External thoughts
With a brief look at the chipset out of the way, we'll now take a look at the ST61G4. After all, this SFF system constitutes more than just a new chipset.
The box illustrates all the features peculiar to the ST61G4. It also shows the cube with a black mid section. That's not the case with out sample, and we can't discern if there's more than one base model in the range. Shuttle does pack the system well. There's little room for it to move about and potentially cause transit problems. A plastic carry handle makes it easy for you to carry it out of, say, PCWorld, accompanied by a dent in the bank balance and a satisfied grin on your face.
This 'interesting' shot highlights the front of the ST61G4's design. Gone is the cheap-looking plastic front and in comes a mirrored finish that's difficult to photograph. There's more than a family resemblance to the Athlon 64 3200+ / nForce3 150 SN85G4. Both models feature the power and reset buttons along with hard drive and operation LEDs on the bottom-left, and both do away with a standard floppy drive mounting. Instead, Shuttle continues with its attempt to modernise the XPC line by adding a card reader in its place. Compact Flash, MultiMedia, Secure Digital, Smart Media cards and Sony's Memory sticks are accepted. We wouldn't mind this change of design by Shuttle if one could use a floppy drive, however there's literally no space to install one. Note the different mid-section colour to the box ?.
Isn't that pretty ?. Ports-wise, it's standard Shuttle XPC fare. Line-In, microphone and headphone jacks line the left. High-speed connectivity is assured with 2 USB2.0 and a 4-pin single FireWire port on the right. It's clean, it's uncluttered, but it's visible. Shuttle still doesn't see fit to hide these ports and jacks. Other manufacturers have. A little drop-down cover would keep the sleek aesthetic lines of the ST61G4 intact. The power and reset buttons have a reassuring weight and feel to them. It feels like an quality item and that's an important trait in the SFF world. Our main reservation, with regards to the front, would be the use of a grey plastic surround. Aluminium would have been a better choice. It's not even plastic that's done up to look like aluminium. It looks exactly like what it is; cheap plastic.
It's actually incorrect terminology to call it a cube; it clearly isn't. The ST61G4 measures 300mm (depth) x 200mm (width) x 185mm (height) and tips the scales at 2.85kg. Remember that it contains the chassis, motherboard, PSU and cooler in that combined weight figure. A factory-fitted window would be a nice touch here. Shuttle, as you can see, takes due care and attention to chassis ventilation.
Classic Shuttle. One of the advantages of on-board GPUs is the possibility of adding an S-Video connection to the standard HD15 output. Shuttle has done exactly that here. As the onboard graphics support LCD displays, we think it would have been prudent for Shuttle to add a DVI connector in place of the analogue HD15. One could still have HD15 output through the use of a DVI-to-VGA output but it's impossible to switch the other way around. However, we're eager to find out just how well the 9100 IGP performs in a multimedia role that encompasses TV-Out. There's no room for the Parallel interface. Instead, Shuttle keeps up the modern theme by adding 2x USB2.0 and a single, standard 6-pin FireWire port. S/PDIF input and output could have been amalgamated on to the I/O section. Shuttle chooses to locate it above the AGP port and single PCI slot.
The middle section is taken up by the cooler's fan and the left is home to the 250w PSU's fan. Decent, established design that's known to work. The aluminium cover is easy enough to remove. It's simply a case of taking away the three thumbscrews that hold it on to the back panel. We reckon that Shuttle should experiment with some wild and daring colouring on the aluminium cover. The real differences between this and other P4 XPCs isn't to be found on the exterior, really.
