External thoughts
Most SFF Shuttles share common dimensions of roughly 30cm x 20cm x 20cm. That's not much larger than a common toaster and that's one of the range's chief selling points.
Another posed shot that reminds me of a number of album covers. The SB62G2, it transpires, is an Intel-based SFF platform with support for the newer 800MHz FSB CPUs. It also offers dual-channel RAM support. The i865G chipset that's under the aluminium hood provides integrated graphics as standard. Therefore, it should be fast but not as fast as the tweaked Springdale and Canterwood boards that we've seen of late, and it should feature Intel's very own Extreme Graphics 2 integrated graphics. You can almost sense where Shuttle wants to position this cube.
The front is no longer such a cause for alarm or enjoyment. Shuttle has wisely chosen to offer numerous extras for its XPC range, such that almost every constituent part can be changed. There are currently a number of panels, bags and add-on cards that allow the user to exercise a degree of individuality. One could always commit the cardinal sin and take a Dremmel to it, a la Mr. Handley.
The SB62G2 smacks of minimalism more than other cubes. The black fascia and a comparative lack of buttons help give it a clean, uncluttered look. The power button is large and is just concave enough make the pressing / depressing a solid, reassuring affair. In other words, it feels nice to press. The reset button is of a similar vein but a little smaller. Power and hard drive activity lights glow a pleasant blue and amber respectively. This portion of the front is more reminiscent of a number of modern hi-fi units. The lower portion of the SB62G2's front is usually crowed with all manner of ports and sockets. Shuttle has decided to keep things simple. A couple of USB2.0 ports, a headphone socket and Mic-in are the lucky ones who have escaped the chop. FireWire and Line-in didn't.
Another largely standard rear section here. The four thumbscrews, in the middle of the picture, hold the internal fan and heatsink in place. S/PDIF In and Out ports have been located higher up on this XPC than is the norm; they're usually planted on the I/O section below, and much like every other tiny XPC this one has two blanking plates that hide a single 33MHz 32-bit PCI slot and an 8x AGP slot, which is needed for decent, discrete graphics.
Out goes a parallel port and FireWire support, in comes on-board video (bottom-left) and dual LAN. That suggests one of the SB62G's intended markets will be business users who require a modicum of power in a sleek, space-saving design. 6-channel sound is present too. 4 x USB2.0, a COM port and the legacy PS/2s round off the back. You know how some antiques dealers or paleontologists often attempt to date a certain piece ?. This one would fall into Shuttle's early 2003 school of design. Functional but not daring.
Let's strip it down and reveal the innards beneath the good-looking exterior.
