memory timing could be
adjusted through the System Performance setting, giving a
total of 5 modes; Safe, Normal, Fast, Turbo and Ultra.
The CAS Latency could be set from 2T, 2.5T and 3T and the
Command rate varied between 1T and 2T. There were no
advanced voltage settings for fine tuning
memory or CPU performance, especially useful when attempting
to overclock a system. Nonetheless, the system did
offer the ability to increase the bus speed beyond spec.
With the SS51G we were able to set the bus anywhere from
100Mhz. to 165MHz. A little later we'll put these
options to the test and see if we missed the ability to
tweak the system voltages.
The PC Health Status screen has
undergone a few changes of its own with added features not
previously seen in the XPCs. As you will read about
later, Shuttle has implemented a few changes to help
quiet the system. One way of achieving this was by
throttling the FAN speed based on system temperatures.
The user can select any one of the three available fan
headers on the motherboard and configure it to increase fan
speed based on the temperature they set in the "Fan Speed Up"
field. As you will see, this helped Shuttle tackle the
noise issue efficiently in conjunction with a few other
changes we'll discuss in the next section.
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