Shuttle SZ68R5 Review

[An Exception]

Can one of these shuttles with either sandy bridge or ivy bridge run a 2560x1600 monitor on the integrated graphics and Shuttle DVI Port?
Ideally I need to be able to use 5 sata slot's, 2 for SSD raid 0, 2 for raid 1, 1 for DVD drive.
But the shuttle only having 4 sata slot's is a bit of a head scratcher.

I plan on using the system mainly for photoshop for photo editing. Photoshop only uses the GPU for open GL, I don't think this is too intensive, so I hopefully it will work ok?

If the integrated GPU is enough then ideally I can then get a HighPoint 2720SGL for a SSD raid setup.
However if there is a way to use 5 standard sata slot's, maybe by some kind of adaptor, then I can put a nice beefy GPU in the system instead to use for casual gaming.

 

[SimonMaltby]

With regards SATA ports...
You can
1) get an m-SATA SSD drive
2) Get an e-SATA to SATA cable and route from the outside back of the case inside

So you can use 6 SATA devices with whats already there.

I cant confirm the max resolution of the intergrated, but this should be determined by the CPU so do a search for the info based on the CPU u will use.

The other alternative is get a single slot pci-e gpu that will leave a pcie x4 slot free and useable for an SATA card. I have been working on a riser that would enable the x4 slot to be used with a double width GPU, but not getting on that well so far.

 

[An Exception]

^^^
The raid card is a x8, so can't use the x4 slot, so would have to go with the x79 version if I want to have a single slot GPU & 2720SGL raid card.

The other solution I thought of was to get a x79R5 and watercool the whole system. that way I could get a GPU block and convert a double width GPU into a single, & get a raid card in.
I already have most of the watercooling gear I need, but could maybe plonk a 180mm rad and fan on the top of the case, as well as maybe a 92mm rad at the back. Hopefully I can make it still look neat.

 

[SimonMaltby]

Would it not be cheaper to get a x4 PCIe raid card?

 

[An Exception]

^^^
I don't think so, I can't find a raid card that offers that kind of performance for a similar price, as I'll eventually like to hook up about 4 Samsung 830's in raid 0.

 

[SimonMaltby]

^^^
I don't think so, I can't find a raid card that offers that kind of performance for a similar price, as I'll eventually like to hook up about 4 Samsung 830's in raid 0.

If you want this level of RAID I question if a SFF machine is the right solution.
I'm currently running mine using 2 x Vertex 4's in Raid 0, a single Vertex 3, a single 1TB Mechanical all using the onboard intel raid. (V4's on the 6GB ports, the V3 and 1TB on the 3GB ports) and the DVD drive using the rear esata port.

 

[An Exception]

Hi Simon, I think saner minds are beginning to prevail and I understand I need to compromise somewhere.
Are you able to post a pic of how you routed the DVD esata cable?
Also what kind of speeds are you getting with your vertex 4's in raid 0?

I think I might go for a similar setup as you, but with 2x ssd's in raid0, 2x 2.5" HDD's raid 1, and hopefully the DVD configured with esata like you have done.

I'll be able to run something like a 7970 or 50 in the PCI slot then if onboard graphics are not powerful enough.

I'm not certain, but I'm currently planning to get a SZ77R5 as it's only £10 more, as well as a i5-3570K (don't really want hyper-threading).

 

[SimonMaltby]

Can take a photo over the weekend, not near the machine at the moment.
I took the Com port cover off the back of the case which is in a nice place and just run the esata cable (Esata to SATA was a couple of £ on the bay) through the hole. Its just below the PSU.

My V4's in Raid 0 fly, they are 128GB each. Using AS SSD bench I score 1992

 

[An Exception]

Ok great I have a much clearer idea now, so no need for a photo. Just curios what sort of throughput does the raid0 produce? is it limited to 600/650mb/s like my old ICH10?

 

[SimonMaltby]

Ok great I have a much clearer idea now, so no need for a photo. Just curios what sort of throughput does the raid0 produce? is it limited to 600/650mb/s like my old ICH10?

No not limited, we are talking SATA 6GB on tw channels. using ATTO it peaks at about 850 read and write - but bear in mind the Vertex 4 and ATTO do not go well together so actual throughput is at least that.

I would also like to point out that I have tried my SSD drives on several machines - all the ASUS motherboard take ages to load windows 7... The Shuttles are very, very fast - with or without RAID.

 

[An Exception]

Excellent news, thank you for clearing that up, as that was the only thing I was a little concerned about.

 

[Mercutio]

Just wanted to check - how good is the audio on these? Would a Xonar U3 (USB) be a reasonable upgrade? Just considering having one of the front USB headers rigged to an internal USB hub (common to get ones that run on 5v so very easy to power). It would then be relatively simple to re-direct the front audio to the audio ports on the xonar, have it plugged into the hub and have one of the front headers go to the hub too.

Alternatively I could get a little creative with the dremel and build the xonar into the front of the desk and have it plug into one of the rear USB ports. Very tempted with one of these

 

[Beans on toast Dave]

have been installing mine today but have a few problems

have updated bios to use ivybridge
using w7 64bit
installs fine but when all updates are installed the cpu fan runs fast
also it has problems starting, get to the windows screen then resets

any ideas?
seems fine before updates

seems to be a onboard graphics issue, part of the updates included the driver
as soon as its installed, cpu fan runs at full speed and it then resets when booting

does not help as shuttle do not seem to want to answer emails, and there is no contact number except for Taiwan or USA

must admit i not really impressed all other shuttle i have had in the past have been great this ones a pain so for

 

[Jakus]

Just putting together the replacement for the one I sent back with a noisy PSU and fan...pleased this one is much better.

Tried the latest bios and it's overvolting the CPU (normal manufactures BS up the volts with the multiplier) however this is with Overclocking turned off !!

I do wish Shuttle could employ a bios engineer that could give their products proper bioses....they must lose plenty of money with returned products because of the lack of memory support etc.. Crazy thing is they have been this bad for years !

 

[Beans on toast Dave]

new bios up today guys

 

[Jakus]

Cheers

 

[daddyorchips]

All. I've just noticed that my Corsair DDR3 1600mhz ram (2x4gb) is running at a ratio of 5:1 (=1333mhz). Any thoughts on how to change this? I've attempted numerous bioses - if I select XMP profile 1 (2 is not selectable), my pc fails to boot. Also, when changing the memory settings to manual, I can't alter the multiplier from 1.33 to 1.00 (option is there but it fails to select, dropping back to 1.33 each time I select it).

Simon, if you're still about, your modded bios night be just what I need!