Shuttle XPC SN95G5

Review: Shuttle XPC SN95G5

Thoughts

On the surface, it's all sweetness and light in the world of the SN95G5. It supports the best CPUs AMD have ever made, it has good features, the performance is great, and the G5 chassis restyle is Shuttle's best yet. But there's always a catch, and in this case it's price. At £315 in the U.K. just now, in very limited numbers, the SN95G5, despite all its good points, is very hard to recommend. While you can argue that the cost of entry to Socket 939 means that any CPU customer is arguably well-heeled enough to snag an SN95G5 too, the wrong side of £300 has never appealed in the world of small form factor.

The enthusiast gets a nod with the HTT clock adjust, good voltage ranges and locked busses. It's also quiet, gorgeous to look at and speedy enough to keep up with any other Socket 939-based system you'd care to build, so it all depends on whether you're rich enough to fork out the cash.

For this reviewer, £315 is a bit much. A shame, since it's the best G-series XPC that Shuttle have dared to make. That quality costs at this stage in its life.

Very highly recommended if you need Socket 939 in a small form factor enclosure and you can afford the asking price. Pester your favourite retailer for a price drop and save those pennies otherwise, because it's good. Oh so good. I can't wait for FN95 in a P-series.