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Shuttle XPC SD11G5 Small Formfactor PC Review
Shuttle XPC SD11G5 Small Formfactor PC Review - PCSTATS
To reach a happy silent equilibrium, the Shuttle XPC SD11G5 is powered by a mobile Intel Pentium M processor.
 91% Rating:   
Filed under: Computer / SFF PCs Published:  Author: 
External Mfg. Website: Shuttle Dec 30 2005   C. Sun  
Home > Reviews > Computer / SFF PCs > Shuttle XPC SD11G5

Overview of Features and Accessibility

The Shuttle XPC SD11G5 is considered a 'barebones' PC because it comprised of a bare chassis with motherboard, heatsink and powersupply. The user will need to purchase a socket 479 Intel Pentium M processor, a Serial ATA hard drive, IDE CD-ROM and install these components into the XPC SD11G5 themselves.

Hence, the manufacturer is selling the 'bare bones' of what it takes to make a full computer system. This is the standard for small form factor PCs, owing to the complexities of a package size where it would otherwise be impossible to sell components individually.

As the pioneer of the modern SFF PC, Shuttle has an edge with experience when it comes to designing these mini-computers, and that becomes pretty clear when working on the XPC SD11G5. There is a ton of space inside the chassis, so physically installing hardware in this SFF PC is a snap.

When mucking around inside the chassis, just take it slowly as there are a few sharp metal edges on the chassis.

The 'FD11' motherboard layout that is used with the Shuttle XPC SD11G5 is very good; all headers and jumpers are located near the edges of the PCB. It makes accessing the adjustable options easier on the user, and decreases the need to completely tear half the machine apart to get at the memory, or SATA jacks for example.

One thing users will really appreciate are the custom cables that Shuttle includes with this SFF PC. The ones that are included with the XPC SD11G5 are the perfect size for it, so there is no need to deal with a lot of leftover slack.

The one IDE and two Serial ATA II connectors are directly below the drive cage which makes connecting things up pretty direct too.

One thing we'd like to point out is that the the Shuttle XPC SD11G5 does not have an onboard floppy drive port. Also, given that there is only one IDE channel, we would recommend users install a Serial ATA hard drive and leave the IDE controller for the optical drive. This kind of begs the question as the purpose of the open 3-1/2" drive bay located just below the 5-1/4" CD-ROM bay.

The 3-1/2" drive bay cover was not included in the unit we received for testing, and since the IDE cable only has one connector, there is no immediate way to add an IDE based 3-1/2" device there... Likewise, without a floppy drive header, a floppy drive is out of the question too. The only other option for this space is to make use of the three internal USB headers and install one of the 3-1/2" card readers that Shuttle also sells.

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Contents of Article: Shuttle XPC SD11G5
 Pg 1.  Shuttle XPC SD11G5 Small Formfactor PC Review
 Pg 2.  — Overview of Features and Accessibility
 Pg 3.  External features of the SFF case
 Pg 4.  Rear I/O Connections and Heatsink System
 Pg 5.  Internal Components and Installation
 Pg 6.  Memory and Expansion Cards
 Pg 7.  PCI Express x16 Videocard Installation
 Pg 8.  XPC SD11G5 BIOS Options
 Pg 9.  Benchmarks: SYSMark 2004
 Pg 10.  Benchmarks: Winstone 2004, Winbench 99
 Pg 11.  Benchmarks: SiSoft Sandra, Super Pi
 Pg 12.  Benchmarks: PCMark04, PCMark05
 Pg 13.  Benchmarks: 3DMark2001, 3DMark05
 Pg 14.  Comanche 4, X2: The Threat
 Pg 15.  Benchmarks: UT2003, UT2004
 Pg 16.  Benchmarks: Doom 3, Conclusion

 
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