Shuttle SB95P v2 SFF XPC
Performance Analysis and the Conclusion
System Performance Analysis: The Shuttle SB95P kept pace with the full-sized Epox 5LWA+ in almost all benchmarks, only dropping slightly behind in a few of the low-resolution in-game tests. The frame rates in those tests usually amounted to a 4-5% difference in performance.
Shuttle has definitely taken some strides with the SB95P, most of which were positive. However, in our eyes at least, some aspects of the P series could be improved. The new layout of the chassis works perfectly; moving the ICE technology based cooling solution towards the front of the chassis provided much needed room for drive installation and efficient cooling of the entire system using the three cooling zones. The quiet operation of the unit impressed us as well, as we would have expected the noise output of four distinct fans to be somewhat overwhelming. This holds especially true when overclocking the CPU and running games at higher resolutions. And the SB95P came equipped with a quality 350W PSU that not only ran quiet, but supplied enough juice to power both a Prescott CPU and a Radeon X800XL.
Our only concerns were focused on the screwless drive mounts. The physical implementation of the brackets and radiation shields could use some improvement. Had only one of them failed on us, we would have been far less critical, but to have a couple of the drive rails and a radiation shield pop out of place left us a bit worried. We were lucky that we heard the pieces running loose in the system after moving the PC from the labs to another location; it could have been much worse had the system been turned on with these pieces hanging loose inside.
Overall though, the SB95P is truly a portable powerhouse. This SFF PC has all of the features and many of the same capabilities of a full-sized system. We're giving the Shuttle SB95P XPC an 8.5 on the Heat Meter. Had it not been for the issue we had with the drive rails, we would have had very little to hold against the SB95P.
