Features of the SN45G XPC Continued

Even though the MCP-T does support two Ethernet controllers, neither is utilized. Rather, Shuttle has used a Realtek RTL8801BL PCI controller chip for the LAN operations. Along with the Realtek LAN, Shuttle uses the RTL8818B Firewire PHY controller for adding the three Firewire ports.

Looking at the drive tray assembly we see that it has two purposes. Its first duty is holding the HDD, FDD and CD unit within the PC. Secondly, the drive tray is also responsible for retaining any face plates which are used when a drive is not present. This unit has to be removed in order to gain access to the CPU socket and cooling system.

Now we take a look at the power supply unit that comes with the XPC units. Taking a look at the specification for the model, we see that the power supply is made by a company called ACHME; the power supply proved to be ample enough and provided a strong signal throughout testing. No BSOD or random resets occurred even with heavy hardware installed and under extreme load.

The unit provides a standard 20 pin ATX connector as well as a 4 pin AUX12v connector. This is to provide the CPU with more amps than the 5v and 3.3v lines can give. Two FDD connectors are provided, one for the obvious, a Floppy disk drive and one for a possible Radeon 9xxx classed video card. Three HDD power connectors are provided, one for a HDD, one for a CD drive and one spare for possibly GF FX video card. We pushed this system to the edge with both FX 5600 Ultra and Radeon 9700 Pro cards, not one problem came up, even under overclocked conditions.

Shuttle uses an I.C.E Cooling technology system on all of its XPC units, only the retention mechanism differs between the Intel and AMD designs. I.C.E stands for Integrated Cooling Engine. This consists of a heatpipe assembly with an 80mm fan that removes heat from the radiator assembly and expels it out the back of the case. A large alloy baseplate sits a top of the CPU which is screwed down to the chassis with four screws and base holes. This unit removed the heat generated by the die of the CPU with relative ease, even when overclocked. This heat is then transferred along four pipes to a radiator fin assembly. To protest the die of the latest AMD CPU's, a Copper shim is included that fits any AMD Socket A CPU.