Conclusion
To conclude this review, there are two things that we need to look at. The first item of interest is how the P series chassis stacks up to the competition. Simply put, it is a larger Shuttle chassis that includes more features as well as one of the largest - if not the largest - power supplies that we have seen in a SFF case. Unfortunately, for some people, the increased size will be a deterrent, as it is an inch or two larger in most dimensions than the Shuttle G5 chassis.On the other hand, for those looking at running RAID configurations with the latest graphics hardware while also keeping noise levels and size to a minimum, the P series chassis is a great design. Street prices range from $400 to $450 depending on model, so they're certainly not cheap. Shuttle has told us that the street price of the SN25P should actually come in closer to $375 rather than $450, which is certainly good news. However, if you're serious about performance and features, but you don't want a large case, there are a few other options that can compete with Shuttle's P series.
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The only potential drawbacks are the not-yet-final overclocking support, the relatively high price, and the increased size (relative to models like the G5). The overclocking and size are items that may either concern you greatly or not at all. If the size is an issue, you'll be glad to hear that Shuttle is working on a G5 chassis with PCI Express support, the ST20G5. It will use the ATI Radeon Express 200 chipset and we will be looking at that in the near future. As for the price, as Apple has demonstrated on numerous occasions, exclusivity and design are features that add value for many people. Membership has its privileges.
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JarredWalton - Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - link
Feeling a little melodramatic, are we Grug? "5X and look terrible." Yes, and we're looking at massive 50K file sizes. The larger JPG was provided from Shuttle, so converting it to a different format would have reduced the size, but it wouldn't have improved the quality. In the future, I'll be sure to use GIF/PNG for such screenshots, but given that we're only saving 120KB of size for the whole article, it's not a big deal.As a side commentary: If you're surfing on a modem, each page of AnandTech (with ads) would still come in at about 170K without any additional images. The entire article with thumbnails comes to about 1.2 MB, and the size of all 12 pages with additional layout data would be around 3 MB. An increase of 3% or less in total content size (not even counting the higher resolution images). I don't see why anyone would notice or care.
As it stands, I don't have the original screen captures, so we're stuck with the gigantic JPG images that show compression artifacts when you zoom in to 200% or more. Sorry.
grug2k - Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - link
Ugh. Please use 8-bit PNG or GIF for your CPU-Z screenshots and the like. Those JPEGs are 5x the size and look terrible.JarredWalton - Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - link
re: #17 - Updated nForce4 informations:The nF4 Standard version does not support SATA-II and there is supposedly a mintor difference in the networking controller. Nothing major relative to the Ultra, I'd say.
JarredWalton - Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - link
Remember that the relative size of this case isn't that bad. It's about the same as the Soltek cases, and is roughly 1" longer, wider, and taller than the G5 XPC chassis. Are people really that concerned about an extra inch? I'm not.The lack of a PCI slot is something of a problem for now. If you can get a PCIe card with VIVO, you can get around that limitation, but that's about all I can say for now. Are there *any* X1 PCIe cards on the market yet? I'm not aware of any, and after almost a year of existence that's rather telling. NICs will probably be the first thing to show up, but more people are interested in audio and TV-tuner than in network support, I think.
Finally, I was incorrect in my classification of the chipset. It is actually the "nForce4 Standard", which is not a version I had heard of until now. Aparently it adds official 5X HT support and the hardware firewall. Really, I'm not entirely sure how it's different from the Ultra. The article is updated with this information.
arswihart - Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - link
it is nice, but I really appreciate an SFF when its as small as, say the Zen st62k, which I bought for my parents.When an sff gets to the size and price of this sn25p, it gets harder to choose this rather limiting and relatively expensive alternative to a standard ATX case with quiet cooling.
eastvillager - Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - link
I think the price is fine, just look at what you get, lol.Custom case, nf4 mobo, custom 350watt ps, drive cables, heatsink/pipe, 5 fans, etc.
This isn't the box you use to build your pvr, so don't worry about no pci slots for a tv tuner. If you want to build a pvr/htpc/etc., pick a smaller box.
Nice review, btw. :-)
GoatHerderEd - Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - link
#13 and everyone complaining about price: Shuttle can demand that price. They were the first, and they have some of the best quality or at least perceived quality. If people wouldn’t buy at that price, it wouldn’t be that high.I don’t see you complaining about Intel Prices, it is a very similar pricing strategy.
WooDaddy - Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - link
$400+ is the killer for me.. I think Shuttle is losing sight here..Jarod, let us know when you update those graphs. That's the real kicker for most of us here too. Subjective audio analysis doesn't really do it for me. BTW, just your personal opinion.. is it still safe to go AGP for the next 2+ years?
What I'd LOVE to see is a version of the Kloss KL-I915A with socket 939 and Nf4. Check out http://www.klosspc.com/ and you'll see what I mean..
Hell even the Asus S-presso would be nice..
arswihart - Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - link
i think it would have been better to have a pci slot than a pcie slot, thats really the worst thing about this sff imosideshow23bob - Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - link
Is anyone else concerned about the lack of PCI slots, wouldn't that be necessary to install a tv tuner, unless you went with an ALL In Wonder GPU? Do they make tuners for PCIex1?