Introduction
Shuttle has earned a strong reputation for itself in the Small Form Factor (SFF) and computer
mainboard markets. Over two decades ago Shuttle Inc. was founded in Taipei, Taiwan, and since 1990
Shuttle Computer Group has provided mainboards, cases, and barebones systems to consumers in the
Americas.
When we think SFF, Shuttle’s XPC line comes immediately to mind for many of us. I was excited to
check out the Shuttle SB51G XPC, and see if the quality, design, and performance hold up to the
reputation it carries.
Before starting, it would be prudent for me to mention the nature of this review. We will not be
evaluating the hardware performance of this system, nor will we be evaluating the overclocking
potential, for a few reasons. It would be unfair of us to provide a half-baked attempt at performance
review, and I don’t have a dozen SFF PC’s kicking around to test against. Maybe some day, but not this
day. As far as overclocking is concerned, I would have liked to see how high I could take the FSB on
this sucker, but this case is ultimately destined for a home installation.
We will, however, dig into the guts of this thing, and put it through the paces to make sure it isn’t
going to flake out on us during a heavy round of UT2K3 or Desert Combat. We will also have a good
look at installation, access, cooling performance, design, and quality of construction.
Why Small Form-Factor? (aka Heat, Cash, and Cases)
Before we even begin to look at this unit, it would make sense to ask ourselves what kind of benefit
a Small Form Factor (SFF) PC has to offer us. Two big negatives came to mind when I considered the Shuttle SB51G;
upgrades are somewhat limited, and the pricetag is also pretty hefty (about $240 USD). The SB51G has
room for one AGP card, one PCI card, one 5 ź” bay device, and two 3 Ë” bay devices (one external,
one internal). While this gives us a substantial path for video upgrades, it’s not exactly an
enthusiasts dream.
This is, however, to be expected with a SFF PC. Aside from the obvious limitations of this form
factor, the real advantage here is size! The Shuttle SB51G is at least 1/3 as large as my
mid-tower. It has a very small footprint, letting you stick a computer just about anywhere that has
electricity and a little airflow. Coupled with a nice flat panel display, your computer could
actually compliment its surroundings, even in a “non-geeky” environment.
Will you be stuck with an outdated machine in a year? No. Will you have room for a fan controller,
DVD burner, floppy drive, CD-RW, and internal card reader? No. The performance path is decent, as
you can upgrade CPU, AGP, memory, and internal storage as you could with any other case. It is the
sheer number of components where we see the limitations.
The choice of SFF or full sized ultimately boils down to your needs. While you are weighing your
options, just remember to account for the price difference. You can find a barebones mid-tower for
easily half of the price as the SB51G.
Let’s move along and see what this piece of machine is made up of.
Specifications
Shuttle’s line of XPC products are broken down primarily by chipset. The SB* series use Intel, SS*
use SiS, ST* use ATI, and SV* use VIA. To be totally precise, the model we are looking at today is
the SB51GB, “B” signifying the black version of the case.
The SB51G is running a Shuttle FB51 mainboard, based on the
Intel® 845GE chipset. This
transition brings 3GHz+ Hyperthreading support to their line of “51G” XPC’s. If we look back at the
SS51G running
SIS651 we see a lot of similarities, both aesthetically and functionally. When Intel lifted the
NDA on the now extremely popular 845GE chipset Shuttle was extremely quick to market with the SB51G.
Now the SIS651B chipset brings hyperthreading support to the SS51G V2.0 for SiS fans.
