Late last year, in symphony with AMD?s release of the Athlon 64, Shuttle produced the industry?s first AMD 64-bit capable SFF, the SN85G4. Now, less than a year later, they have started shipping the 2^nd generation of this system, the SN85G4V2 (version 2). It?s still the same great system, with a few extra bells and whistles, engineering modifications, and other enhancements, all designed to make the system run a bit cooler, quieter, and overall more efficient.

For those of you current SN85G4 XPC enthusiasts out there, let?s take a moment to visit the new features you?ll find in the 2nd generation of this box. First off, Shuttle has replaced the old power supply with a brand new SilentX 240 Watt PSU. It not only runs far quieter than the previous, but also quite a bit cooler. We?ll dig into the details later. Per Shuttle Marketing, the use of the SilentX power supply also allowed them to revert to the stock removable Shuttle XPC drive bay chassis. As you may recall, the original SN85G4 shipped with a non-removable drive bay enclosure. This new drive bay chassis is identical to that found on other modern XPC?s. Finally, and perhaps the biggest change in the system, is the inclusion of a brand new ICE Cooling System. We?ll take a look at the details later, but suffice to say, it?s quieter, cooler, and more efficient.

Great new features to Shuttle?s flagship AMD 64 box. But for those who may be a little less familiar with the SN85G4, or are considering a first time purchase, let?s take a look at exactly what makes this box tick.

Shuttle?s SN85G4V2 XPC sports the brand new Athlon64 CPU, powered by nVidia?s nForce3 chipset. The Athlon64 represents AMD?s plunge into the world of 64-bit desktop computing, as they hope to leapfrog Intel whose only 64-bit solution is in an expensive server-based Itanium processor. While other SFF?s are now available with Athlon64 support, Shuttle?s SN85G4V2 XPC was the first small form factor system released with support for this processor.

Complete with Serial-ATA RAID, DDR400 memory, integrated fast Ethernet, 6-channel audio, and a 6-in-1 media card reader, the SN85G4V2 XPC stacks up well against comparable Intel-based SFF systems. Toss in the shear power of the Athlon64 coupled with nVidia?s latest nForce 3 chipset, and you?ve got one power house of a small form factor PC.

So with over a dozen Intel-based Shuttle XPC?s, and a half dozen AMD-based systems, is it time to take the 64-bit plunge with the SN85G4V2? Can a small form factor system really deliver the power and cooling necessary to keep a 64-bit CPU running at speed? We?ll visit that and more shortly, but before we get carried away, let?s take a look at the overall system specifications:

Processor	AMD Athlon64 CPU w/ 200MHz FSB on 754-pin SMT Socket
Chipset	nVidia nForce3 150 Single Chip
Memory	2 x 184 pin DDR SDRAM up to 2GB at PC3200 (DDR400)
Audio	Realtek ALC650 AC?97 5.1 Channel Audio Controller
LAN	Realtek 8201BL 10/100 Fast Ethernet
PSU	Shuttle SilentX 240W 110/230V AC
Dimensions:	295mm(L) x 200mm(W) x 180mm(H)
Parallel ATA	Two UDMA-100 Dual Channel PATA Ports
Serial ATA	Silicon Image 3512a RAID 0/1 Controller With Two Ports
On-Board Video	None
PCI	1 x 33MHz
AGP	1 x AGP 4X/8X
Other Internal Headers	1 x Floppy Disk 3 x Fan 1 x CD-In 1 x Mini CD In 1 x Aux In 1 x Parallel Port 1 x WKMC

Front Panel Connections

2 x USB 2.0 1 x Firewire 1394a (4-Pin) 1 x Mic In 1 x Headphone Out 1 x Line In 1 x Power Button 1 x Reset Button 1 x IDE Activity LED 1 x Power LED 1 x 6-in-1 Card Reader (CF-I/CF-II/SM/SD/MMC/MS)

Rear Panel Connections

2 x USB 2.0 1 x PS/2 Mouse 1 x PS/2 Keyboard 1 x Firewire 1394a (6-Pin) 1 x Audio Front Out 1 x Audio Rear Out 1 x Audio Center/Bass Out 1 x RJ45 LAN 1 x Serial (9-Pin) 1 x Parallel Port (SPP, EPP, ECP) 1 x SPDIF In 1 x SPDIF Out 1 x PCI Slot 1 x AGP Slot

You?ll find the accessory pack with the SN85G4V2 to be initially surprisingly lacking. Where?s the typical Shuttle XPC long and round IDE cable? Instead of in the accessory box, you?ll find this optical drive IDE cable pre-installed within the confines of the case. Shuttle has also included a handy polishing pad for the SN85G4V2?s mirrored front faceplate. This comes in handy as all of your friends will inevitably muck up your faceplate as they feel compelled to touch the mirrored surface.

We?ll start from the outside and work our way in? Let?s begin with the case externals?

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• External Design (1 of 8)
• Internal Design (2 of 8)
• PSU & ICE Cooling (3 of 8)
• Bios (4 of 8)
• Testbench Setup & Assembly (5 of 8)
• Benchmarks and Overclocking (6 of 8)
• Benchmarks Comparisons (7 of 8)
• Conclusion (8 of 8)