Synthetic Gaming and ST20G5 IGP
While many will question the actual relevance of 3DMark03 scores in comparison to actual gaming performance, we do find the product to be very useful as a stress test of systems. If you can loop 3DMark03 for 24 hours without a crash on a system, we're generally willing to call the system 100% stable. We also use the program in looping mode as our stress test for checking system temperatures and noise levels. Since we had already run all of the systems with 3DMark03, we have included the results for reference.
The 3D portion of the score is biased heavily towards the graphics card, so it's not surprising to find that nearly all of the systems perform within 1% of each other - not counting the IGP of the Shuttle unit or the 330P. The CPU results are less dependent on the graphics card, but we still only get a 3% spread between the most of the systems - again, not counting the IGP score for the ST20G5 or the 330P. The Xpress 200 graphics of the ST20G5 are able to complete the benchmark, but just barely. As you'll see in our chart below, performance simply isn't adequate for some games.
3DMark03 was one of the applications that caused some stability problems for the 330P. Without having the System Control utility running, it simply would not complete at all. Even with the utility, the scores are quite a bit behind other units - 7% slower than the fastest in the 3D score, and a whopping 17% slower in the CPU test. Since this is more of a theoretical benchmark than a real game, we won't give it as much weight, but the fact remains that the CPU time used by the System Control utility as well as lower performance in general is a definite mark against the 330P.
ST20G5 IGP Results
We grouped all of the scores for the ST20G5 into one chart. Doom 3, even on the low detail setting, is completely unplayable. Disabling the shadows and bump mapping raised the scores to acceptable levels at 640x480, but the game simply isn't meant to be played that way in our opinion, so we're not reporting the results. The Xpress 200 graphics are slightly slower than an X300SE card, due to the use of system memory, and an X300SE is nothing special. Doom 3 clearly requires more memory bandwidth for its shadow calculations than what the RAM can provide. Half-Life 2 is a different story. It requires more pixel processing and CPU power and less bandwidth, enabling reasonably playable performance even at 1024x768. The City 17 level actually runs faster on the IGP than the Canals level, as the C17 level puts more strain on the CPU than the GPU. Low to mid 20 FPS scores aren't great, but you can live with them in a pinch.
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JarredWalton - Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - link
So I spoke too soon. After finishing this article, I just happend to come across http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">the new Aopen 939 SFF. That actually looks pretty promising, though the IGP isn't going to beat the ST20G5 that I can see (no DVI port). Time to put in a request for that unit....rqle - Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - link
Price of these SFF are getting quite pricey lately. So much to the point when you add the cpu, hard drive, memory, video card, optical drive AND LCD it will comes very close to the price of a good high end laptop on a good day. Dell 17inch 9300 w/6800 on a VERY good sale day comes just over the price of these SFF 'system.' Big fan of these SFF, but prices should be a little bit more reasonable for me to buy again.JarredWalton - Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - link
I agree with you on a lot of that, but a SFF with a 19" (or larger) LCD and a 6800GT/X800XL is pretty much going to stomp all over any similarly priced laptop. There's basically a $150 price premium to get a high-end SFF case, which is going to prevent many from buying. Still, some people buy $200 cases just because they look nice, so it's all a matter of taste.If you need portability, though, there are very few options other than getting a laptop. Personally, laptops and gaming are something I just don't care about. I'd get a cheap laptop for the office work I do and then keep a second system at home for any gaming. Some of course feel otherwise, but laptop keyboards and such just don't do it for me.
R3MF - Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - link
love it.BigT383 - Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - link
I have a first-generation SN95G5. I bought it thinking that since it's socket 939 I'd be able to upgrade to dual-core when it came out.Apparently this isn't the case, but I haven't seen anybody say they've tried it yet- so far there seem to be only rumors.
So I know this is a weird request but what I'd like to see right now is an article testing a CPU like the Athlon X2 4400+ on the three different versions of the SN95G5.
I can understand that X2s need a bios update, but the physical motherboard shouldn't be holding me back, right?
dcuccia - Thursday, August 18, 2005 - link
X2 support for the SN25P w/o USB2 issues is now available through a BIOS upgrade:http://www.shuttle.com/share/fae/hq/download/bios_...">http://www.shuttle.com/share/fae/hq/download/bios_...
JarredWalton - Thursday, August 18, 2005 - link
Thanks, I made a quick comment on the SN25P page to mention this.JarredWalton - Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - link
I'm going to be dropping an X2 3800+ into the SN95G5v2 just to see what happens. I'll try to get some official word from Shuttle on the matter as well. I really have no idea what the SN95G5v1 will support. I think the main change between it and v2 was a switch from an 80mm fan to a 92mm fan.Zirconium - Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - link
I love the roundup articles. I find them to be the most useful because they allow you to hone in on what you are looking for quickly, and then you can go to other sites and check the reviews that are solely for the products you are looking for.That said, one thing I'm interested is the quality of the integrated graphics on these computers. I have an SK41G and I could tell the difference between the quality of the built-in graphics and the AIW Radeon 7500 that is currently in it. When the integrated graphics were hooked up to a TV (I tried two) you could notice bands moving up the TV.