Thoughts
Basic performance was strong compared to the HEXUS system featuring an ASUS desktop board, leaving the decision on whether a SB95P v2.0 is a wise buy lying elsewhere. Shuttle's other performance XPCs for the Pentium 4 are arguably more attractive, or cheaper in the same chassis, yet neither listed support the latest Extreme Edition processors which for many translates into factory overclocking ability of at least 266MHz front side bus, which isn't guaranteed on other i91x and i92x core logic.Indeed, 300MHz front side bus frequency was a piece of cake for the SB95P using an unlocked Pentium 4 560, with 317MHz the absolute upper bound for the test sample. The SB95P v2.0 is therefore undoubtedly the best place for an LGA775 processor if you don't like the looks of the SB77G5 (which sports i875P, AGP for graphics and DDR memory) or you need at least two officially supported HDD bays without cramming something into the floppy bay. The integrated media reader tops off a list of impressive features that includes FireWire400 powered ports and flexible SATA RAID.
It's all very impressive on paper, however my niggles with the SB77G5 apply here too. I'll cut and paste. "Shuttle are aiming the SB77G5 at the gamer, giving them recent P4 processor support in a small form factor, while letting them use existing AGP graphics and good DDR400 memory. The performance relative to DFI's excellent 875P-T shows they've succeeded in the performance endeavour, using that processor. But if you're a gamer, with the money to spend on SB77G5, why are you using Pentium 4? Shuttle's alternate SN95G5 is more suited to you.
Prescott's hot running tendencies and the ICE cooler's inability to keep much more than 3.6GHz in check effectively means that the unit's early promise fades quickly for me. It's fast P4 in the G5 chassis, but I can't see the appeal for the gamer unless you're a dyed in the wool Intel fan."
Swap DDR for DDR2, AGP for PCI Express, the ICE cooler for the P-series cooler and the relatively strong performance against the comparison platform and we could just as well be discussing the SB95P v2.0. Shuttle actively push the SB95P v2.0 as a gaming XPC, and in that respect it falls over in the face of highly impressive recent PCI Express-supporting XPCs that feature Athlon 64 and Athlon FX processors.
The SB95P v2.0's cooler will handle a Pentium 4 570J under duress, with the less-than-chilly 3.73GHz XE escaping the throttle monster in there too, but the fan speeds needed make the XPC less than tolerable.
For ultimate gaming in a Shuttle XPC, you need to look elsewhere, and in that respect the SB95P v2.0 trips over its own shoelaces in the race to the gaming finish line. As a business-oriented XPC there are models elsewhere in the range with features more suited to office work, with a noise and power profile to suit, besting what this flagship P4 XPC can muster.
In isolation, a great implementation of P4 in the P-series chassis. Considered amongst formidable peers from within Shuttle and further afield, it gets pushed aside and should only be considered if Pentium 4 is absolutely what you're looking for, as a gamer. If you don't game, or you do and understand the merits of AMD's Athlon 64 range for that pursuit, you'll have something else ahead of the SB95P v2.0 at the top of your tiny PC shopping list.
HEXUS Awards
Shuttle's XPC SB95P v2.0
