XPC ST62K

The smallest and quietest barebone in the test field is the Shuttle ZEN ST62K. Since there is no power supply in the interior, the dimensions of the ZEN could be reduced by many centimeters. Besides, the ST62K has no AGP slot. The external power supply even operates without an active fan, which gives the system a tremendous advantage. The barebone is virtually noiseless, with the exception of IDE hard disk access. The user can set different types of fan control in the BIOS of the ATI IGP-9100 based motherboard. This ranges from ultra quiet, in which the fan only runs slowly, to a smart mode, which is temperature dependent. The ZEN uses a combination of heatpipes and an 80mm fan to cool the system and the Pentium-4 CPU. (...) In addition to the VGA output, the ZEN can also work directly with any television with the S-Video connector (...) An AC97-compatible sound chip, which supports 5.1 surround sound, provides good sound. (...) The extensive range of accessories from Shuttle allows the ZEN to also be upgraded with a W-LAN module.

Pros: 
+ Small case; 
+ Quiet operation; 
+ Unusual design; 
+ Reset button for the BIOS; 
+ S-Video out; 
+ Easy installation of hardware; 
+ Edges ground down; 
+ Space-saving cable routing.

Brief Conclusion: The small unit from Shuttle is truly easy on your ears because even when the CPU is fully loaded, the XPC ZEN ST62K remains very quiet. The heatpipe fan system in the interior works very effectively without jacking up the noise level too much. Even with a 3.2 GHz Intel CPU, the ZEN ran for many days under a high CPU load, always in the same decibel range of approximately 47 dB(A). The external power supply also contributes a great deal to this quietness. Therefore, it is a barebone that is ideal for the living room, where each decibel less means more video enjoyment. (...)

Stylish:

(...) From the outside the youngest model from Shuttle is a real eyecatcher. Caretta expands the system additionally with a Hauppauge-TV-card and a remote control that turns your living-room into a multimedia center. (...) But overall the components of the delivery content are wisely chosen like the "Filia MC 3000". (...)

Fazit: 
Shuttle ist mit dem kompakten ZEN XPC erneut ein ausgezeichnetes Barebone gelungen. Durch das ausgelagerte Netzteilung und die ausgekügelte Kühlung, ist er eine ideale Basis für leise und stilvolle Wohnzimmer- bzw. Büro-PCs. 

Gesamtbewertung: gut

Overall:

The XPC Zen is a great little system. Small, quiet, nice looking, not very expensive for what you get, and easy to work on, too.
And it's pretty good at 3D games, for a computer that's not actually meant to be bought by gamers. (...) The Zen is, however, a surprisingly competent all-rounder. Recommended.

Conclusion:

The XPC Zen is a nice product that will surely appeal to mini-PC lovers. If you are no real hardcore-gamer, the potential of this system will meet the requirements of most users.

Daher verdient sich der ZEN ST62K die MTN Special Nomination für den wohl leisesten Mini-Barebone auf dem Markt bei dieser gebotenen Leistung. 

+ sehr kompakt und leise
+ passives Netzteil
+ hochwertige Verarbeitung
+ einfache Installation
+ Linux kompatibel

It was a pleasure to have the ST62K come visit me. This XPC is super nice (...). (...) but the overall temperature is much lower than with an internal PSU. (...) It is small, has a nice design, very quiet and has space for a soundcard/TC-card/similar. (...) This is the road to choose, when it concerns barebones!

+ Well suited as HTPC (Home Theater PC).
+ Very quiet.
+ Good performance.
+ Good performance from the onboard graphics accelerator.
+ Small and hot (the non-thermal way ).
+ Noiseless and external power supply.
+ Easy-accessible CMOS Clear button.
+ The I.C.E. unit.

+ extremely silent
+ very easy installation
+ efficient cooling solution
+ compact and leight
+ basically good performance with normal applications
+ Audio, Network, USB 2.0, Firewire and Graphics onboard
+ TV output
+ Connectors at the front panel
+ very good  "Wife Acceptance Factor" (WAF)

Shuttle ZEN offers an elegant case, small dimensions and small weight. It is a silent and efficient platform for Intel processors, with support of fast dual DDR memory modules. 

