2005-08-25 - Custom PC: "The SN26P is a masterpiece of SFF PC engineering."

"Seriously, do it for your own good," warn the editors of the British computer magazine Custom PC, telling its readers they better rip three pages out of the magazine and burn them. Why the warning? The Shuttle XPC Barebone SN26P is so impressive it will either compel you to buy one or make you into a Shuttle fan. Their conclusion? "The SN26P is a masterpiece of small form factor PC engineering."

"The SN26P is a masterpiece of small form factor PC engineering," conclude the editors of Custom PC reviewing the Shuttle XPC Barebone SN26P. What makes them come to such a brilliant result. Well, it's the first SFF PC in the world that supports SLI technology to have two graphics cards working inside for the maximum graphics performance for all the latest games. "It's really, really good," praise the editors the Shuttle XPC Barebone SN26P.

Two high end graphics cards in such a small case? No worries! "Shuttle has included a customised copper heatpipe cooling system that cools both cards," add the editors. This doesn't only work efficiently, but quiet in all: The GPU cooling system is probably the most impressive aspect of the SN26P's design, particularly as Shuttle has found a way to cool two high-speed 3D cards without resorting to lots of noisy fans," write the editors. This "extremely intelligent design" enables the Shuttle XPC Barebone SN26P to run stable. But "none of the SN26P's clever design elements and fancy features matter a damn if it doesn't perform, and in this respect, it didn't disappoint," state the editors, before finishing the review with a recommendation: "If you want a small, portable PC with some serious gaming welly, then this is the box for you."

Conclusion:

"The SN26P is a masterpiece of small form factor PC engineering."

Speed:	94%
Features:	88%
Overall:	80%

(Source: Custom PC, Issue October 2005)