![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Tuesday , June 14, 2005
- Author:
- Morry Teitelman
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
Shuttle ST20G5
The ST20G5 is Shuttle’s latest Athlon64-based bare bones system that uses the ATI Radeon Xpress chipset. How well does this system stack up to the rest of the Athlon64 crowd in terms of stability and performance?
Introduction
Shuttle is renowned throughout both the gaming the enthusiast communities for their trendsetting small form factor designs and high performance systems. Even though the small form factor market has become rather crowded, Shuttle continues to stay ahead of its competitors through their constant innovation. Their latest Athlon64-based system continues this trend.
The ST20G5 is Shuttle’s latest Athlon64 socket 939-based system. This system uses the much anticipated ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 chipset, supporting all Athlon64-based socket 939 CPUs, DDR RAM modules operating in Dual Channel mode, and PCI Express x16 type video cards. Since the ST20G5 is a small form factor system, it requires the following minimum amount of components for a fully functional system: Athlon64 socket 939 CPU, and DDR memory. Note that the system includes an integrated video solution, so therefore a PCI Express x16 video card is optional. The following components have been integrated into the design of the ST20G5: 1 IDE ATA-133 port; 2 SATA-150 ports (RAID 0 and 1 capable); 1 floppy port; 4 USB 2.0 capable ports (2 in rear panel, and 2 in front panel); 2 IEEE 1394 capable ports (1 in rear panel, 1 mini port in front panel); 1 Broadcom Gigabit Ethernet port in rear panel; Realtek 8-channel audio codec featuring S/PDIF optical input / output ports; ATI Radeon 200-based graphics core with VGA and DVI output ports in rear panel; and serial and PS/2 port support.
Main Specifications Overview:
CPU | AMD Athlon64 socket 939 based processors |
Chipset | ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 / ULI 1573 |
FSB | 200MHz |
BIOS | Phoenix AwardBIOS |
Memory | 2 184-pin DDR DIMMS, up to 2GB |
Expansion slots | 1 x PCI-Express x16 slot, 1 x PCI slot |
Onboard IDE | 1 x ATA-133 ports; 2 x SATA-150 ports |
USB 2.0 | 2 rear panel / 2 front panel / 3 onboard headers (8 ports total) |
IEEE 1394 | 1 rear panel / 1 front panel (2 ports total) |
Audio | Realtek 8-Channel codec with S/PDIF optical input / output ports |
NIC | Broadcom Gigabit Ethernet controller |
Graphics | ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 chipset integrated graphics core with VGA and DVI ports in rear panel |
Detailed Mainboard Specification List:
|
|
Packaging/Case
Shuttle packaged the ST20G5 in a box adorned with the standard XPC design, which clearly shows the supported processor and chipset along the top and front of the box. The box itself can also double as a carrying case for those of you who are interested. Shuttle chose to package the following components in with the ST20G5: 2 ATA-133 IDE cables; 1 floppy cable; 2 SATA cables; a MOLEX extension cable with integrated floppy connector; feet for the front bottom of the case; heatsink compound for use with the ICE cooling unit; foam feet to combat hard drive vibration; a power cord; and the standard complement of manuals, and driver cds.
Similar to the entire XPC line, the ST20G was built in an entirely modular fashion, including a removable drive cage, 250 watt PSU, the Integrated Cooling Engine (I.C.E.) CPU cooling unit, and motherboard. While the ST20G5 does not feature an entirely tool-less design, removing the individual components is not difficult with the correct tools. The drive cage itself can support a 5.25-inch and two 3.5-inch devices. The I.C.E. system included with the ST20G5 is a hybrid copper/aluminum design. The copper heat spreader in contact with the CPU allows for better heat transfer over a larger area, while the aluminum fins on the radiator allow for better overall heat dissipation.
While the ST20G5 does pack an abundance of integrated components, its internal layout is not overly crowded. The onboard system ports are distributed between the front and rear panels of the system, with the front ports stealthed behind the lower panel. The front panel of the unit contains 2 analog audio ports, 2 USB 2.0 ports, and 1 IEEE 1394 port. Power and reset buttons are arranged along the mid-center of the front panel, along with the hard drive activity and power LEDs. Both the floppy and optical drives are stealthed, making for a very clean and uniform front panel appearance. The rear side of the system contains the rear panel ports, the PSU power switch, and the system fans. Note that the case has a total of 2 system fans, one small one for the PSU and 1 large one for the I.C.E. system. The following ports are integrated into the rear panel: PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports; 1 IEEE 1394 port; CMOS clear button; 2 USB 2.0 ports; a Gigabit Ethernet port; 5 analog audio ports; S/PDIF optical input/output ports; and VGA and DVI video output connectors. The CMOS clear button is located to the right of the lower analog audio port, allowing for BIOS reset without having to remove the case cover. This button can be toggled using a paperclip or a similar instrument.
Board Layout
While the ST20G5’s motherboard layout is a bit tight for space, all components do seem to have enough room so they do not interfere with one another. In a very nice move, Shuttle chose to place an actively cooled heatsink on the Northbridge chipset, and place passive coolers on the CPU power MOSFETs and the Southbridge. The board tested was a revision 1.3 board, with the serial number displayed on a sticker along the outer side of the PCI-Express x16 slot. In designing the ST20G5, Shuttle used capacitors from Taiwan Ostor Corporation (Taiwain).
The CPU socket is located in the upper center of the board, just in front of the rear panel components. The I.C.E. CPU cooling system is held to the processor using a mounting cage held to the board via a series of 4 mounting holes. To the right of the CPU socket are the 2 onboard DIMM slots, which must both be populated for Dual Channel memory operation. The floppy port and 4-pin FAN2 header are located to the right of the DIMM slots, along the board’s edge. To the upper left of the CPU socket is the parallel port header, the 4-pin FAN1 header for connecting to the I.C.E. cooling system exhaust fan, the AUX-In and CD-In headers, as well as the S/PDIF header.
The actively cooled Northbridge chipset is located to the lower left of the CPU socket. The HSF unit is held to the Northbridge using 2 push pins located on opposite sides of the chipset. The 4-pin FAN3 header for powering the Northbridge HSF unit is located to the left of the Northbridge along with the CMOS reset jumper. The passively cooled power MOSFETS are located just to the right of the chipset. The passively cooled Southbridge is located just below the Northbridge chipset, with the onboard USB headers located directly to the right of the Southbridge. The onboard ATA-133 port, SAT-150 ports, CMOS battery, and front panel header are located just below the Southbridge. To the lower right of the power MOSFETs are the ATX12V power connector, the wireless keyboard/mouse header, a single port onboard USB header, and the ATX power connector. Just below and to the right of the CMOS battery is the front panel connector for interfacing with the front panel daughter board.
The ST20G5 comes standard with a single PCI-Express x16 slot and a PCI slot, both located in the upper left corner of the system board. The PCI-Expressx16 slot is the inside slot, which allows for use of video cards with dual slot cooling mechanisms. The ATX2 power connector is located to the upper left of the PCI-Express x16 slot. This power connector is used to provide additional power to the PCI-Express x16 slot for added video card stability.