Both [ST62K and ST61G4] new XPC solutions by Shuttle, and especially ZEN model, can be called "ear-friendly". 

Even though the Zen is kind of a "stripped model", it has all the functions needed in a home theater pc. The unit is small and silent. Integrated s-video is an excellent addition, since now there is no need to listen to video card's fan. (...)

Zen XPC shows with what kind of speed mini-pc's are evolving. If this model would have been available in our December mini-pc round-up, it would have gotten the winner award.

All in all the Shuttle systems did very well. (...)

Lautstärke: gut 

FOR:
+ Whisper-quiet 
+ Great design inside and out
+ Good integrated graphics

This choice was the key to the whole experiment. We've reviewed lots of small form factor systems, but nothing beats the Zen XPC for quiet operation or a small footprint. The Zen is practically silent during normal operation, and it jumps frequently and willingly into power-save mode as I have it configured. What's more, its motherboard includes integrated Radeon 9100 IGP graphics, so I didn't have to sacrifice an AGP card to get it going. The Radeon 9100 IGP is reasonably decent as integrated graphics solutions go, so the kitchen system might be able to serve as overflow the next time we have a LAN party in Damage Labs.

The kitchen PC concept, at least initially, has proven successful.

Conclusion 
Shuttle has released another SFF system that is even smaller than the previous versions and further reduced the noise by completely eliminating the power suppply as a possible source. The result is a tiny system with full multimedia capabilities...(...) In terms of quality of components, especially with respect to the VRM and general power management the Zen can run with the best and if memory compatiblity is any indication for clean power at default voltage, the zen deserves top grades in this department as well.(...) Overall, the Zen has pretty much surpassed my wildest expectations in terms of quiescence and the increased performance compared to the earlier versions of ATI chipset-based boards shows that there is still hope for ATI to stay afloat in the chipset business as well. (...)

In terms of innovation and overall technical achievement, the ST62K "Zen" is another example for a system that deserves an Editor's Choice award.

Digitalmediathoughts.com
www.digitalmediathoughts.com/...
2. April 2004

Pros:
+ Almost completely silent
+ Small size
+ Sturdy, attractive design
+ Integrated ATI Radeon 9100 video, audio, LAN
+ just add CPU, RAM, HD, optical drive

Ports, Ports, Ports (...) the Shuttle ST62K offers an assortment of ports and connections (...) The integrated video is worth mentioning, because (...) the R300 chip-set from ATI includes a Radeon 9100 GPU, which certainly isn’t cutting edge, but good enough for most basic gaming at lower resolutions (and superior to any sort of integrated video from Intel). (...) Assembling the Shuttle was a relatively quick process (...)

PC Go Deutschland
Ausgabe April 4/2004, Seite 89

Fazit: 
Der neue ZEN von Shuttle ist ein gelungenes Barebone-System für jedes Wohnzimmer oder das edle Büro. Er ist klein, gut ausgestattet und leise...

Conclusion:

(...) I have been running this unit 24/7 for the past couple weeks and it been as solid as a rock. I am still impressed by the responsiveness and speed of the unit overall. The fact that there is a built in 3D video adapter equivalent to a Radeon 9200 is simply gravy. This being my first experience with a Shuttle system you can color me impressed. (...)Thinking of building a pimpin' HTPC rig? Look no further. The Zen aims to please and hits the mark with a bullseye. Outstanding 6 channel audio, gamer-level 3D performance, versatility, power, and top notch quality are just a few of the great features of this unit which all fits in a PC about the size of shoe box with ninja-like stealth. I am very eager to check out another Shuttle item since this was my first experience with one of their products and it was definitely a great first impression. I would have to give this unit a 9 out of 10. (...)

The Pimp:

• Top notch performance
• Silent operation (gotta love the Smart Fan)
• VERY small footprint
• The BEST cable management ever (to date =] ) 
• Respectable 3D Performance
• 6 Channel Audio

pros:

• onboard graphics with high performance
• supports FSB 800
• high graphics quality 
• low noise

Performance-Demo: gleichzeitiges Abspielen von 4 Videos auf dem ZEN XPC.

