SH55J2 by Shuttle is the most successful solutions of their own line. The product is on the outside as usual Shuttle, with a compact black case made entirely of aluminum and steel, able to perfectly combine great structural strength and low weight. The front is very simple and straightforward, a hidden compartment in the top optical drive, retrievable by simply pushing the only button in the center of the clear body.
At his side, built in the shape of logos Shuttle Xpc, there is the power button and shut down. In the lower part concealed by a small hinged door, but instead are the connections front, with a good overall endowment consists of a USB 2.0, headphone and microphone jacks, an eSATA port and a slot for memory cards SDHC, MMC Sony and Memory Stick. They are unfortunately absent, this being a mid-range model, 802.11 and Bluetooth wireless connections. The back houses the remaining connections provided by the Shuttle’s motherboard production used internally: we sorted a VGA and an HDMI integrated capable of driving external video streams generated by the graphics core integrated in many of the latest generation Intel CPUs, flanked by four gates USB 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet connector and five analog audio jacks to drive up to 7.1 channels. For digital optical audio output is also present, located just below the power supply. The latter has declared a maximum power of 300 watts, more than enough to drive a compact system like this, and is perfectly integrated into the structure. Worth mentioning is the 80 PLUS Bronze certified power, yet another added value to this system very well balanced.
The interior shows the usual attention to its construction as a manufacturer Shuttle Computer, every element is designed to deliver optimal air flow and ensure the cooling of all components, while the accessibility and maintenance are guaranteed with a few simple , moves. The center is occupied by the motherboard’s socket LGA 1156, on which you can install the Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 CPU i7 9xx exclusion of, its socket LGA 1366. The Shuttle’s heat sink used, called ICE (Integrated Cooling Engine) provides a small element with four heat pipes positioned above the CPU and a larger radiating element on the back of the houses hit by a constant flow of cool air generated by a compact but powerful 92 mm fan. The adjustment of the cooling system is the BIOS of the motherboard, and can be set in a fixed manner on three different speeds (the latest, top speed, particularly effective but noisy) or in smart mode, where the rotation and noise products vary depending on the temperature of the processor. With this setting, along with a high-power CPU (TDP models are supported up to 95 watts), the system has never reached such temperatures as to force the fan to speed up significantly, making the system extremely quiet.
The motherboard is also home to four slots for DDR3 memory modules, positioned in such a way that even the best performing models are not disturbed by various bulkheads or interference. Shuttle shall operate in dual channel modules for up to 4 GB each, for a theoretical maximum for use on board as many as 16 Gbytes. The expansion is also provided by a PCI Express 16X connector that allows the installation of all single-GPU graphics cards on the market. Even the larger models if equipped with dual-slot coolers, they can be accepted with some care in assembly, within the system. Next to the first PCI slot is a traditional, though used only in conjunction with the integrated graphics card or a small size. The installation of the storage devices is via a bracket that holds a 5.25-inch device and two 3.5-inch drives, are present on the motherboard SATA II connectors four free, in addition to that already occupied by the door eSATA on the front.
Our performance tests, carried out using good components like the Intel Core i5 750 with 2.67 GHz and the AMD Radeon HD 6850 graphics card, perfect show results comparable to those obtained with a traditional desktop system based on the same elements. The form factor does not affect it at all achievable performance, a sure sign of how Shuttle has been able to optimize the internal parts designed specifically for SH55J2. Using the latest products, offering very high performance with good fuel economy can achieve a level of personal productivity or performance of three-dimensional optimum level, more than suitable for any home user. The price to pay for the system is complex in content, for the purchase of the same elements-style desktop than the overall cost would be about 70$, definitely a fair price to pay for the chance to adopt a form factor so special. This Shuttle SH55J2, given its particular characteristics, it is perfectly suitable for those who want to combine in an elegant performance, a small possibility of system expansion and a unique form factor.
