Introduction

Shuttle has once again established themselves as the SFF leader with the release of their latest XPC, the SB75G2. The SB75G2 sports the Intel i875P chipset, representing the first production SFF system based on Intel?s premier Pentium-4 chipset architecture. The system comes loaded with advanced features, all packed into the popular Shuttle G2 series XPC case.

Complete with PAT support, dual channel DDR400, gigabit Ethernet, Serial-ATA RAID, and even a meshed case cover, the SB75G2 defines top-of-the-line for current Pentium-4 based SFF systems.

Shuttle has been building up to the SB75 for months now. With 4 XPC?s already supporting flavors of the Intel i865 chipset, it was only a matter of time before they engineered an i875P solution. So what does the i875P buy you?

Those familiar with Intel chipsets know that the 865 (Springdale) and the 875 (Canterwood) are pretty much the same with the exception of PAT (Performance Acceleration Technology). PAT aims to increase overall system performance by using faster timings within the Northbridge chip. What may be a surprise, however, is that the 865 and 875 Northbridges are actually identical. Now Intel is famous for sorting out their CPU?s based on performance, labeling those that will perform faster as “higher clock speed”. It seems they may have taken a similar track with their latest Northbridge, pulling out the “best of the bunch” and labeling those as Canterwood.

So does PAT really make a difference? You can make that judgment for yourself later on during our benchmarking.

For now, with over a dozen Shuttle XPC?s currently on the market, is this the right box for you? Is it time to upgrade from that SS51, SB51, or SN45? Or is this the system of choice for you big old beige box fans looking to finally take the leap into the 21^st century with a small form factor system? Hopefully we can help you make that decision?

But before we go into the details, let?s begin with the SB75G2?s overall system specifications:

Processor	Intel Pentium 4 / Celeron 478-pin Northwood and Prescott
Chipset	Intel i875P + ICH5-R
Memory	2 x 184 pin DDR SDRAM up to 2GB at PC3200 (ECC Optional)
Audio	Realtek ALC650 AC?97 5.1 Channel Audio Controller
LAN	Broadcom 5788 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet
PSU	220W 110/230V AC
Dimensions:	300mm(L) x 200mm(W) x 185mm(H)
Parallel ATA	Two UDMA-100 Dual Channel PATA Ports
Serial ATA	Two UDMA-150 SATA Ports + Intel 82801ER SATA RAID 0/1/0+1
On-Board Video	None
PCI	1 x 33MHz
AGP	1 x AGP 4X/8X
Other Internal Headers	1 x Floppy Disk 1 x Parallel Port 1 x IrDA 1 x WKMC 3 x Fan 1 x CD-In

Connections are as follows:

Front Panel Connections

2 x USB 2.0 1 x Firewire 1394a (4-Pin) 1 x Mic In 1 x Line Out 1 x Headphone Out 1 x Power Button 1 x Reset Button 1 x Power LED 1 x IDE Activity LED

Rear Panel Connections

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

Shuttle has included the standard line up of accessories, including a single SATA cable. You?ll need to provide a second on your own if you want to implement SATA RAID.

We?ll start from the outside and work our way in… On to case externals?

Cooling, DDR, and Chipset

Cooling, DDR, and Chipset

So you?re thinking you may want to overclock the SB75G2. Good, we did, and the machine just screams for more. More on that later, but in the mean time, let?s take a look at how Shuttle aims to keep the SB75 cool even during extreme overclocking.

No surprises initially? As in prior Shuttle XPCs, the SB75G2 features the standard I.C.E. Cooling System to help keep your processor?s temperature at bay.

Shuttle has once again chosen their favorite (and somewhat noisy) 80mm Sunon fan as the primary active cooling mechanism.

Another standard inclusion with respect to cooling is Shuttle?s Bios driven "Smart Fan" technology which throttles the I.C.E. fan speed as CPU temperature varies. As in previous XPC?s, this tends to provide a good balance between safe CPU temperatures and low noise levels. Even with our most advanced overclocking, we never heard Smart Fan increase our I.C.E. fan speed.

Speaking of fans and cooling, you may notice an extra fan attached to the SB75?s motherboard. Unlike the Springdale chipset?s Northbridge, Canterwood appears to require an active cooling solution.

This is rather unfortunate, as it does contribute to overall system noise. Fortunately Shuttle has used a relatively quiet and low speed fan for the purpose, and it is barely audible over the hum of the PSU and system fans. Notice in the above picture that the actual chip extends beyond the boundary of the fan. You can actually see the green package and/or PCB sticking out on three sides of the heatsink + fan combo. So long as that silicon is cool though, nothing else matters.

That brings us to a total of four fans within the SB75, representing a 2X increase over many earlier Shuttle XPC models. You don?t get the power of the i875 chipset for nothing, do you? We?ll detail out the sound measurements later for those who, like myself, are sensitive to noise.

One final note regarding DDR memory and ECC support. The SB75G2 supports a maximum of 2GB of dual-channel DDR 400 memory and contains the standard 2 banks. The i875 chipset itself supports ECC and non-ECC memory. ECC memory will be automatically recognized by the Bios, but is not required.

Of all the components within the SB75G2 which you will install, the DDR may be the most difficult due to its placement directly below the drive bay chassis and behind the faceplate. Our recommendation? Remove your drive bay chassis first, before installing your DDR. Once installed, then re-install your drive bay chassis.

Ok, we?re almost ready to build our testbench system, but first, let?s visit the Bios options. I think you?ll like what you see?

< previous - (3 of 8) - next >

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• External Design (1 of 8)
• Internal Design (2 of 8)
• Cooling, DDR, and Chipset (3 of 8)
• Bios (4 of 8)
• Testbench Setup (5 of 8)
• Benchmarks and Overclocking (6 of 8)
• SB65 / SB75 Shootout (7 of 8)
• Conclusion (8 of 8)