Shuttle XPC Prima SX38P2 Pro

The Hardware: Memory, Drives, Graphics Options

Memory options from Shuttle range from 1 GB to 4 GB of 800 MHz DDR2 for 32-bit operating systems, and an 8 GB option of 667 MHz PC-5300 for 64-bit operating systems that can make use of that memory.

Our test system had four Kingston KHX8500D2/1G 1 GB memory modules rated at 1066 MHz, with latency timings of 5-5-5-15 at 2.2 V. The system is set to 800 MHz by default, and provides memory throughput averaging 6.74 GB/s for Int Buff’d iSSE2 (6.75 GB/s for Float Buff’d iSSE2) with two or four memory modules. The latency on these was consistently shown to be 82 ns. Since the system had a 32-bit version of Windows XP on it, there was only 3.32 GB of usable memory available. This is due to 32-bit addressing limits, and while Vista’s SP1 will fix this reporting error, it does not resolve the limit.

  • 1GB PC2-6400 800MHZ DDR2 NON-ECC
  • 2GB (2X1GB) PC2-6400 800MHZ DDR2 NON-ECC
  • 4GB (4X1GB) PC2-6400 800MHZ DDR2 NON-ECC
  • 8GB (4X2GB) PC2-5300 667MHZ DDR2 NON-ECC (64bit OS REQUIRED)

Hard disk options are standard 7200 RPM drives from 250 GB to 750 GB, with the addition of a 10,000 RPM raptor option with 150 GB of capacity. There are three hard drive bays in the XPC, but the Raptor is only an option for the first two.

Our test unit included the Western Digital Raptor X 150 GB SATA hard drive. The drive has a 150 MB/s maximum buffer to host transfer rate, 10,000 RPM spindle speed, 16 MB cache, and a window to see the working platters of the disk. It has a nominal transfer rate of 84 MB/s, but real benchmarking provides different results. For H2Bench, the average data rate is 73.3 MB/s while HDTach comes in at 75.4 MB/s. The average access times were 7.98 ms for HDTach and 8.14 ms for H2Bench. This testing took place with reboots between each run and then at least twenty tests using each configuration allowed by the testing programs, including small and large batch files.

  • 250GB SATA300 7200RPM 8MB Buffer
  • 500GB SATA300 7200RPM 8MB Buffer
  • 500GB SATA300 7200RPM 32MB Buffer
  • 750GB SATA300 7200RPM 16MB Buffer
  • 150GB SATA150 10000RPM 16MB Buffer

Optical drive options include the standard CD and DVD writers, in addition to a BLU-RAY writer for those who might want to use the XPC as an HTPC.

  • 52X CDRW 16X DVD-ROM COMBO
  • 20X20 DVD+-RW DUAL LAYER EIDE BLACK
  • 2X BLUE-RAY TRIPLE WRITER SATA BLACK

The weakest graphic card offered is the Geforce 8600 GTS, which is miles above the base options on many other SFF PCs, and speaks to the XPC’s performance focus. The only dual-card solution is the Radeon 3850, which is the most powerful solution that will fit into the XPC.

Our test system sported a XFX GeForce 8800GTX with 768 MB of DDR3 RAM running at 600 MHz on the core and an effective 1900 MHz on the memory. While it’s not the highest factory overclock for an 8800 GTX, it’s still a very powerful card that will deliver strong gaming performance.

  • RADEON HD3850 256MB GDDR3 PCI-E
  • GEFORCE 8600 GTS 512MB DDR3 PCI-E
  • GEFORCE 8800 GT 512MB DDR3 PCI-E
  • DUAL RADEON HD3850 256MB PCI-E (CROSSFIRE)
  • GEFORCE 8800 GTX 768MB DDR3 PCI-E
  • dragonsprayer
    Shuttles are great computers if you want something very small they can not be beat. I use both micro atx systems and sff (shuttles). I have a few now, my rock solid old P4 (nw 3.0c running 3.6ghz) lasted 4 years while running 24/7 and logging close to 12 hours a day of usage. The major disadvantage is lack of non oem parts, i.e. a mobo replacement is expensive. The advantage is the initial cost is low. The psu's are much stronger then their rating compared to similar rated standard psu's. Since you get a cool, cpu cooler with the deal they are very reasonably priced and easy to build! Put some foam on the inside vents and you got a filtered system you can have up and running in a few hours. This new crossfire unit should rock with the new 700 series ati cards. Bios upgrades can be a pain, or lacking, so make sure the initial bios works for your set up. I love shuttles! If you fill your system will lots of drives and dual video cards you can tweak the cooling by adding second fan in the back of the shuttle dual, fan out.
    Reply
  • One thing about this and the 35 model... DO NOT PLAN on RAID if you BUY a SATA DVD/CD UNIT. For what ever reason.. You can't get the RAID setup screen with all three items on SATA. You'll need to buy IDE DVD/CD Unit then you can utilized the built in RAID CONTROLLER. Live and learn.. I did on both the 35 and 38 unit.
    Reply
  • BillLake
    Great tip about the raid controller, another tip is if you pick ACHI for the SATA controller for the newest features of SATA 2 then a SATA optical drive is not seen in windows. there is no alternative SATA controller so you have to use IDE to have an optical drive.
    Reply
  • rgsaunders
    Note: your comment about max crossfix config is incorrect, there are a few single slot HD3870 cards, I am currently running the Sapphire HD 3870 Toxic, an excellent single slot solution which runs very cool and quiet.
    Reply
  • alphastryk
    yay shuttle... got my SX38P@ running a Q6600, 8gb ram, 9800gx2... not that loud really... and the power supplies are far above standard quality and power...
    Reply
  • mbaroud
    So alpha...i was actually planing to purchase this. The 9800GX2 fits in this SFF????
    Reply
  • BillLake
    Yeah got one and unless you are running 100 % load it is pretty quiet. If a 8800 GTX fits you should be able to get a 9800GX2 in, just compare it to the XFX card I used in the review.
    Reply
  • mbaroud
    My concern is the power, will the PSU handle the load of a Q6700 the 9800GX2 and 2 hard-drives in RAID-0???
    I move alot for my work, wanted something compact and SUPER POWERFULL!!
    Reply
  • Mathos
    They should add another video card option. The Sapphire Toxic/Atomic edition 3870 could easily fit in there. Mines runs pretty cool even under load, which is great for single slot. Would also give them a higher end dual card solution for those systems.
    Reply
  • BillLake
    mbaroud, I checked and the 9800GX2 only pulls about 10-15 more than the 8800GTX used in the testing PC. The 9650 should be a very big draw when overclocked and so I would think you could be OK with your config.

    Mathos, I wish they did offer more selection but you can get any video card you want if you build up a barebones unit.
    Reply