Gaming Scores With 3DMark 2001 and Quake 3 You Can't Work ALL The Time!

This wouldn't be a HotHardware review without a healthy dose of gaming benchmarks!  We ran the venerable Quake 3 Arena v1.17 though two timedemos, using the built-in Demo001.  One test run was at low-resolution in an attempt to isolate CPU performance, the other was at 1024x768x32 with all the image quality settings maximized.

Unfortunately, even at 640x480x16, Quake 3 Arena was fillrate limited by the somewhat low end on-board graphics.  At 1024x768x32, the SS50 wasn't able to break the 40FPS mark, but the game was semi-playable.  With further video driver optimizations and with a 166MHz. (PC2700) memory clock, playable frame rates at 60FPS+ should be attainable.  Next we tested DirectX 8 performance with MadOnion's 3D Mark 2001 SE.

Don't look at these low scores and groan, there is an interesting story here.  We ran the default 3D Mark benchmark using the video drivers on the included Shuttle CD and also with the newer versions that were available on the Taiwanese SiS website.  The newer drivers performed over 20% higher than the ones included by Shuttle.  This is a sure sign that there is definite room for even greater improvements in future revisions.  Also, seeing scores this low may lead you to believe that DirectX gaming is out of the question with the SS50, but this is not so.  We quickly fired up Max Payne and played through a few levels at 800x600, with all of the in-game video options set to medium, and while the game was not as "pretty" as we've seen with a high-end video board, it was still enjoyable.  The integrated graphics are by no means powerful, but they are capable of running most games at lower resolutions.
 

Jammin' With The Stones It's Time For Work!

We also ran ZD Labs' Business Winstone 2001 and Content Creation 2002 benchmarks.  These benchmarks measure a PC's overall performance when running actual Windows-based 32-bit applications.  The applications are run through a series of scripted activities and the time it takes the PC to complete those activities is used to produce the performance scores.

These scores are measurably lower, in the neighborhood of 10%, than what we've seen similarly configured 2.2GHz. Pentium 4 systems.  There are few reasons why this is so.  First, keep in mind the SS50 has integrated video that is sharing the system memory, so the total 256MB of installed RAM is not available for the OS and applications.  Also, shared video memory uses some of the available bandwidth, which further hinders performance.  These two issues, coupled with the lackluster driver performance contribute to the lower overall scores.
 

FINAL THOUGHTS:

While we were not terribly blown away by the performance scores, we have to admit working with the Shuttle SS50 barebones system was a pleasure.  This small wonder is packed with features, is very stable and delivers exactly as advertised.  Shuttle has not targeted this product to the hardcore performance-minded enthusiasts, but rather to the user looking for a system to fill specific tasks, where a "full blown" system may be overkill.  The Shuttle SS50 barebones system can be used in so many different ways, its almost impossible to list them all.  LAN gamers looking to get in on a little action without lugging around a full sized system will love the SS50, providing they add a higher performing PCI video board (No AGP slot! Ugh!).  Pick up a 15" Flat Panel and some headphones and LAN gamers will have themselves a modest system that will fit in a large backpack!  Someone looking to use a PC as the centerpiece for a home theater will fancy the SS50's classy looks and diminutive size.  Even DJ's looking to have a mobile MP3 collection without having to shell out a sizable chunk of change for a decent laptop will appreciate the portability and capable integrated sound.  Heck, if you're just someone looking for a PC with a tiny footprint, the SS50 is for you!  Based on it's innovative design, affordable price (under $340 US as of the time of this writing) and decent performance, we give the Shuttle SS50 mini barebones system a HotHardware Heat Meter rating of...7.5

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