XPC SS51G

Room saving and practical case...

Translation:

Editors Choice
We must admit: SS51G is more than impressive for us. So far, mini-barebones are known as rather slow systems, but Shuttle managed to refute this prejudice. It is true that the integrated graphics SiS315 offers the usual limited performance, but those who buy SS51G will certainly use the additional AGP slot, which improves the system similar to the releated Tower-PC's. We equipped the test system with Pentium 4 at 2.4GHz/533FSB and GeForce 3 Ti200 and it managed to outperform other compareable systems with some benchmarks. Thanks to DDR333 it even question the superiority of Rambus. You may expect several complications because of the small dimensions of this aluminum cube - it behaves however differently. Shuttle managed to design the case as user-friendly as possible. The installation of all components including cooling was a job for children and even the highend GeForce4 Ti4600 with its large
dimensions fits without problems.

Also the design has convinced us absolutely and SS51G proves that it can offer both: good look and performance. Aluminum paired with Acyl is an eye-catching design almost everywhere and makes the weight low. Also the labels of the ports and the cable layout is exemplary.

The cooling has surprised us very much. From the beginning we expect a high effectiveness. But the I.C.E. (Integrated Cooling Engine) exceed our expectations, because our Pentium 4 runs the Seti@Home-Stresstest without problems, with pleasant low noise and at only 58°C temperature. Together with the silent power supply fan you can say that the cooling is a big plus of this system. However it should be considered that a GeForce graphics card could be the reason for an increased noise level, depending on its fan. But this happens in every silent PC.

Are there any negativ items? Very few, almost none. Considering the small size of the system and the restrictions concerning the design (drives) you do not really notice any negative items. Only the BIOS could have more setting for memory timings for the more sensitive modules.

And what about the price? With 439€ this may be pretty high, but exclusive equipment costs evenly somewhat more. According to our opinion the system is worth its price.

For the excellent and well developed design, the unusual performance thanks to the AGP Slot, the cooling, and the simple handling the SS51G optains clearly our recommendation!

"Sehen so bald alle Client-Systeme aus? Ein stilvoller Vertreter der neuen Desktop-Rechner - das Shuttle SS51G"

Translation:
So soon do all PC systems look? SS51G is a stylish example of the new desktop generation. (...) it is equipped with two very silent fans. (...) The small 200W power supply offers enough power for processor and the optional AGP graphics card. (...) Besides the  very good performance the SS51G is a real eye-catcher on the desk in the comparison to the grey mass-produced goods.

Der zerlegte XPC:

Die benötigten Teile:

Some quotations (English):

Reader How Tos: Build a PC for TV
Arild Skullerud talks about his experiences building a PC for his living room. Can a PC combine the features of a digital VCR, MP3 server, and Internet TV? Sure it can, but at what cost? (...) we now have a living room spacious enough for a large television and surround sound system for audio and video. Now, the question is, what do I buy? The market is flooded with audio video receivers of every kind for nearly every budget. (...) So, I set out looking for an affordable, compact, quiet and good looking PC case that would fit into the configuration of my living room. My favorite retailer had a large selection of cases (...) However, these wonderful boxes were much too large. I wanted something in the Micro-ATX form factor, which quickly limited my options. But there are a few... The Chieftech Flex-Net is good looking, but it only has a 145W PSU, and it looked too much like a standard PC. The In-Wins Micro-ATX IW-T515 is fairly ornate, but a bit too strange looking for my living room. Then, there are the Shuttle SS40 and SS51G, and after seeing these two cases, the choice was simple. They are very similar in functionality. The SS40 has a built-in TV-out (800x600), and runs DDR266 memory with an Athlon CPU. The SS51G, in addition to the foregoing, has USB 2.0 and an AGP slot, but no TV-out (optional add-on card), and runs DDR333 memory. Both sport a 100Mbit LAN connection. The AGP slot appealed to me, so I chose the SS51G. (...) If you decide to build your own system, do some homework by reading about what is available. Make sure you get the outputs and PCI/ AGP slots that are compatible and what you want. Also, make sure your motherboard is at least USB 2.0, as there will be loads of add-ons available soon for USB 2.0. For example, you may need your drive bay for only a Creative Live! Drive to remotely access your MP3 files. (...) One PCI slot, an AGP slot, Firewire, USB 2.0, 5.1 channel audio with SPDIF in/ out and 100Mbit LAN should be enough to meet my needs, and it looks good compared to the other alternatives. Chieftech Flex-Net and In-Win offerings. These were the other Case choices. My girlfriend responded to these with a resounding "NO!" (...)
Conclusion: First, I must say that if you want a multimedia box in your living room, this is a good solution. For the 'low' price of #1199, you can get an incredible range of functions and features that you can control from your couch. It is a silent, high performance multimedia platform. (...) It took me about three to four hours to physically build the system, but it took me many hours to install Windows and all applications and to shake out all the 'bugs' in the system. (...) if you trim away all the 'extras,' you can still have a high performance system for #850 with a 2.4Ghz P4 and 256MB CAS 2.0 DDR333 memory, and retain most of the features. Look through the PriceGrabber further, cut the CPU speed and hard disk requirements, and you'll end up under #800. Good luck, and happy building!