A Closer Look - Inside

Let us now take a look at what is hiding behind this brushed cover. You only have to take three thumbscrews off to remove the top and side cover.


Its dimensions may be small, but there is enough room internally because the cooling system occupies very little space. The latter only supports CPUs with up to 95 W power consumption, so we strongly advise you to use a low TDP CPU to have its fan spin at lower RPMs, where noise output is significantly lower than at full speed.


The drive cage is held in place by two screws, and you have to completely remove the cage to install the drives. The whole process is thankfully very easy, but Shuttle unfortunately didn't provide an SSD adapter (3.5" to 2.5") in the bundle, so you have to spend around 13 bucks to buy the optional PHD3 component for the installation of up to two SSDs in a 3.5" bay.


The mainboard uses an ATX connector and not an EPS one since power requirements are low.


The area around the CPU socket is clear enough on three sides, but the fourth side is rather close to the DIMM slots. However, you won't need to install an aftermarket cooler, so there is nothing to worry about here.


Besides the PCI-E X16 slot, there is also a smaller PCI-E X1 one. The latter can be used by a PCIe SSD or sound card; that is, if the Realtek ALC892 isn't enough for you.


The mainboard features four SATA 3 connectors, so it will easily cover most needs.


Only use a pair of modules and you will, according to the installation guide, be able to install them into the yellow slots.


These are the two mini-PCIe slots of the mainboard. One can take fully sized cards while the other can hold half-sized ones.


The CPU is powered by three power phases, and a single heatsink cools down the fets.


The PSU has a capacity of 300 W and is 80 Plus Bronze certified.


The I.C.E. cooling system's heatsink has three heatpipes and its dimensions are relatively small. It also weights very little. It secures to the socket with the same pins as Intel's standard cooler. We would, to be frank, prefer a more sturdy and secure mechanism with screws, but it did the job just fine.


The cooling fan is made by AVC (Asia Vital Components), and its model number is DS09225R12HP207 (92 mm, 12V, 0.41A). It, according to the sticker, uses hydraulic bearings, the currently best variant as it increases the fan's life cycle significantly.