March 30, 2005
Shuttle XPC SB81P Review
Hardware enthusiasts love their small form-factor PCs these days. SilentPC reviews the latest and greatest Shuttle XPC SB81P. Being a noise focused site, they pan the high noise levels of the SB81P, however the performance and features are top notch.From a noise perspective, we cannot recommend the SB81P. At 32 dBA/1m, its noise floor is simply too high to be considered quiet. A large part of the problem is the use of five fans, three of which are smaller and thinner than the 80 x 25mm design that is the smallest size in which quiet fans are commonly found. A further problem is the aluminum construction of the case, although this is a shared failing with almost every SFF system on the market.
