Shuttle XPC SB65G2: Big Performance in This Small Package
by Wesley Fink on September 9, 2003 11:32 PM EST- Posted in
- Systems
Shuttle SB65G2: FB65 Motherboard
| Motherboard Specifications | |
| CPU Interface | Socket-478 |
| Chipset | Intel 82865PE MCH (North Bridge) Intel ICH5 (South Bridge) |
| Bus Speeds | 100 to 355 MHz (in 1MHz increments) |
| AGP/PCI Speeds | Auto and Fixed 66/33, 77/36, 80/40 |
| Core Voltages Supported | 1.10V to 1.85V (in 0.0125V increments) |
| AGP Voltages Supported | Auto, 1.55, 1.60, 1.65 |
| DRAM Voltages Supported | Auto, 2.65, 2.70, 2.75 |
| Memory Slots | 2 x 184-pin Dual-Channel DDR DIMM Slots |
| Expansion Slots | 1 AGP 8X Slot 1 PCI Slot |
| Onboard RAID | None |
| Onboard USB 2.0/IEEE-1394 | Eight USB 2.0 supported through South Bridge VIA VT6307 FireWire Controller |
| Onboard LAN | Realtek 8100B 10/100 |
| Onboard Audio | CMedia 9397A 5.1 Digital Audio With SPDIF Optical In & Out |
| Onboard Serial ATA | Two Standard SATA connectors via Intel ICH5 Southbridge |
As in any computer system, the motherboard controls the features and options available on the system. Comparing the SFF Shuttle FB65 motherboard to any recently reviewed Springdale, you will see that the SB65G2 provides all the contemporary features you will find on a full-size board. The only exception here is that Shuttle did not enable any of the undocumented PAT features that we have seen used on some full-size boards. Perhaps that is part of the reason why the Shuttle is such an incredibly stable system. As you will also see in our Performance tests, the missing PAT schemes also do not affect performance nearly as much as you might think.
The only concession we see to the small motherboard size is the 2-dimm limit, but the 2-dimm slots are dual-channel to make the most of the 865PE chipset. While memory is limited to a maximum of 2GB, it is doubtful you would want to use more memory in this small, quiet system.
Here is another inside view of the SB65G2.
You can clearly see the dimm slots on the left and the 4 coils used in the 3-phase power design. Certainly, Shuttle has not skimped in any way on the power regulation on the FB65 motherboard. This is part of the reason why the SB65G2 seemed to handle anything we installed in the system despite the tiny 200-watt power supply.
The biggest surprises on the motherboard were the overclocking options. The vCore, vDimm, and vAGP ranges are what you expect on a good full-size motherboard, and not on a SFF board.
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Chriz - Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - link
I am curious about the LAN port. On the SB61G2 it was only 10/100. Does the SB65G2 use the Intel CSA bus and do the gigabit lan?Wesley Fink - Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - link
#10 -Please see my "searching for the Memory Holy Grail - Part 2" here. All our testing in that review was with a 2.4C, and we make recommendations for buying in the conclusion. This is continued in the Mushkin/Adata memory review.
#7, #11 - The SB61G2 and black SB62G2 are released and available with on-board graphics and an AGP 8X slot. I understand the SB65G2 is to be reased within the next week.
Anonymous User - Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - link
You should get 3200 speed memory I think.Does anyone know of a good distributor for these at competitive pricing? The distributors I find on google are really sketchy and I don't trust the packaging or descriptions.
Anonymous User - Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - link
If I want to throw in a P4 2.4C and overclock it, what memory speed should I get? How do you know if you should get PC3200, 3500, 3700, etc.?(regarding the audio noise, that's a bit disappointing...)
Anonymous User - Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - link
I have an SN41G2 and I've already replaced the two fans in the system (PSU and ICE).The PSU fan develops a very high pitch noise that will drive you crazy. Replacing it is very easy, just kind of hard to find a 40x40x10mm fan (look for evercool). And of course it voids the warrenty on the PSU only, but not the Shuttle as a whole.
I replaced the ICE fan with a Vantec Stealth as they are much more quiet than the supplied fan.
Anonymous User - Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - link
I mean on Shuttle´s homepage of course :o)Anonymous User - Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - link
Hi...im trying to get some info about the SB65G2,but cant find anything,just SB62G2...? plz help :)Anonymous User - Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - link
Good question, Rekonn and you're correct. I have the same system as the one in the review and it does indeed suffer from noise issues through the onboard sound. I stuck an audigy in it (as most anandtech readers would) and it works fine. Unless you feel like soldering though you can't hook up the front panel to the sound card.I still love the system though.
Rekonn - Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - link
Did you get a chance to test out the front headphone jack? I'd love to get just a subjective impression when listening to some mp3's using a pair of headphones. (On the sb61g2 the noise from the front headphone jack is bad.)jarsoffart - Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - link
On the Noise Level page, you state 1 MB of DDR400, I think you mean 1 GB.