Pros:

• Extremely quiet operation. 
• Very small and compact case. 
• Design is smart and well thought out. 
• Good performance. 
• I/O ports on front and rear of unit both hot simultaneously. 
• ICE Cooler Technology is FANTASTIC. 
• External CMOS button. 
• Prescott ready. 

• External PSU. 

WCM Magazine Austria
Issue 206, February 2004, page 62

Fazit: Der Zen ist die konsequente Weiterentwicklung des XPCs in Richtung Wohnzimmer. Shuttle hat dem Kundenwunsch entsprochen und den gerade bei Multimediaanwendungen sehr wichtigen Lautstärkefaktor minimiert. Die Verarbeitung ist wie immer hervorragend (...) Daher zwei Daumen nach oben für den Shuttle XPC ST62K "Zen"!

+ lüfterloses externes Netzteil
+ 20% kleiner
+ leiserer Heatpipe-Kühler
+ recht guter TV-Ausgang
+ stabil, auch mit 3 GHz

The ZEN XPC was a revelation of stability during the hole test and there were no single crash (...) Despite the powerful CPU (3 GHz) it outshines all previous XPCs including their colleagues from other SFF manufacturers which we had tested so far. Since the ZEN really works whisper silent and is hardly noticeable in 30cm distance. Thus, the Shuttle ZEN takes the last hurdle to a nearly perfect home media center. Friends of the Windows XP Media Center Edition are surely lucky to hear, that Shuttle has also a suitable remote control in its product range.

Conclusion: ZEN is the logical continuation of XPC-development with regards to living room. Shuttle has listened to the customers desires and minimized the noise factor, which is very important especially in connection with multimedia. The workmanship is superior as usual (...) therefore I move my two thumbs upwards for the Shuttle XPC ST62K "Zen"!

Conclusion:

(...) If you want a system that offers an outstanding combination of looks, subtlety, performance and absolute silence look no further (...). Make no mistakes, a system that can silence a P4 2.4c to the point of needing a glance at the LED on the front to tell if it’s on, deserves praise. What remains to be seen is if the Zen can manage the same with Intel’s Prescott core (...).

I am going to give it a bit-tech Highly Recommended award. Well done Shuttle!

"Das Ergebnis von diesem Test ist absolut erstaunlich - von allen PCs mit denen ich gearbeitet habe, einschließlich einiger passiv gekühlten CPUs in Server PCs, ist dieses mit Abstand das Leiseste. (...) Die Ergebnisse haben mir bewiesen, dass die Performance des kleinen ZEN mehr als nur beachtlich ist. 

With only 0,9 Sone, the ZEN XPC offers the lowest noise under full load in a comparison test among 35 participants. This definetely "qualifies it for the use in the living-room"

Pros
+ simple Installation
+ edles Design
+ durch externes Netzteil sehr leise

Fazit:
Das Redesign ist gelungen: Zwar machen 20 Prozent weniger Gehäusevolumen als bei früheren Modellen wenig Unterschied, zumal ein externes Netzteil dazukommt, aber das System ist leiser und leichter einzurichten als seine Vorgänger. 

Even simpler than "LEGO": The barebone Shuttle XPC ZEN ST62K
The overwork of the XPC-range was successful - for a beginner it was never assemble to build a compact-PC. The advantages like the design, the great range of connectivity, the cube-like look (according to Shuttle certainly 20% smaller than before), the typical heatpipe, which leads the heat of prozessor to the fan and further out of the case, remained. The innovation is the extern power supply which looks like a notebook, a better cable-moving and an open optical-drive-cage, which is easy to remove.

Pros
+ simple installation
+ noble design
+ very quiet because of extern power supply

Conclusion:
The new design is excellent: The case size is 20% smaller than the earlier models, but that makes no difference, because of the extern power supply, but that way the system is quieter and easier to manage than a model before. 

