Once again Shuttle has established themselves as the SFF leader, introducing their lateest XPC model, the ST61G4, based on the brand new ATI RS300 chipset. Hats off to Shuttle for releasing a small form factor system based on this new chipset, at the same time as other manufacturers are just releasing full-sized motherboard implementations.

The ST61G4 sports ATI?s latest claim to fame, the RS300 + IXP150 chipset with the Radeon 9100 IGP (Integrated Graphics Processor). The system comes loaded with features, all packed into Shuttle?s new G4 series XPC case design.

Complete with Serial-ATA RAID, dual channel DDR400, integrated fast Ethernet, 6 channel audio, and of course, the on-board Radeon 9100IGP, the ST61G4 stacks up well against comparable Intel chipset based systems. But that?s not all that Shuttle is hiding within the confines of the ST61G4. They?ve also launched their brand new SilentX 250 watt power supply unit with this XPC, which as you?ll see in our benchmarks, made a rather impressive and surprising difference in noise measurements, despite its extra wattage.

With four Shuttle XPC?s based on the Intel i865/i875 chipsets, as well as the ST61 based on ATI?s RS300, not to mention a host of other SFF?s on the market, how do you know if the ST61G4 is the right system for you? Is it time to upgrade from that older XPC or big ugly beige box? That all depends on what you?ll be using your system for. Hopefully our benchmarks will help lead you in the right direction?

But before we go into the details, let?s begin with the ST61G4?s overall system specifications:

Processor	Intel Pentium 4 / Celeron 478-pin 533/800MHz FSB
Chipset	ATI RS300 + IXP150
Memory	2 x 184 pin DDR SDRAM up to 2GB at PC3200
Audio	Realtek ALC650 AC?97 5.1 Channel Audio Controller
LAN	Broadcom 4401 10/100 Fast Ethernet
PSU	Shuttle SilentX 250W 110/230V AC
Dimensions:	300mm(L) x 200mm(W) x 185mm(H)
Parallel ATA	Two UDMA-100 Dual Channel PATA Ports
Serial ATA	Silicon Image 3512 Dual-Channel Serial-ATA RAID 0/1 (UDMA-150)
On-Board Video	ATI Radeon 9100IGP
PCI	1 x 33MHz
AGP	1 x AGP 4X/8X
Other Internal Headers	1 x Floppy Disk 3 x Fan 2 x CD-In 1 x Parallel Port 1 x IrDA 1 x WKMC

Front Panel Connections

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

Rear Panel Connections

2 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 1 x Serial (9-Pin) 1 x VGA (15-Pin) 1 x SVideo Out 1 x SPDIF In 1 x SPDIF Out 1 x PCI Slot 1 x AGP Slot

Shuttle has included the standard line up of XPC accessories, including a handy cleaning pad for the ST61G4?s mirrored faceplate. Nice touch.

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

FT61 Motherboard

FT61 Motherboard

You?ll find the ST61G4?s motherboard similar to most of Shuttle?s other XPC solutions, with a few exceptions. On most recent Intel-based chipset boards, Shuttle has done a fantastic job of putting all common interface headers in an easily accessible spot on the motherboard. The Parallel-ATI, DDR, and CMOS Reset jumper are all where you?d expect them, right in the corner of the board, and very easy to access.

Notice anything missing there? Where are your dual Serial-ATA connectors? Finding them is a bit like a ?Where?s Waldo? book. Here they are, somewhat inconveniently located immediately adjacent to the CPU. This certainly isn?t the most convenient of locations during installation.

Similar to most recent XPC?s, on-board audio coding is provided by the Realtek ALC650 5.1 channel AC?97 audio controller, as shown here.

Since the IXP150 Southbridge doesn?t include native Serial-ATA support, you?ll find an external Serial-ATA controller chip on the FT61. The Silicon Image 3512 supports dual Serial-ATA ports and features RAID 0/1 support.

Similar to all other Shuttle XPC?s, you?ll find the AGP slot closer to the case exterior than the PCI slot, creating a bit of a predicament for AGP cards which use extended width cooling solutions. Note, our ATI Radeon 9800Pro fit with no issues.

Like its younger Intel i865/i875 brethren, the FT61 motherboard includes a legacy floppy disk drive connector in a seemingly awkward location. You?ll find it near the rear right hand side of the case under the PSU.

While some question the inclusion of a floppy header, or even a controller, in the "G4" series XPC cases (after all, there?s no bay for a 3.5" floppy drive to fit!), you?ll see later on in our testbench setup that it was absolutely necessary. Confused? Read on.

Before we build our testbench system, let?s continue by taking a look at this new SilentX power supply, and how Shuttle has provided cooling for the ST61G4?

< previous - (4 of 10) - next >

---

• External Design (1 of 10)
• Internal Design (2 of 10)
• The Chipset (3 of 10)
• FT61 Motherboard (4 of 10)
• SilentX PSU and Cooling (5 of 10)
• Bios (6 of 10)
• Testbench Setup (7 of 10)
• Benchmarks & Overclocking (8 of 10)
• Benchmark Comparisons (9 of 10)
• Conclusion (10 of 10)