2005-07-29 - GigaHz: "4-Star-Barebone"

Shuttle reaches for the stars - and receives 4 out of 5. That's how the editors of the British IT-magazine GigaHz sum it up for the Shuttle XPC Barebone ST20G5. "The ST20G5 is a slick addition to Shuttle's G-series small-form-factor systems, with the ability to support four displays if needed", write the editors recommending this SFF PC.

After having received and unwrapped the package, the editors discovered that the G5 generation is to offer "intriguing surprises" that make curious of what's still to come. The first striking thing was its small and stylish design making it "easily transportable." Among other "subtle refinements" like 92mm fan and "slightly beefier heat-pipe cooler" the Shuttle XPC Barebone ST20G5 comes tidy with "pre-installed cabling" for an easy assembly. In order to preserve the design, this machine for Socket 939 processors features small flip down doors that hide the drives elegantly. Being equipped with the ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 chipset, the fastest onboard chipset available to date, "the Shuttle XPC Barebone ST20G5 can be used as a high-performance system."

Speaking of performance, the ST20G5 manages up to four displays attached - interesting for those who need a number of displays in an office environment.  Just a few weeks ago, GigaHz had the Shuttle XPC Barebone SN25P in their labs as well. Looking back at this test, the editors write that the SN25P "builds in useful amenities like tool-less entry, an x1 PCI Express slot, flash memory card readers, and enough drive bays to build a two-drive RAID array." As a final word, "both [Shuttle XPCs] are good choices (...). If you're looking for a compact, Socket-939 PC, you can't go wrong either - just pick the one that fits your needs."

Conclusion:

"The ST20G5 is a slick addition to Shuttle's G-series small-form-factor systems, with the ability to support four displays if needed."

4 of 5 stars

(Source: GigaHz, Issue 7 / 2005, Page 92)