Core 2 Duo Barebone: Shuttle XPC SD37P2 - Review

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CrossFire ready

The P2 case used by shuttle is based on the same principles as BTX. The processor is located at the front of the case where cold air comes in through the side and directly unto the CPU. Shuttle have somehow managed to find enough space on their motherboard to allow you to fit four memory modules as well as two PCI-Express x16 cards something you wouldn't expect when considering the size of the case. Shuttle have also taken the power drain of a Crossfire setup into account and have managed to cram a 400 Watt PSU into the case.

The downside of having two PCI-Express slots is that there is precious little space left for a PCI-card. Not a major letdown, as the systems specifications and abilities should satisfy most users, but a problem nonetheless if you wish to add a better soundcard to the system. Currently there isn't a soundcard that can run through PCI-Express and external soundcards usually require more CPU time than onboard sound solutions found on most motherboards these days. In the case of the Shuttle XPC SD37P2 you're fairly must stuck using the Realtek ALC882 HDA onboard sound chip.

Shuttle has done some amazing things with the P2 case considering the restrictions they faced due to its size. There is place for a DVD-burner and a maximum of three 3,5 inch drives, two of which can be placed internally. A fourth hard drive can be fitted externally through the eSata-connector located on the rear of the case. The shuttle has more connection possibilities than you can shake a stick at: on the rear we find six USB 2.0 connections, Firewire, Gigabit Ethernet, Analog 8-channel Line-out, Line-in, Microphone connection and Digital SPDIF I/O. We also found a little button on the rear that the overclockers amongst us will surely appreciate, a clear-cmos button which resets the BIOS to its factory settings. On the front of the case we find another two USB 2.0 connections, a mini Firewire connection and an extremely handy rest button.