Products | 02/05/2008 14:42:00

Hotspot information for Shuttle XPC Barebone SN68SG2

Product views with descriptions

Please move your mouse to the three product images to learn more about connectivity on the front and back panel.

Frontpanel:

Backpanel:

Pressing the reset button is the last resort for dealing with a non-responsive computer. The reset button sends a reset signal to all peripherals. It clears the memory and reboots the PC forcibly. Any work not saved to disk will be lost when the reset button is pressed.

This LED blinks during hard drive disk read and write activity.

This LED lights when the computer is turned on.

Press the power button to turn on the computer. To avoid losing data, turn off your computer by performing a soft shutdown by the operating system rather than by pressing the power button. If the computer stops responding, press and hold the power button until the computer turns off completely which may take several seconds. You can also use the power button to enter or resume from standby/suspend mode.

The 3.5" drive bay can be used for a multi-format card reader or floppy disk drive (FDD).

This 5.25" bay is normally used for a DVD writer.

This 1/8 inch (3.5 mm) female connector in pink color can be used to attach a microphone. There are two audio ports (microphone and headphone) located on the front panel which can be used for a head-set. To test a microphone you can use the Windows Sound Recorder application.

This 1/8 inch (3.5 mm) female stereo connector in lime color can be used to attach a headphone or headset with an impedance of at least 32 ohms. This connector can also be used as a line-out to connect amplified PC speakers.

This port connect USB devices, such as a mouse, keyboard, printer or a mass storage device. The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a high-speed synchronous serial data interface allowing up to 127 peripherals to be simultaneously connected to a personal computer. USB supports "hot-swap" which is the ability to add or remove a new device without having to reboot the computer and "plug-and-play" operation, in which the host software automatically detects attached peripherals and loads the appropriate driver. USB 2.0 runs at up to 480 Mbit/s and is downward compatible with USB 1.1 which runs up to 12 Mbit/s.

This is an interface similar to USB, although it’s not as widely used on the PC as it is on Macintosh computers. Its official name is IEEE1394a, but it’s also known as iLink thanks to Sony branding. The speed of 1394a Firewire is 400Mbits/sec (around 50Mbyte/sec). It’s most commonly used with a DV camcorder to transfer digital video to your PC for editing. Other peripherals available with a Firewire interface include external hard drives, external optical drives, scanners and web cameras. The main advantage of Firewire over USB 2.0 is that the bandwidth is not shared between devices. Firewire can also provide more power to an external device than USB. The 6 pin connector differs from the 4 pin (mini) connector by also being able to transfer power to an external device, but it has the same transfer speed and specification as the four wire cable.

This is a perforation for an optional optical S/PDIF Input (also known as TOSlink or Fiber SPDIF) where you can connect digital audio devices such as CD/DVD players, MiniDisc or digital audio tape (DAT). S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format) is a specifications for carrying digital audio signals in either optical or electrical form - they both give you exactly the same result, only the cable types differ.

This is a perforation for an optional optical S/PDIF Output (also known as TOSlink or Fiber SPDIF) provided by the adapter PC17. S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format) is a specifications for carrying digital audio signals in either optical or electrical form - they both give you exactly the same result, only the cable types differ. The ordinary, uncompressed signal only carries a stereo signal. You can also pass-through an encoded audio stream from DVD to speakers/receivers which support multi-channel Dolby Digital (AC3) decoding.

To this inlet you can attach the mains cord to the power supply. The other end of the cord has a suitable power plug for the locality in which the appliance is used.

This PC has a stable switched-mode power supply with small dimension and high efficency. Power supplies are the devices that power computers. They convert AC power from electric utilities into DC power used in most electronics.

The Integrated Cooling Engine (I.C.E.) is one of the secrets behind Shuttle’s SFF leadership. It uses heatpipe technology to transfer heat away from the processor and other critical system components. The lower section of the heatpipe modul is a copper plate, which comes into direct contact with the CPU. This is attached with some vacuum-sealed copper pipes which contain very little liquid which is held under low pressure so that the evaporation temperature is just about 30 degrees Celsius. The vaporized fluid creates a pressure gradient which forces the vapor towards the condenser at the other end of the pipes where the working fluid condenses and releases its latent heat to a stack of aluminum fins. The condensed working fluid returns back to the evaporator. In front of the fins is only one large fan to cool both the CPU and system as a whole. The temperature difference between the two ends of the pipe is only a few degrees so it attains a maximum effectiveness of 95%. The heat generated by the CPU is exhausted out of the rear of the chassis without creating additional heat in the rest of the chassis. The cooling fan is temperature-controlled which means that the computer turns on the fan when the computer gets hot. Do not block, push objects into, or allow dust to accumulate in the air vents.

