Shuttle practically popularized the SFF arena with their SV24. Over the years they?ve released a plethora of SFF models for AMD and Intel utilizing practically every chipset available. While Shuttle has updated their XPC, most of the updates have been small micro evolutionary changes such as front bezel, power supply, and heat pipes. While Shuttle released their new P case with the SB81P, you either liked it or hated it. The SB81P was the first macro evolution XPC ever. It brought a lot of changes to the table but those that had invested in accessories for the existing G cases were left out in the cold.

Instead of leaving existing users and enthusiasts out in the cold, Shuttle released a follow up G5 case to accompany their new SB81P. The new G5 case made its debut with the nForce 3 based SN95G5 in its black form. Shortly after the SN95G5 announcement, Shuttle announced a true successor to the Shuttle SB61G2; the SB83G5. The new SB83G5 is a slimmed down version of the SB81P and lacks a few features. Its direct competitor is the AOpen XC Cube EX915 that we recently looked at and praised a while ago.

A closer look?

Our SB83G5 came in the usual dull silver finish instead of a shiny black finish like the SN95G5. The biggest differences between existing G1, G2, and G4 cases are the 5.25? and 3.5? drive covers. After everyone else implemented drive covers, Shuttle finally got on the bandwagon. Also new is the Shuttle indentation on the side panel, which adds a nice touch of style to the side and flaunts their brand name.

The front panel is painted silver and looks relatively shiny and decently layered. The pieces covering the drive bays are pieces of molded silver plastic with aluminum panels glued onto them. The bottommost piece covering the front I/O is the only piece that is painted silver and lacks the aluminum piece glued onto it. The chrome trim looks to be painted plastic but accompanies the overall look nicely. The power and reset buttons look to be pieces of painted plastic as well but the paint quality is pretty good and they could pass as aluminum.

Internally, the SB3G5 features Intel?s 915G chipset with support for 533/800 MHz FSB processors. Like the XC Cube, the SB83G5 utilizes standard DDR400 memory instead of the more expensive DDRII. Expansion wise, the SB83G5 has a single PCI-E x16 slot for graphics and a 32bit PCI slot for peripheral expansion.

The 5.25? drive bay is geared to pop open when the CD tray pops out while the 3.5? bay and I/O cover uses a spring loaded clip that requires the user to push in for it to pop out. When the bay cover is open, it reveals the cheap looking gray molded plastic. Aside from the cheap plastic look, the covers are also a bit flimsy and feel like the interior of an American car. The two lower covers occasionally requires a little bit of added force to open, the 5.25? bay has somewhat of a delayed close reaction compared to the AOpen we looked at while ago. Overall the bay covers, while a nice addition, aren?t as well polished as the competing solutions.

The front I/O has remained the same with microphone, headphone, USB, and 4 pin Firewire.

The SB83G5 back panel is relatively plain. There?s the usual VGA, Serial Port, Optical In, Firewire, PS/2, Ethernet, USB 2.0, Coaxial out, Line Input, and Audio outputs. A nice addition to the SB83G5 is the independent line input connector for TV Tuner cards. While most XPC?s in the past only had 3 audio jacks that had to be reassigned for specific tasks, the SB83G5 features 3 audio jacks for 5.1 output and a separate Line input jack. There?s also the coaxial output, which is a nice addition for users who want to use digital out but their receiver is out of optical inputs. Located above the expansion slot is an Optical output. There?s also the usual punch-out for a parallel port for those that still require it.

Conclusion

Conclusion

Filling the midrange SFF gap between the SB81P and existing Socket 478 based models; the SB83G5 is a good intermediate unit. The changes that come with the G5 case such as the hidden drive bays and enlarged exhaust fan is a welcomed addition to the already existing superior case design. Performance-wise, our initial BIOS left the SB83G5 performance challenged. It seems that the BIOS still requires a few tweaks to achieve maximal performance with the 915G chipset. Nonetheless, the performance is still relatively respectable.

The SB83G5 is still an excellent SFF. Costing a little more than the Aopen EX915, the Shuttle might be worth it for those more concerned about noise, cooling, and overall system stability that comes with lower thermals. With the amount of hardware in the system, the Shuttle still managed to produce below 60dBA at full load. This is a lot quieter compared to the Aopen EX915. Also for those that want to run Pentium 4 Extreme Editions, the SB83G5 will support it, unlike the EX915.

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• A closer look cont... (1 of 5)
• Test setup, testing... (2 of 5)
• Testing cont... (3 of 5)
• Noise, temperature... (4 of 5)
• Conclusion (5 of 5)