Interior/board layout

Shuttle relies on a tall heatsink/fan unit to keep the nForce3 Ultra chip cool. Right beside the chip, just below the processor lie the Serial ATA connectors. Placing the Serial ATA connectors so close to the CPU seems a bit dubious at first, but keep in mind that this location lies nearly directly underneath the Serial ATA hard drives once they’re installed. This allows Shuttle to use a much shorter Serial ATA cable than you’ll find normally with most motherboards, improving airflow. One criticism that we’ve had with Shuttle products in the past is cable management, so this is good.

Dual SATA connectors

IDE cable runs along inner edge of case

Speaking of cable management, Shuttle has gone out of their way to improve in this regard with SN95G5. A long, round IDE cable is pre-installed on the SN95G5’s inner chassis. It’s neatly bundled along the inner rail of the SN95G5, eventually resting right behind the optical drive along with two Molex connectors. Shuttle also carefully ties up an additional Molex connector along with Serial ATA power and floppy drive cables for powering those devices.

Board layout

Lying at the heart of the SN95G5 is Shuttle’s FN95 motherboard. The board supports the latest AMD processors and is thoughtfully laid out. For instance, Shuttle places the jumper to clear CMOS near the right edge of the board for easy access. The IDE connectors are located nearby, and, as we just mentioned, the secondary IDE cable is already pre-installed to run along the inner edge of the case, out of the way of critical system components to improve airflow.

Clear CMOS jumper

The IDE connectors

Shuttle also continues to provide a plastic holder for the IDE/floppy cables, which rests underneath the drive cage. This can be used as an alternative solution for arranging these cables if you wish. We would like to see Shuttle provide round IDE and floppy cables though. Included in the packaging are a conventional IDE and floppy cable, the pre-installed round IDE cable, an additional Molex power adapter, cable ties, thermal paste, Serial ATA data and power cables, and additional feet for the SN95G5’s chassis.

Hard drive cage, plastic tab holds IDE cable

You can see it here

Shuttle places the AGP slot on the outer edge of the motherboard, so double-slot graphics cards like the GeForce 6800 Ultra or GeForce FX 5900 Ultra won’t fit with the case cover in place. There’s plenty of room for long cards like GeForce 6800 GT though.

6800 GT fits fine

DIMM sockets and floppy connector

Shuttle places the floppy connector and two DIMM sockets on the opposite side of the board. This hinders airflow if you use the floppy connector, but is understandable considering the motherboard’s diminutive size. Fortunately, dropping RAM in the SN95G5 is a snap.

Active cooling on the nForce3 chip

Fan also cools power circuitry

Taking a look at the nForce3 Ultra itself, you’ll notice that Shuttle, like most motherboard manufacturers, integrates an active cooling on the nForce3 Ultra chip. Shuttle uses a large heatsink and ingeniously places the fan on the side of the heatsink rather than directly above it. This allows the fan to cool not only the chipset, but also the MOSFETs and capacitors behind it.