The ST62K, with its silent external power supply and very quiet ICE cooling system is very impressive. You get a machine that's basically as powerful as a full-fledged mid-tower system with a very small footprint. This seems like the perfect platform for an HTPC, and it's certainly good enough as a mainstream solution for running business applications or regular home use.

With its completely redesigned internal layout, XPC Zen was created to remove unwanted noise, airflow intrusions and untidiness. Features introduced with the Zen XPC include Shuttle's advanced external power adapter, side mounted harddrive and cleverly integrated cable management.(...)

I'd give the Shuttle Zen XP five stars for innovation & sensible design, and four stars for noise performance. Very nice, strongly recommended if you want a very small, very quiet, inexpensive and powerful PC for general computing. 

The Shuttle Zen XPC ST62K represents a new generation of SFF computers. Like ALL products, it is a compromise; like the best products, it is a clever, well-balanced compromise that addresses the needs of many. For this reason, I foresee a highly successful life cycle for the Zen.

Pros:
+ Small, unobtrusive footprint.
+ Understated styling.
+ Lots of I/O, front ports especially useful.
+ Quiet, quiet, quiet (with HDD suspended).
+ Seems to have good cooling.
+ Very stable, no driver issues.
+ Very good performance.
+ External PSU runs very cool, can be placed out of the way.
+ Excellent design, very easy to build.
+ Clutter-free interior for good airflow.

...little, powerful and quiet PC."

Zusammenfassung:
Der neue Shuttle ist noch kompakter und kleiner geworden... (...). Für die Grafik- und Videoausgabe sorgt der ATI 9100-Chipsatz, der für eine ruckelfreie DVD-Wiedergabe ausreicht. 

printed issue 7/04, page 54

Conclusion: The Shuttle ZEN XPC works as well as traditional PCs for those, who don't need the performance of highend graphics cards. With its low noise level and integrated TV output it can also be a good basis for a living-room-PC for playing music or videos.

+ Low noise
+ Nice design
+ Good integrated graphics solution with TV out

Conclusions:

(...) the ST62K's tiny footprint and quiet operation are appealing. A nearly silent cooling fan also makes the ST62K perfect for small form factor home-theater PCs, where the cube's integrated Radeon 9100 IGP graphics are more than adequate for TV output. (...) Overall, Shuttle's Zen concept is a fine idea. The ST62K certainly has enough horsepower for most mainstream and business applications, and Shuttle is to be applauded for thinking outside the box (literally) to make the cube smaller and quieter than previous XPC systems, (...).

(...) The Zen combines superior on-board video performance, a tiny form factor, and quiet operation to create an all around great SFF system. Now, if you’re an enthusiast, hardcore gamer, or LAN party nut, you should probably consider a higher end unit such as the Shuttle ST61G4 XPC. But for most casual users out there, the Zen is a fantastic system. (...) All in all, the Zen seems to represent Shuttle’s next generation XPC case design. (...), Shuttle seems to have made great strides in improving overall system noise, cable clutter, and chassis design to create a small, quiet, and, yes, overall tranquil SFF.

Fazit:

Der Shuttle Zen XPC ST62K wird sicherlich wieder ein Top-seller Produkt werden. Die Optik ist wiedereinmal hervorragend - wie auch die Verarbeitungsqualität. (...) Da ZEN soviel wie "innere Ruhe" bedeutet, ist das ein passender Namenszusatz - so finden wir. Der (...) Heatpipelüfter ist endlich wirklich leise geworden und bietet dennoch genügen Leistungsreserven. (...) Zusätzlich wurden Kühlöffnungen am Gehäuse geschaffen, die zur Regulierung des Temperaturhaushaltes beitragen sollen. Angenehm ist auch die Montage der primären Festplatten. Das Gehäuse kann einfach entnommen werden und auch hier wurde wieder auf eine teilweise Entkoppellung der Festplattenschwinungen mittels einem Gummiband geachtet. Der ATI RS300 Chipsatz bietet mit der integrierten ATI Radeon 9100 genügend Power für diesen Wohnzimmer PC. (...) Besonders gut hat uns natürlich auch das passiv gekühlte Netzteil gefallen(...).