| Product: | SB51G XPC Mini Barebones |
| Manufacturer: | Shuttle, Inc. |
| Dimensions: | (L)300*(W)200*(H)185 |
| Weight: | 2.85Kg (N.W.)4.65Kg (G.W.) |
| Front Panel: | 2 x USB, 1 x Line Out/Headphone, 1 x MIC, 1 x 1394, 1 x SPDIF |
| Back Panel: | 1 x PS/2 Keyboard & Mouse, 2 x Serial Port, 2 x 1394, 2 x USB, 1 x LAN, 1 x Parallel Port |
| Extension Bay: | 1 x 5.25″ external, 1 x 3.5″ external, 1 x 3.5″ internal |
| Mainboard: | FB51 |
| Form Factor: | Small Form Factor (SFF) |
| CPU: | Socket 478 400/533MHz FSB |
| Northbridge: | Intel 845GE |
| Southbridge: | ICH4 |
| Memory: | 2 x DDR 200/266/333 DIMM slots |
| VGA: | Intel 845GE, performance 256-bit 3D engine |
| Audio: | AC ’97 (supports 5.1 channel), Support Digital SPDIF In/Out |
| Expansion Slot: | 1 x PCI, 1 x AGP |
| IDE Interface: | ATA-100 |
| Power: | 200W (PFC) |
| Hot Features: | TV-Out Support (Option), USB 2.0, Aluminum Chassis, Hyper Threading support, Shuttle I.C.E. heat pipe technology |
Overall we have a solid feature-set here, with enough expandability to keep this machine ticking for
quite a while. Being an “all-in-one” solution, we have the luxury of integrated audio, video, and
LAN. Serious gamers or power users will want to take a video card upgrade into serious consideration,
though.
Overview – outside
When we look at any case, there are a few distinct issues that we should take into consideration
– the quality of construction, cooling performance, ease of installation and access, looks, and of
course, price. Cooling and ease of access are going to be especially important issues when it comes
to a SFF PC; the small size can easily lend to heat issues and cramped working space.
The Shuttle SB51G is a barebones unit, which means that it comes with a mainboard and CPU cooling
system installed. I say cooling system because the SB51G uses a heat pipe to cool the CPU, as
opposed to the common heatsink/fan (HSF) assembly. This has its advantages and disadvantages, as
we’ll cover later.
The unit came in a well padded box, complete with a soft plastic handle for easy toting. While a
handle on the case itself would make for much easier relocation, this is still a nice little
addition.
Front shot of the packaging
Another minor, but nice addition, are the clear images provided on the back of the box. While it doesn’t
make much of a difference ordering on-line, the close-up shots and feature breakdown is a good
addition for the brick and mortar shops.
Rear shot of the packaging
Opening up the box we find the SB51G accompanied by a few basic extras. Shuttle has included all of
the necessary cables: one ATA100 IDE cable, one floppy cable, and of course the power cord. They
also threw in some double-sided foam tape for securing the cables, which is a nice addition. We
also find an installation manual containing very detailed steps for setup and installation, which
we’ll touch on again briefly.
The case and accessories
The accessories
My first impression of the SB51G was that it is very sleek looking. The deep charcoal case, coupled
with a smoke tinted translucent bezel, and very simple but attractive power and reset buttons,
don’t reek of corny frills like so many new cases do these days. I really enjoy the stark
simplicity of this case, as I’m sure many of Shuttle’s more refined and/or mature customer’s do
as well. We can tell right away that Shuttle isn’t trying to sell this case on a couple LED fans
or window modifications.
The front
Here you can see the power/reset buttons a little better
The front of the case is sporting all of the most common ports you’ll need – 2 x USB, 1 x Line
Out/Headphone, 1 x MIC, 1 x 1394 and 1 x SPDIF. The power and reset buttons flow with the rest
of the design, with just a small LED indicator for each.
Front panel
Front panel access buttons
The back of the unit features all of your standard ports: PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports, 2 x serial
ports, 2 x 1394, 2 x USB, 10/100 ethernet, parallel port, VGA, and of course the ATX power plug.
Rear shot
Rear ports
You might have noticed the expansion slots have a small bracket above them on the back of the unit.
This is to secure the card externally, which is probably a good idea with a cramped case like this.
Expansion Slot Bracket
Overview – inside
The next step is of course removing the case cover, so we can gain access to those lovely insides.
Removing the housing is as simple as detaching three thumb screws from the back panel, and lifting the
case vertically. I love it when manufacturer’s include thumb screws, it really simplifies access to
the case.
