Bit-Tech: "Recommended Award"
 "When you consider that Shuttle's XPC product line is the standard-setter for small form factor barebones, you are unlikely to find an equivalent to the SD37P2 elsewhere," conclude the editors of the British hardware web site Bit-Tech having tested the Shuttle XPC Barebone SD37P2, Shuttle's first SFF PC to support Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo. This high-end gaming platform managed to convince the editors by its looks, performance and expandability and was granted the Bit-Tech Recommended Award.
"The Shuttle SD37P2 combines the most popular Small Form Factor (SFF) maker's XPC line with the most popular current generation processor: Core 2. Using an Intel 975X chipset, the SD37P2 provides oodles of power in a tiny space, using Shuttles renowned skill in engineering small things efficiently for people," explains Bit-Tech having unpacked the box.
"The black P2 chassis looks great" and is also "neater and cleaner," start off the editors with the design of the reviews kit. Having taken off the case, the editors were presented with two PCI-E slots, room for up to three hard disks and four memory banks which "is great for expandability."
The fact there are "masses of expandability" also comes from the eight USB connectors that are available to connect numerous peripherals.
Shuttle put "cutting edge technology in such a small box" that makes the Shuttle XPC Barebone SD37P2 a SFF product "that's well-worth spending your money on."
Having loaded the barebones kit with components it turned out to be "not that heavy making it a perfect LAN companion," according to the editors.
Considered the case on the whole, it has "a very solid feel to it and the drop down doors used in the stealth drive covers have chunkier brackets than on the original P chassis," states Bit-Tech about the build quality.
Equipped with a "beefy 400W PSU," the Shuttle XPC Barebone SD37P2 "works very well and is extremely stable under heavy load for long periods of time." That said, it also "performs very well against the other motherboards."
The Shuttle XPC Barebone SD37P2 is ready for future applications, as it is "the only Shuttle XPC barebones that supports Intel's Core 2-based dual and quad-core processors available at the moment."
In a nutshell, "you're getting a lot of kit for your money," sum up the editors.
Features: 8/10
Performance: 9/10
Value: 7/10
Overall: 8/10 |