Externals II
Hmm, rather spartan when compared to other Shuttle cubes. Shuttle persist in including both S/PDIF-In and S/PDIF-Out high up on the rear, above the expansion slots. It seems Shuttle know better than to change a winning formula, so the general layout of the rear will be familiar. 2 PCI slots hide a single 32-bit, 33MHz PCI slot and an 8x AGP (3.0) port.
A closer examination of the I/O features reveals previous features that are conspicuous by their absence this time around. There's no provision for any form of VGA-Out. The nForce2 Ultra 400 chipset is a pure performance animal. Shuttle have also dispensed with the usual 4 USB2.0 ports by specifying 2 6-pin FireWire and 2 USB2.0 ports. Other than that, it's all standard fare. A COM port sits next to the ubiquitous RJ45 LAN port. A couple of legacy PS/2 ports occupy the space next to the common sound jacks, which double-up to provide 6-channel support. We feel that the lack of integrated VGA isn't that much of a compromise. This is a lean, mean performance cube with the requisite 8x AGP slot.
We've established that this is a stripped-down performance cube. That shouldn't mean that Shuttle skimp on accessories.
A normal Shuttle XPC bundle here. A couple of manuals are dedicated to the FN45 motherboard and XPC chassis respectively. Cabling-wise, a couple of shortened ATA and floppy cables allow you to connect up everything without having to scour your room for spare cables. The dedicated XPC manual is quite good. It's written bilingually and presented in colour. It further highlights the steps needed to go from a bare XPC to a fully operational cube. Its generic nature dictates that it covers all possible XPCs in one fell swoop. Novice users will appreciate the inclusion of a copper shim. It should effectively stop anyone from inadvertently crushing the delicate S462 core. A driver CD with all the required drivers is naturally present and a U.K plug, thermal compound, screws and a couple of feet almost complete this package.
We say almost because Shuttle bundle in an 'extra' that will appeal to those that like gimmicks.
This is none other than a stylish optical media holder. The case opens up to reveal 20 or so pockets for your most-used media. Quite handy if you're constantly attending LANs or moving this portable XPC around.