This case features toolless entry thanks to the thumbscrews, making it that much easier to get inside without using a screwdriver. Just unscrew the thumbscrews on the back of the chassis cover and slide the cover backwards and upwards. Note: For safety reasons, please ensure that the power cord is disconnected before opening the case.

PCI was introduced in 1994 is one of the most widely adopted PC standards for attaching expansion cards to a mainboard. While PCIe x16 has replace the AGP standard, the transition from PCI to PCI-E has been just as friendly as the ISA to PCI conversion so many years ago and PCI is still used today in almost every computing platform.

The PCI-Express x16 slot (abbreviated as PCIe x16 or PEG) is mainly used for graphics cards. With 16 serial connections (lanes) it archieves a maximum data transfer rate of up to 4 GB/s in each direction. Its predecessor AGP only supports 2 GB/s and the PCI bus 133 MB/s. The PCIe x16 slot is downward-compatible with x8 or x1 cards.

This video output is used to connect a analogue CRTs (cathode-ray tubes) display or a digital display with analogue input to the PC. It uses analogue RGB and synchronisation signals to bring up a picture on the display output. The connector is known as DB15 or 15-pin D-subminiature (D-Sub) where the ‘D’-shaped raised shield gives it it’s name.

This RJ45 Ethernet port connects the PC directly to a central connecting device, be it hub, switch, or router. Hubs are the least expensive option and simply have multiple RJ45 ports to connect several computers. A switch works similar, but analyzes the data which results in a smoother and more efficient transfer of data. While hubs and switches connect devices to form a Local area network (LAN), routers are used to connect to another network, e.g. the Internet. The two lights next to the connector indicate status and activity for wired network connections. The integrated network controller supports at least Fast Ethernet (10/100 Mbit/s) or even Gigabit Ethernet (GbE, 10/100/1000 Mbit/s).

Four 1/8 inch (3.5 mm) female stereo jacks to connect analog output devices like amplifiers or amplified speakers with up to 8 audio channels. For a full 7.1 configuration with 7 speakers and 1 subwoofer you need four stereo-mini-to-stereo-RCA cables which are used for (1) front right/left, (2) surround front right/left, (3) sourround back right/left and (4) center/subwoofer.

This 1/8 inch (3.5 mm) female stereo connector in light-blue color can be used as an input to record/digitize analogue audio from external sources such as a CD/tape player, amplifier, television etc.

Here is a perforation to install the optional available "Shuttle XPC Accessory PC8" adapter which is specifically designed to attach printers with a 25 pin D-Sub parallel port interface. However, most modern printers are connected through a faster USB connection and often don't even have a parallel port connection.

This is a perforation for the antenna of an optional Wireless LAN module (Shuttle XPC Accessory PN18) which supports up to 54 Mbps transfer rate according to 802.11g standard. The WLAN module is connected to an internal USB port. You can connect to the Internet when in proximity of an access point or you can use the Ad-hoc mode for client to client connections. To ensure WLAN security, it also provides strong WPA encryption and firewall, to protect the data from WLAN. You should not use the weak WEP encryption protocol.

You can attach an external SATA mass storage device to the External Serial ATA (eSATA) port, if your device has the appropriate cable and connector. Today, external drives are usually connected via USB or Firewire, which provide less effective bandwidth due to the required bridge and protokol overhead. Standardized in mid-2004, eSATA will likely co-exist alongside USB and Firewire.

The Clear CMOS Button button allows users to reset BIOS information to factory default settings. To perform the Clear CMOS procedure, first power down the PC and remove the power cord. Then press the Clear CMOS Button by inserting a pointed object (e.g. a pen nib) into the clear CMOS hole. Keep it pressed for 5 seconds. Finally reconnect the power cord and turn on the computer.

Mainboard:

The Back Panel is an electrical panel consisting of several connectors for external peripherals. Common ports are audio, network, usb and firewire. When the mainboard chipset integrates a video controller you will also find at least one video port. On newer PCs you may also find an external Serial ATA port, but at the same time you may miss some of the older (legacy) ports: PS/2 for mouse and keyboard, serial, parallel.

