Shuttle SZ68R5 Review

SimonMaltby · 21 Jan 2012 at 22:15

Shuttle have very kindly given me one of thier latest bare bones machines, the SZ68R5 which I have now reviewed.

The full review can be found Here

The SZ68R5 is a typical Shuttle cube computer built with the Intel Z68 Express chipset and this should be a great improvement over the previous SH67H3 and SH67H7 which were based on the Intel H67 chipset.

The R5 chassis is very slightly bigger than the H3/H7 and seems to have more space inside due some structural changes and the re-possitioning of the PSU.

So this shuttle is for the Intel Sandybridge 1155 socket CPU and supports unlocked K processors.

Please post any comments or questions and I will be happy to answer.

Noroom · 21 Jan 2012 at 22:45

Thank you very much, interested in this case for a build in the near future

Steeps · 21 Jan 2012 at 22:56

I really wish Shuttle would make ATX cases, I've always loved the quality of the build and design of all the cases I've worked on. Thanks for the pictures

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 21 Jan 2012 at 22:56

Can the case accept mini-ITX motherboards like some of the other Shuttle systems??

SimonMaltby · 21 Jan 2012 at 23:03

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
Can the case accept mini-ITX motherboards like some of the other Shuttle systems??

No, it's still got shuttles own riser/screw positioning. So it's shuttle motherboards only without modifying the case.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 22 Jan 2012 at 11:10

SimonMaltby said:
No, it's still got shuttles own riser/screw positioning. So it's shuttle motherboards only without modifying the case.

IIRC,the H3 and H7 were the same too. Yet,the R4 can take mini-ITX motherboards and is made of aluminium.

TBH,it is a nice looking system,but the lack of mini-ITX compatability means the case is wasted unless you mod it like I did with my G2. The SD37P2 I have is a nice case but it is wasted once the motherboard goes kaput.

I wish Shuttle would keep to their promise and release the case and power supply combinations separately.

SimonMaltby · 22 Jan 2012 at 12:44

CAT-THE-FIFTH...
Why are you so desperate to fit a mini-ITX board into the shuttle?
Shuttle make good motherboards, although thier bios development is not the best.

The SZ68R5 motherboard has standard Intel heatsink holes which means that watercooling will become an option. I have ordered a load of H2O kit for next week and plan to see just how well this can be achieved. I'm going to do the CPU and GPU using a 92mm Rad, which should just replace the Shuttle ICE without any modification at all.

Personally I would like to see much more bios development or for Shuttle to partner with Asus or Gigabyte and either get them to build motherboards for the Shuttle, or at least help with bios and windows tools development.

CrimsonAvenger · 22 Jan 2012 at 12:48

Thanks Simon. I look forward to the full review

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 22 Jan 2012 at 13:05

SimonMaltby said:
CAT-THE-FIFTH...
Why are you so desperate to fit a mini-ITX board into the shuttle?
Shuttle make good motherboards, although thier bios development is not the best.

The SZ68R5 motherboard has standard Intel heatsink holes which means that watercooling will become an option. I have ordered a load of H2O kit for next week and plan to see just how well this can be achieved. I'm going to do the CPU and GPU using a 92mm Rad, which should just replace the Shuttle ICE without any modification at all.

Personally I would like to see much more bios development or for Shuttle to partner with Asus or Gigabyte and either get them to build motherboards for the Shuttle, or at least help with bios and windows tools development.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=21092637&postcount=27

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 22 Jan 2012 at 13:46

Merged with other post.

dunny87 · 25 Jan 2012 at 04:14

had a 3 shuttles over the years, but not one recently, but this looks tempting :>

-BA- · 25 Jan 2012 at 10:53

Simon do you think the Sapphire HD6670 Ultimate Edition would fit in the case? Do you think the heatsink would take up too much room and/or not be effective in a case without much airflow?

Would love the idea of running that card in this case with the watercooling stuff you have ordered (unless you are able to get w/c going on a card too). Not sure how well this card will stand up to some moderate gaming (if it could run Eve Online acceptably well, I would be happy).

Jay794 · 25 Jan 2012 at 10:56

Recently GIVEN?

As in you got it free, how?

I'd definitely going to invest in one of these, whats the retail price and what comes with it?

SimonMaltby · 30 Jan 2012 at 10:34

Still working through the review, should be done by the end of this week

Shuttle just sent me a new Bios with Overclocking enabled. My 2600K is straight in at 4.5Ghz without any issue.

SimonMaltby · 31 Jan 2012 at 10:54

I need to correct my earlier statement that the SZ68R5 will not accept mini-ITX motherboards. Shuttle have just demonstrated that it does and all you need are two motherboard risers.

PS: Now at 4.8GHz Prime stable - bit hot, as you would expect, but wow.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 31 Jan 2012 at 15:19

SimonMaltby said:
I need to correct my earlier statement that the SZ68R5 will not accept mini-ITX motherboards. Shuttle have just demonstrated that it does and all you need are two motherboard risers.

PS: Now at 4.8GHz Prime stable - bit hot, as you would expect, but wow.

Thanks for finding this out!! Just looked at the official document and mini-ITX support is now mentioned:

http://www.shuttle.eu/fileadmin/resources/download/docs/spec/barebones/SZ68R5_e.pdf

How hot do the VRM sections run - I know on the P2 series models and a few of the AM2 ones they could run quite hot when overclocked(lead to capacitors blowing if not actively cooling).

Do the VRM capacitors and heatsinks feel hot to the touch??

I might need to consider one now!

SimonMaltby · 31 Jan 2012 at 15:35

At 4.8GHz and running prime, they do feel warm, but far from excessive.
I did have to mod the bios to make 4.8 stable they had set too low a maximum load wattage which made it throttle when under full load.

I think if I were going to run 4.8GHz all the time, I would cool the VRM but at 4.5GHz I think everything will be fine. Mind you everything scales back well, so its only pulling the power when needed.

lrlcr · 31 Jan 2012 at 15:38

Watercool it!!!!!

Paramount · 31 Jan 2012 at 21:38

This looks tempting. And just as I was settled on a Lian Li PC-Q25!

the1gooner · 1 Feb 2012 at 00:00

Looks great, the last shuttle I had was the SN25P and that was an excellent bit of kit at the time running an Opteron 146 at up to 3.0Ghz

Look forward to seeing more of this.