Thumb screws for housing removal
Housing removed
Take note of the power supply (PSU). This is a 200 watt PSU with Power Factor Correction (PFC). PFC,
in general terms, is a method used to increase efficiency of the PSU. This isn’t going to have any
impact on you, your PC, or your power bill, but your power supplier will certainly like you for it.
A look inside
The really interesting thing about this PSU is the 200W power rating. For a full-fledged P4 rig you
might be inclined to laugh at this shrimpy unit. Well, if you’ve read anything about PSU technology
you probably realize that a power supply is only as good as the quality of manufacturing. A 500W
PSU of cheap quality is bound to perform on par or worse than a high-quality 300W PSU. If this is a
high-quality device, we should be able to run everything we need with that 200W limitation. But, we’ll
see about that in a bit.
The SB51G has a device tray that holds the 5 1/4″ and 3 1/2″ bay devices. The tray is removable so we
can gain access to the motherboard, DIMM slots, and free up some room for running cables.
Notice the device tray
The tray can be removed with four small screws on the top of the tray.
Pops out with a few screws
With the tray removed, we can now see the entire motherboard, including the CPU heat pipe cooling
system, northbridge, DIMM slots, etc.
Much more spacious
At first glance it looks like Shuttle did a great job of organizing the SB51G. No obvious problems
present themselves, such as crowding around the AGP/PCI slots and DIMM slots. The DIMMs are certainly
going to be cozy in there, but we can tell that nothing obvious is in our way.
DIMM slots
The only obvious cooling mechanism present in this system is a heat pipe assembly that extracts
heat from the CPU and exhausts it from the rear of the unit. The northbridge has a standard fin
heatsink mounted on it, and all of the heat from the northbridge should move directly over the CPU
and out the rear fan. There is, however, another fan in the PSU. If we look closely, we can see a
40mm Sunon exhausting heat from the power supply.
Sunon 40mm cooling PSU
I believe the cooling mechanism to be an important part of SFF design. It is critical that heat is
dealt with very efficiently in a crowded space like this, so let’s take a minute to look at the method
Shuttle used in the SB51G.
Cooling Analysis
Shuttle uses what they call “I.C.E. heat-pipe technology”. This is just the name Shuttle has given to
their particular heat pipe design. Heat pipes are just another method of cooling, but a very efficient
one in comparison to air or even copper. An efficient heat pipe can carry about 100 times as much heat
as an equivelant piece of copper. So, what exactly is a heat pipe?
A heat pipe is a sealed tube containing a small amount of fluid and a “wick”. The fluid is usually
water, and the wick isn’t necessarily what you would imagine. A wick can be metal powder, fine screen,
or even grooves carved on the inside surface of the heat pipe. The sole purpose of the wick is to
transport the working fluid from one end of the tube to the other. The capillarity of the system is
what allows it to provide such efficient cooling.
When one end of the heat pipe is heated up, the liquid evaporates and travels upwards along the wick
where it condensates at the other end. By using heat pipes in parallel like the I.C.E. system, a good
deal of heat can be transported away from the heatsink this way. In the I.C.E. system, this heat is
then absorbed into a second heatsink where it can be exhausted from the chassis with an active fan.
The I.C.E. system “starts” with an aluminum heatsink for direct application to the CPU. The heatsink
is secured with a clip mechanism, and has no active fan cooling.
I.C.E. heatsink
The base of the heatsink is copper, with a pretty decent finish for a mill job. Remember, the smoother
the finish on the heatsink, the better contact we are going to be making with the CPU. This increases
contact area, which is directly related to heat transfer efficiency from the CPU to the heatsink.
I.C.E. heatsink base
Four heat pipes carry heat from the passive heatsink to an aluminum heatspreader and fan mounted on the
rear of the case.
Heat pipes
Finally, the 80mm Sunon fan pushes air across the heatspreader and out of the
case. Some of you modders out there might feel inclined to chop the rear fan grill up to allow for
better airflow, but as it stands the grill design used by Shuttle doesn’t seem to restrict a whole
lot of air.
