2005-04-25 - PC Format: "Top gear"

"Perfectly formed." That's what the editors of the UK-based computer magazine "PC Format" were looking for. And they found the perfectly formed PCs: "There's no denying that the small form factor barebone systems that are available today are the most covetable of all cases." It all depends "upon your level of masculinity" to choose either an "exceedingly cute" or "fantastically well engineered" SFF PC. Included in the test: the Shuttle XPC Barebone SN25P and Shuttle XPC Barebone SB86i. And they are not just "darn site better looking than the usual grey and black ATX tower cases and are more welcome in your living room, too." The editors had some clear advice as to which of the new batch you should plump for.

Shuttle XPC Barebone SN25P: "Kick-ass case"

Media center or gaming? No question for the editors of PC Format when they tested the Shuttle XPC Barebone SN25P: " If building a media centre PC isn't your bag and you're simply after a kick-ass case, it's unarguably the Shuttle XPC SN25P that you should be looking at. The size of the case means you can still place it by your TV, where it'll give your Xbox or PS2 a darn good drubbing." Why? Because of its performance and components such as the nForce4 chipset, PCI Express graphics and AMD socket 939 processor. The right choice for gaming enthusiasts - as the editors wrote: "Boasting the greatest potential of all five cases, it's a prime candidate for turning into a high-performance system."

Result:

"PC Format top gear"
Score: 86%

Shuttle XPC Barebone SB86i: "This is a great system for running single-core Pentium 4 processors in a small form factor."

When the editors of PC Format had a first look at the Shuttle XPC Barebone SB86i - the only BTX barebone tested - they were in doubt about using a "baking hot Pentium 4 processor in a bread box sized system". But they were more than satisfied by the cooling system: "Whatever, there's no doubting the SB86i handles heat dissipation extremly well." The Pico-BTX designed barebone "benefits from carefully managed airflow". But the editors were not just thrilled by the cooling system: "There's plenty of attention to detail to be found inside, too, including rubber mounts for the hard drive caddies which prevent vibration (and noise) from being transmitted to the chassis proper."

Result:

"This is a great system for running single-core Pentium 4 processors in a small form factor."
Score: 74%