2005-10-27 - c't: "Cool and Silent"

There is no shortage of distracting or simply annoying background noises in today's world. Having a loud PC in the office is an additional source of such noise most people can do without. When the editors of Germany's C't magazine tested the Shuttle XPC Barebone SD11G5 however, all they heard was… nothing!

"The result of our tests was 0,6 Sone while idle and 0,7 while playing a film from the hard drive" concluded the editors. Which makes the PC barely audible and perfect for the living room. When it came to the noises you do want to hear, the results were no less impressive: "Also unusual is the onboard sound P17 from Creative -with its CA0106 sound chip is the same included on Audigy LS and Live! 24-bit models-  is included on the motherboard." What about performance? "Every onboard chip delivered some surprises. The P17 sound, with an output of 117 dB, delivered the loudest undistorted signal we've ever measures in a Small Form Factor barebone."

Support for Pentium M processors means not just a quiet system, but a cool one as well: "We recorded temperatures of 24C and 27C inside the unit, which means it remained cool even under full load."

Conclusion:

"The Shuttle XPC Barebone SD11G5 is quieter, even under full load, thanks to its support for mobile processor technology."

Source: c't Issue 22/2005