Rear exhaust
As we can tell, the heat pipe system focuses on cooling the CPU. Although, the 80mm rear exhaust fan is also
responsible for cooling the rest of the case. The SB51G has exactly zero intake fans. That means no
cold air being blown into the case. In order to adjust for that, Shuttle has dozens of tiny airholes
along each side of the case, and the negative pressure created by the exhaust fan draws cool air in
each side of the unit.
While this is a pretty efficient design overall, the northbridge does pump out a pretty good level
of heat. When I popped the top mid-benchmark and got physical with the northbridge heatsink, I could
tell it was really pushing out a lot of heat. Just hot enough to be uncomfortable to the touch, it did
make me wonder how this affected CPU temps and whether a more efficient design could be in order.
Here is a shot of the entire cooling system so you can see exactly how it comes together. You can
see the heatsink/heat pipe/heatspreader unit, the housing with the 80mm fan, and also the retention
clip.
The whole shebang
I’ll wrap up cooling performance at the end of this article, for now let’s dig in and start putting
this sucker together!
System Installation and Setup
As I mentioned, Shuttle included a nice installation manual, that in stark contrast to what a lot of
manufacturer’s provide us, is quite thorough and descriptive. Shuttle even went so far as to include
steps on placing and securing your ribbon cables.
Included with the SB51G are a few small pieces of foam tape for securing the ribbon cables in a
neat and orderly fashion. Our first step is to secure the floppy cable, so we don’t have to fight
to get it in later. Applying a piece of foam tape in the corner and routing the cable around the
PSU we can have it tucked neatly away in the corner.
Securing the floppy cable
Now we will install the CPU and secure the heat pipe assembly. In this case we’re going to
throw a Celeron 1.7 in there. Plenty of clearance for this one, and as we can see the Celery is
more than happy in its new home.
Now that’s a happy CPU
Now we apply some thermal paste to the surface of the CPU (and tint the heatsink if you fancy the
method). Installing the heat pipe system is actually a snap; the only difficulty is getting the
clip to secure, but even that was pretty simple given the small space. No complaints here.
With the cooling assembly in place we can throw a stick of RAM in, and as you can see we’ve still
got a decent amount of clearance around the DIMM:
Could be better, could be much worse
We also have two ATA100 cables, one of which is split and bound so we can route it to the back
of the case for the 5 1/4″ bay drive.
The manual describes routing methods for each cable
Speaking of bay drives, remember that tray we took out a while ago? This is going to hold two 3 1/2″
drives (one internal, one external), and one 5 1/4″ drive. Presumably, you’ll be installing one
floppy drive, one 3 1/2″ hard drive, and an optical drive (CD-ROM, CD-R/W, DVD, etc.).
Since we can install the bay devices on the tray first, we can just drop them into the unit and
plug in our power and data cables. I did run into a slight mess getting the ribbon cable positioned
well enough to cooperate with the CD-R/W drive, but all in all it was a painless procedure. If you
plan on installing an AGP or PCI card, I would recommend you do it at this point. Once the drives
are in, space becomes very limited.
Drives are in and space becomes limited
With everything in place we can now sit back and admire our new creation. The SB51G isn’t the
flashiest case around, but it’s very slick, and decent enough to compliment any home. A lot of people
are looking at these cases for LAN parties, and while it doesn’t light up and flash and do a little
dance, it would go very well with a nice Armani or a ninja suit. There is some class in its
subtlety.
Assuming we got to this point okay, we can do the just-finished-the-new-rig-jig, and then proceed
directly into the pray-this-sucker-boots phase.
Driver Installation and BIOS
The Shuttle SB51G comes with a driver disc including all of the necessary mainboard drivers, as well
as the Award BIOS flashing utility:
- Intel Chipset driver
- Intel Ultra ATA driver
- Intel VGA driver
- Realtek Audio driver
- Install USB2.0 driver
- Realtek LAN driver
- Award Flashing Utility
Before we can start installing platform and peripheral drivers, we need to get an OS on our new
machine, and a lot of us will be tempted to jump right into the BIOS setup to see what we have
control over. Thankfully Shuttle gives us quite a bit of flexibility in BIOS setup.
