BIOS

The DS61 comes with a Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) BIOS named Aptio Setup Utility, which, however, uses the old interface and doesn't support mouse input. Its available options are pretty limited.


We didn't find any voltage-control options and there aren't any clocking features.


You have the option to manually adjust the speed of the fans that cool the ICE module down through a preset fan profile. You can also leave it in smart-fan mode, which will adjust fan speed according to the CPU's temperature. We highly suggest using the latter mode if you want a quiet operation along with effective cooling when needed.

We would, although the DS61 wasn't meant for overclocking or similar stuff, like to see some voltage control. Clocking options would also be nice.

Performance

We chose to install mainstream components into our DS61 sample, so we used an Intel Pentium Dual-core G2020 CPU, two Corsair Vengeance Performance 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM memory modules rated at 1600 MHz, and an Intel X25-M 160 GB SSD.

PC Mark 07

The SSD drive that we installed into the DS61, although a rather outdated one, had a tremendous effect on its performance. The small DS61 managed to register the second highest overall score, but its graphics performance is a joke compared to that of the ASRock VisionX 321B HTPC, which, however, is equipped with a stronger CPU and a discrete GPU.

3D Mark 06

Third place here sounds good, but the gap in performance from first place is huge. We didn't expect better results from an Integrated Graphics Processor (IGP).

Power Consumption

CPU Utilization

Temperatures

As you can see, the cooling system of the DS61 easily coped with the max 55 W TDP of the Pentium G2020 dual-core CPU. According to Shuttle, the ICE module (the dual-fan heatpipe cooling system of the DS61) can even handle an i7-3770S.

Noise Output

We used a high-quality CEM-8852 Sound DB Meter that was installed 50 cm away from the DS61 for these measurements. The ambient noise in our lab during noise measurements was a little below 30 dBA, and the ambient was around 27°C. We took measurements with the DS61 in idle mode and while the 3DMark06 benchmark was running. The unit's output noise was below the ambient of our lab in both cases, which prevented us from getting a clear reading. This means that the DS61 features a silent operation under load, at least with the hardware we installed.

Shuttle states that ambient should, under similar conditions to ours and with an Intel Core i5-3450S installed, be around 25°C. Output noise at idle should be 24.5 dBA (fan speed: 1912 RPM) and 27.1 dBA during 3DMark06 (fan speed: 2250 RPM). We think that their numbers are, based on the numbers we obtained in our not-so-quiet lab, realistic in a dead-silent room.