Pint size desktop replacement? Why yes it is!
Written: May 28 '03
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Pros: Small form factor, great performance, outstanding options, perfect as a home theater PC.
Cons: A little pricey compared to full size counterparts.
The Bottom Line: If you're looking for an AMD based small form factor (SFF) case that can double both as a home theater PC and a full tower replacement, this is it.
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| krye's Full Review: Shuttle SN 41G2 (SN41G2) PC Desktop |
You know, I did a lot of research before I bought this case. I wanted to see what was so special about these Small Form Factor (SFF) PCs. What I found blew me away. Some had almost as much power as a full size tower PC. The SN41G2 however, really WAS a replacement. Let me show you my experience.
First thing first, I'm not going to do any kind of benchmarks or an in-depth technical review, that's already been done here:
http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NDE2
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1764
http://www.tech-report.com/onearticle.x/4559
http://www.hexus.co.uk/review.php?review=482
and numerous other sites. Pick one and enjoy.
Instead, I'm going to cover my experience (a.k.a. the end user) with the case.
Setup
I actually purchased the SN41G2B. The B stands for black (instead of the silver case pictured above), that's the only difference. The case comes in a handy retail box that can double as a carrying case if you like to have your PC protected if you take it to LAN parties (something I do!).
All the parts you need (cables, thumbscrews, etc) are included (even thermal grease). The motherboard manual and fold out step-by-step photo instructions are in a few languages so just about anyone can understand how put it all together. Using the photo instructions REALLY made the case easy to put together as it clearly shows how to route all the wiring and in what order to install components.
I purchased an Athlon XP 2500+ and 2 512MB PC2700 DDR sticks of RAM. Again, they were simple to install and had no issues getting everything physically setup. Total setup time: 25 minutes.
Next I had to reinstall WindowsXP (recommended anytime you install a new motherboard). WindowsXP didn't know what most of the components were on the motherboard. Popping in the motherboard driver cd and running the unified drivers fixed that. Finally, my machine was up and fully running. Total software install time: 1 hour (WindowsXP took forever!).
Finally, since this is going to be in my living room, I had to setup the PC in my entertainment center. I ran a S-Video cable directly to my 27" Sanyo TV, an optical cable from the PC to my Sony HTDDW840 receiver (Dolby 5.1 capable), and hooked up my Logitech Elite Duo Wireless Keyboard/Mouse. The PC sits on the top shelf of the display case of my entertainment center for best cooling and easy reach.
Video
I choose to ride with the onboard graphics, a Geforce4 MX. With 128MB of RAM, it's good enough to run Freelancer (space sim) and Battlefield 1942 (first person shooter) beautifully at 1024x768. Text on my TV is pretty fuzzy at 1024x768 though, so I run my desktop at 800x600. Not a horrible compromise, but one that I wish I didn't have to make. There is an option in the display properties to sharpen up the display but if you over sharpen you get really bad video shimmering.
For comparison's sake, I hooked up my previous computer that has an ATI Radeon 8500 to the TV. WOW, what a difference. The Radeon 8500 is much sharper with text readable at 1024x768. Perhaps ATI needs to share their TV output chipset with NVIDIA. Anyways, moving on.
When outputting movies to the TV, divx and mpg4 movies look almost flawless! They look like DVDs. Of course, artifacts are really reliant on how the video was encoded. Overall, video looks great!
Audio
Wow, with the quantity of connection options this case gives you, anyone with any budget can enjoy the superior sound quality this PC puts out. First off, I can say that all the output methods sound great! You can plug in head phones, 2 or 3 piece speaker systems, 4 speaker systems, or 5.1 speaker systems with either analog, digital, or even optical connections. In my case, I wanted to do it right so I used the optical connection and plugged it directly into my receiver.
The included software allows you to change the sound stage/output on the fly with a VERY comprehensive mixer. The pictures on this page:
http://tech-report.com/reviews/2003q1/shuttle-sn41g2/index.x?pg=6
really give you a good snap shot of what the mixer looks like.
With my receiver set to auto decode audio signals, it instantly detects when I switch from 2 channel to 4 channel to 5.1 without any issues. Sound output is as good as I've heard from a PC (mind you, a Sound Blaster Live! is the best I've heard). I can crank up the volume without any background hiss (my SB Live had quite a bit) and the sound is clean and crisp with the woofer responding well. I know YMMV with your particular sound stage/setup but the sound output really did impress me as well as the numerous sound tweaking options. The only thing i wish was that the optical connection would have been in the back. The optical cable coming from the front doesn't make too much sense but with a black cable and the black case you really don't see it so it is not too much of an issue.
Usability
As I'm sure you've seen in lots of pictures, this case is brimming with connections. 4 USB ports (2 on front, 2 on back) allow just about anything to be connected to it. I use a front one for a MS Sidewinder gamepad. It's nice as it adds almost a foot of extra cable for my gamepad. The case also has 4 firewire ports (2 front, 2 back) for anything else you may want to connect.
The case is incredibly quiet. My previous computer I modified the case by adding 2 extra fans in it. It was noisy! This case is quiet, barely audible over the ambient noise in my house. As the CPU warms up the exhaust fan will speed up to keep the CPU cool. Only then can you hear the computer clearly. When running a movie straight off a cd I can hear the fan kick in as it tries to keep the case cool. Just as an FYI, it very much is possible to overheat this case. I currently have the case in a solid oak entertainment center with poor ventilation. If I close the display case 30 minutes later I can hear the fan rev up to full speed to keep it cool but after about an hour of playing a movie it'll blue screen and reboot. Not good for my hardware I'm sure. But the reason I know it is a heat issue is because I can leave the entertainment center display case open and it'll run flawlessly all day.
The case has 1 AGP and 1 PCI slot available in case you wish to upgrade or add on anything. The only thing I would recommend for a serious gamer would be a more capable video card. Most reviewers popped in a Radeon 9700 Pro and that would be my choice as well.
With the case being so small and black, it fits right in with the rest of my home entertainment equipment. The power light is blue making it very distinct and stylish.
The case is very rugged feeling. Even though it's made out of aluminum, you won't find that flimsy feeling when you hold it or open it up. This is a good thing for when you travel with it. After all, why have such a small case if you can't take it with you? All you need is a keyboard/mouse and a TV to connect to when you get to your friend's house and challenge him to play a network game. At least that's what I'll be doing!
Bottom Line
An outstanding product with incredible features compacted down to the size of toaster. And even though I already use it as my main computer, there is still MORE capability that I haven't even tapped yet. I paid $300 shipped via eBay for this case, and it was worth every penny!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 300.00
Operating System: Windows
Processor: AMD Athlon (K7)
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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Epinions.com ID:
krye
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Location: Belleville, IL, USA
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
Computer Gamer/Programmer/Tweaker
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