Inside Views
Open the case and this SFF PC reveals the kind of guts we've come to expect from Shuttle. The connection cables and wires are all largely neatly tucked away. Indeed, shuttle eschews cheap zip ties, etc. in favor of special reusable plastic clips. This gives the XPC SB77G5 a tidy appearance. Once you remove the drive cage, which is nearly identical for all Shuttle SFF PCs, you get a clear view of the motherboard.
The unit comes with a preinstalled CPU cooler that has to be removed before you can install the rest of the hardware. The cooling system for the P4/Prescott CPU is based on a combination of four heatpipes and a 3.6" (92 mm) system fan. The mixed design purports to remove CPU waste heat from the SFF PC quickly and effectively.
We also ran a stress test to see whether the solution for the SB77G5 is as quiet as Shuttle's
Socket 775 is finally revealed once the heatpipe cooler is removed. Of course the socket is no stranger to us at THG - but then again the model was the first SFF PC to reach our lab in combination with the i875P chipset.
Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for this form-factor as alternative SFF PCs become cheaper- including those with PCI-Express graphics cards required for new Intel chipsets.
Shipshape Interior
In focus here: the 250W PSU
Ample access for installing the hardware