For a full list of BIOS features you can refer to the manual (if you own this unit), or look for
the product manual for the FB51 mainboard on the Shuttle
website.
For all of us overclockers in the world, we can sleep easy knowing that there are a bevy of tweakable
settings on the FB51. On top of all of your standard BIOS settings, AwardBIOS’ Advanced Chipset Features give us access to
CAS Latency,
Tras (Active to Precharge),
Trcd (RAS-to-CAS),
Trp (Precharge to Active),
and AGP Aperture Size.
The Frequency/Voltage Control menu lets you push the front side bus up to 165MHz (or 660MHz quad-pumped).
The manual has lengthy descriptions on all of the other BIOS configuration options. As long as you
aren’t buying through a proprietary vendor, most of these overclocking options are present on other
mainboards though, anyway.
Software installation is as straight forward as it can be, assuming that you are using Windows.
Shuttle only provides drivers for Windows users, so those of us on Linux or any other alternative OS
will have to look for the device’s respective drivers, or some equivelant. The manual also provides
detailed instructions on installing the drivers off the CD, but it’s pretty much a matter of
inserting the disc and clicking “OK” for 10 minutes. Everyone should upgrade to the newest
drivers available from Shuttle’s site after installing.
The SB51G doesn’t come with any additional software, so at this point your new machine should be
ready for you to slap on some games, office apps, or whatever else you fancy.
Conclusion
In the beginning of this review I mentioned that we would be discussing installation, access,
cooling performance, design, and quality of construction of the Shuttle SB51G XPC Mini Barebones.
After working with this case for a day, I could tell that the design was well thought and
engineered to be a good investment.
Looking pretty sharp
The final product is pretty attractive.
Those matching drives really top it off
Every component of the SB51G felt sturdy and well constructed, and the design let me move around
the case with ease. The SB51G passed my unofficial “cheap-squeaky-case” test with flying colors.
Cheap, generic, POS hardware always seems to squeak a lot. You pick it up, or flip it over, and
half of the time it squeaks as the cheaply assembled parts shift around. In a good manufacturing
process the unit should be solidly built, and the parts engineered to fit properly. The Shuttle,
thankfully, was a pretty quiet little case.
After playing with the glorified I.C.E. cooler, I still felt that the SB51G left something to be
desired in the way of cooling. For the first evening of use, the system experienced some instabilities
(blue screens and crashing). After opening the case up and shifting a lot of things around in order
to open up airflow from the sides of the case over the northbridge, it was fine. But this tells me it
was somewhat borderline. Ambient temps were probably pushing 28-30c, but a lot of people in warm
climates see more significant temperatures regularly.
On the other hand, these observations should be taken with scepticism, as I have seen some folks
with nice overclocks running the stock cooler. If you can control your ambient temperatures this
shouldn’t be any concern. I would, however, have liked to see an intake fan mount somewhere in the
case. A few spots would have been decent for a little 40mm to bring a little more fresh air in, as
well as balancing out the pressure inside of the case to reduce dust buildup.
Overall, I had no complaints working with the SB51G. Installation was smooth, the manuals were clear
and concise, the design is pleasing to the eye, it’s very space conscious, and in my unofficial
opinion performance was more than decent for the CPU and RAM I had installed.
To sum it up, there are some drawbacks, but this could very well be the case for you:
Pros:
- Attractive and functional design
- Good documentation
- Easy installation and access
- Good expandability for a SFF
Cons:
- Costly, about $240 USD
- Case cooling could be improved
- A handle or place for easy upgrade to a handle would be nice for mobility
That about wraps it up for our look at the Shuttle SB51G XPC Mini Barebones. Thanks for reading
and as always, feel free to give your feedback, good or bad. You can discuss this article in Fury-Tech
Forums.
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