This is a conventional coin-shaped non-rechargeable 3 volt lithium cell. This is a battery, which powers the CMOS memory that holds configuration information, and the internal date-and-time clock (RTC).

These are 240-pin DIMM sockets to install DDR2 SDRAM memory modules used for high speed storage of the working data of a computer. Its primary benefit of DDR2 over its predecessor DDR is its higher bus speed and lower power consumption. The amount of RAM you have determines how many programs can be executed at one time and how much data can be handled without swapping data to a hard disk. Upgrading your memory is one of the most cost effective ways to boost your system performance.

Windows Version	Minimum	Recommended Minimum	3D Gaming, Graphics/Vid.	Maximum
95/98/ME	128 MB	256 MB	512 MB	512 MB
2000/XP	256 MB	512 MB	1 GB	4 GB *)
Vista	512 MB	1 GB	2 GB	8 GB **)

*) only approx. 3.5 GB available **) only with P2 series Shuttle XPC's (4 memory sockets) and 64 bit operating system

Serial ATA (SATA) is the successor to the legacy Parallel ATA (PATA or ATA) and mainly used to connect hard disks and optical drives to the mainboard.

	Parallel ATA	Serial ATA
Data cable (wires, max. length)	40 pin connector 80 pin ribbon cable max. 46 cm	4 wires (2x serial unidirectional) more compact, better airflow max. 100 cm (external: 200 cm)
Max. data rate	100 or 133 MB/s	150 or 300 MB/s (1.5 or 3.0 Gbit/s)
Devices per channel	2	1
Optional features Innovations	-	Native command queuing (NCQ) Hot-swapping External connector (eSATA)

The ATX V1.x specification defines a 20 pin main power connector which provides 3.3V, 5V, 12V and 5V standby lines to the mainboard. The power-on wire allows to turn the PSU off by software. ATX V2.x standard defines a new 24 pin connector to support 75W PCI-Express requirements, but most mainboards still use the old 20 pin connector in combination with an additional 4 pin ATX12V (12V), or combine 8 pin ATX12V with 6 pin AUX (3.3V and 5V).

This is the 40-pin Parallel ATA (IDE) onboard header for hard disks or optical drives. One connector supports up to 2 devices. The appropriate ribbon cables have one connector for the mainboard (at one end) and one or two for device attachment (master and/or slave device). According to the latest standards 80 wires are required for the ribbon cable in order support the higher transfer speeds (66MB/s or higher) - the additional 40 pins being dedicated to ground reducing crosstalk. With the introduction of Serial ATA in 2003, the original ATA was renamed Parallel ATA (PATA). It is expected that SATA will replace the older technology.

The is a special flat cable connector for the front panel. It carries signal for the buttons (power and reset) and LEDs (power and HDD).

The voltage regulator circuit is soldered to the mainboard and provides a processor the appropriate supply voltage. This device can auto-detect the required supply voltage from the processor.

The BIOS EEPROM is a memory chip which is mounted in a socket on the mainboard, so it is removable. It stores the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) which is a small program that stores configuration details about your computer hardware and enables your computer to boot up. Every time your computer is switched on, the BIOS loads configuration data into main memory, performs a routine diagnostic test on your hardware, then loads the operating system. You can enter a simple BIOS setup program by pressing the DEL key shortly after the machine starts to boot. This is an interface where the user can configure items such as time, date, boot settings, hard drive details, etc. The system configuration data is stored in the battery buffered CMOS memory which is not inside the BIOS EEPROM. By using the "Clear CMOS" jumper you can reset the CMOS data to factory default settings, if necessary. The EEPROM retains the data even when power is turned off and it can be reprogrammed using a Flash Utility. This allows a convenient way to upgrade your BIOS as newer features are released, however, the risk is that an improperly executed or aborted BIOS update can render the computer or device unusable. Shuttle is not liable for any damage or loss of data caused by the BIOS update.

Ethernet is a family of networking technologies for local area networks (LANs), standardized as IEEE 802.3. You can find the network controller on a Network interface card (NICs) or integrated as a LAN-on-Motherboard (LOM) solution. In traditional PC architecture, the network controller is attached to the PCI or PCI-Express bus. Today, most board-mounted network chips only includes the PHysical Layer (PHY) transceiver, whereas the other logical part of the controller, the Media Access Controller (MAC), is integrated into the southbridge of the mainboards chipset. Each Ethernet station is given a single 48-bit MAC address, which is used both to specify the destination and the source of each data packet.

