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Shuttle SB51G Review - XPC Mini Barebones
January 22nd, 2004
Author: Tekime - tekime@fury-tech.com
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
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