Shuttle SN41G2 nForce2 IGP SFF Review (7)
Overclocker 6 Jan 2002

In our tests, the overall performance of this board is above average compared to the other boards. In fact, under the graphics section, it even outperform the Epox 8RDA+ based on the discrete nforce2 chipset. The performance drops once you use the integrated on board GF4 MX. To be able to tap into the speed, you must occupy the only 2 banks with RAM. Thus, if you want to buy RAM, you might need to consider buying 2 sticks of 256M rather than 1 stick of 512M. From the benchmarks, we can see that the performance level of the SN41G2 is similar to the EPoX 8RDA+. In some of the tests though, both SN41G2 and 8RDA+ falls a bit short when compared to ECS K7S7AG based on the upcoming SIS 746 chipset by a bit.

Feature wise, this board has the necessary features supporting 333/266 SDRAM up to 2GB, 5.1 Channel Audio, USB 2.0 Ports, Onboard 10/100Mbps LAN, SPDIF, IEEE1394, on board GF4 MX graphics. The only disappointment is it didn't provide only has 1 PCI and 1 AGP slot for expansion. Overclocking features are lacking from this box and there are only 1Mhz stepping for adjusting the FSB and there are many options for async memory settings. It's a pity that there is no multiplier control and voltage tweaks within the BIOS.

During our installation, we didn't encounter major problems until we use the integrated video. In my case, I use a A-B switch for my test platform and another is my desktop machine so that I can switch between the two machines sharing one monitor. When I hook up the SN41G2 with the A port and power up, there is no display. The indicator light on the monitor keeps flashing. I later connect the monitor directly to the box and the display is fine. Hmm, looks like certain pins are missing or filtered out while going through the A-B switch box.

The documentation is fine but it probably needs to include more information e.g. compatibility checklist to make it better. There is only English and Chinese instructions in the manual.

Overall, I find that the Shuttle SN41G2 is the first nForce2 box that provides the best AMD experience to date. The only drawback which is due to chipset is that async memory settings won't run as fast as running in Sync mode e.g. 266/266, 333/333 (AXP2700/2800+). Well, that is my findings. Feel free to click the discuss link and tell us what you feel about this product.

Retail price : MSRP USD 360 (based on documentation provided)
* pricing based on pricewatch.com and are subjected to changes without notice

Discuss

Below, we list down some pros and cons of this board :

Pros:

• FSB (1mhz stepping)
• USB 2.0
• 1394
• AGP 8x
• LAN

Cons:

• No Vcore, Vdimm, Vagp voltages settings
• No SerialATA
• 2 DIMM slots only
• Poor thermal double side tape for SB

Ratings

Here are my ratings out of 10.

Highly Recommended

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