Shuttle XPC SB61G2: First-Class Equipment With Weaknesses, Continued

07:00 - Tuesday 22 July 2003 by Frank Völkel
Source: Tom's Hardware – Keywords: the, mailman, has, arrived

Table of content:
16 – Shuttle XPC SB61G2: First-Clas...
  1. 1 – The First Car: A Motorized Carriage
  2. 2 – The First Car: A Motorized Carriage, Continued
  3. 3 – Common Features And Differences: ECS, MSI, Shuttle And Soyo
  4. 4 – Common Features And Differences: ECS, MSI, Shuttle And Soyo, Continued
  5. 5 – ECS EZ Buddie: Focus On The Speed Controller
  6. 6 – ECS EZ Buddie: Focus On The Speed Controller, Continued
  7. 7 – ECS EZ Buddie: Focus On The Speed Controller, Continued
  8. 8 – MSI Mega PC (Mega 651): A Living Room PC With Minor Defects
  9. 9 – MSI Mega PC (Mega 651): A Living Room PC With Minor Defects, Continued
  10. 10 – MSI Mega PC (Mega 651): A Living Room PC With Minor Defects, Continued
  11. 11 – MSI Mega PC (Mega 651): A Living Room PC With Minor Defects, Continued
  12. 12 – MSI Mega PC (Mega 651): A Living Room PC With Minor Defects, Continued
  13. 13 – MSI Mega PC (Mega 651): A Living Room PC With Minor Defects, Continued
  14. 14 – Shuttle XPC SB61G2: First-Class Equipment With Weaknesses
  15. 15 – Shuttle XPC SB61G2: First-Class Equipment With Weaknesses, Continued
  16. 16 – Shuttle XPC SB61G2: First-Class Equipment With Weaknesses, Continued
  17. 17 – Soyo Mini Dragon 651: Old Fashioned Hi-Fi Charm, Not Yet Fully Mature
  18. 18 – Soyo Mini Dragon 651: Old Fashioned Hi-Fi Charm, Not Yet Fully Mature, C...
  19. 19 – Soyo Mini Dragon 651: Old Fashioned Hi-Fi Charm, Not Yet Fully Mature, C...
  20. 20 – Test Configuration And Special Features
  21. 21 – OpenGL-Performance "Quake 3 Arena"
  22. 22 – DirectX 8 Games: 3D Mark 2001 SE
  23. 23 – Office-/Internet-Performance: Sysmark 2002
  24. 24 – Summary: Design Or Practical Value - No Barebone System Has It All

Shuttle XPC SB61G2: First-Class Equipment With Weaknesses, Continued

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As already mentioned in previous tests, the thermal design of the Shuttle has not yet reached maturity. Especially when using a fast CPU (2.8 GHz and higher) in combination with an efficient AGP graphics card (ATi Radeon 9700 Pro), a hard disk with 7200 U/min and a CD drive, the limits of this mini-system become evident. As the fan of the heat pipe is the only circulation provider, the airflow does not reach the hard disk. The result is heat congestion (sandwich arrangement), so that outages can be expected when permanently in use.

In addition, the operating noise increases drastically when the speed of the large fan increases. Here, the temperature control in the BIOS is also of no use, which only shows its effect if the system is subjected to low-level stress. During the test operation run we frequently observed that the speed was continuously adjusted upward and downward. Sensitive users might be easily irritated by this. On the other hand, Shuttle has not cut any corners when it comes to the Northbridge cooling system, and has opted for an active cooler. All in all, Shuttle offers the best workmanship combined with the most up to date hardware. Apart from a Gigabit LAN connection (100 MBit, factory installed), all interfaces are provided. Details such as the missing cover for the component pockets show that Shuttle sees the XPC more as a PC for the office.

Shuttle's sandwich system is a poor construction. The hard disk and other drives (DVD/ CD drive, floppy) are not cooled and may be damaged as a result of heat congestion when permanently in use.

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