The Input/Output controller is a single chip that typically controls the slower-speed standardized peripherals common to most personal computers. These functions include for example serial port control, parallel port control and FDD control.

This is an onboard header which provides an analog audio input for an auxiliary (AUX) device or the internal optical drive.

This is an onboard header which provides S/PDIF input and output for digital audio. The optical input/output connectors on the back panel might be optional (please refer to the specification).

In the late 1990s, many computer manufacturers began to replace plug-in soundcards with a "AC'97 audio codec", usually a small square chip with 48 pins. The word "Audio Codec" refers to the analog component of the architecture, a combined audio AD/DA-converter - it encodes/decodes signals to/from analog audio from/to digital audio. This should not be confused with a software codec in the sense of converting from one binary format to another, such as an MP3 codec. The digital part is integrated into the mainboards chipset. In 2004 AC'97 was superseded by Intel High Definition Audio (HD Audio) with PCI-Express x1 Interface, which supports eight channels at 192 kHz/32-bit quality, while the AC‘97 specification with a serial (AIC or I²S) interface can only support six channels at 48 kHz/20-bit.

This is the 34-pin header/connector for a floppy disk drive (FDD). With the arrival of mass Internet access, cheap Ethernet and USB flash drives, the floppy was no longer necessary for data transfer either, and the floppy disk was essentially superseded. The FDD might still be required if you want to install RAID drivers in memory prior to installing Windows XP.

Basically, there are two kind of onboard headers for cooling fans: 3 pin (RPM controlled) and 4 pin (PWM controlled). 2 wires are required to power the fan (12V). The third wire is a RPM output signal (also tach or sensor) to determine the rotation rate: it pulses twice, for every full rotation of the fan blade. A hardware monitor circuit on the mainboard can use this signal to adjust the fan speed according to CPU temperature by voltage control: the voltage is reduced or increased to speed or slow the fan. The optional 4th wire is a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) input, which is square wave signal at 25kHz - above human hearing. The pulse width of the PWM signal indicates the desired speed. A 50% wide signal might indicate half speed. A 75% wide pulse in PWM might mean three quarters speed and so on. This is different from voltage control. Online vendors make this a bit more confusing by often refering to a 3 pin fan to 4 pin power adapter cable - which usually means that two wires coming from the 4 pin Molex connector to a 3 pin fan, but the RPM wire is not assigned.

This is an onboard USB header with 1x5 pins (or 2x5 pins) which provide one (or two) USB interfaces you want to install additional internal components, such as a 3.5" card reader or a Shuttle Wireless-LAN module.

This onboard header can be used for a PS/2 adapter to connect a keyboard and mouse with PS/2 ports. Today, these input devices are usually equipped with a USB connector, therefore Shuttle deletes the PS/2 connectors in the back panel in favor of other ports.

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The is a special flat cable connector for the front panel. It carries signal for the buttons (power and reset) and LEDs (power and HDD).

Separating the chipset into Northbridge and Southbridge is common, but NVIDIA managed to combine all the functionality on one chip with its nForce chipset series for AMD64 CPUs. This is possible, because the memory controller, which handles communication between the CPU and RAM, has been moved onto the processor. The chipset handles the data flows to all the other components of a mainboard: CPU, graphics card, mass storage drives (PATA/SATA), PCI- and PCI-Express expansion cards, BIOS EEPROM, I/O controller (serial, parallel, PS/2 mouse/keyboard, floppy drive), audio codec chip, network controller and more. The chipset also include functions like power management, interrupt controller, USB and sometimes it may also contain an integrated video controller (please refer to the specification of this product).

AMD's processor socket AM2, introduced in May 2006, supports the new Rev F processors, which use the same naming scheme as their predecessors. Dual Core Processors with socket AM2 feature a dual channel DDR2-800 memory controller with a theoretical peak bandwidth of 12.8 GB/s, that's twice the bandwidth of Socket 939 Rev E CPUs with 128-bit DDR-400 controller. To check the compatibility of a particular processor in connection with this mainboard please refer to the compatibility lists at Shuttle's website.

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