Shuttle SH370R8 Barebones PC Review

A Closer Look

The Shuttle barebones systems keep a pretty similar design. We’ve reviewed a couple of them and this is a pretty familiar sight. that being said, it still looks fantastic, with a mostly aluminium construction that keeps it looking stylish and surprisingly lightweight. It’s also very compact, clocking in at just 21.5 x 19 x 32.2 CM, or 13.6 L.

While I expect some home users would be interested in these easy to deploy PCs, they are more tailored towards the professional sector. That’s understandable, but it looks good enough to put in your home, in the office, or anywhere for that matter.

Airflow

The chassis uses a high-airflow design, with a front mounted fan hiding behind that clean looking panel. There’s loads of ventilation down the left and right sides too, allowing your GPU, CPU, the PSU, etc, to get the airflow they need. There’s a large gap for airflow near the bottom and below that a flip-down I/O panel.

Rear I/O

Around the back, there is a fan mount, but it is occupied with the built-in CPU cooler. It’s a clever design that uses heatpipes from the socket to the radiator on the rear fan mount. Taking the heat well away from the motherboard before exhausting it directly out of the back; much like an AIO liquid cooler would, but using air cooling instead.

The rear I/O is pretty straight forward, and ticks all the right boxes. It offers up an array of USB 3.1 Gen. 2, USB 3.1 Gen 1, and USB 2.0 ports. There’s also dual Gigabit LAN with the Intel i211 controllers, three audio jacks, 1 x HDMI 2.0a and 2 x DisplayPort 1.2. That’s more than enough connectivity for virtually any PC. Plus, you’ll also find dual expansion slots, which should be perfect for a dGPU.

Interior

On the interior, you’ll find a pretty easy to use layout. The top panels lift off in one piece, for easy access. Then you’ll find four HDD bays right at the top for easy installation and removal. They’ll support SSDs too, with the PHD3 accessory. You can lift the whole HDD cage out too, giving you easier access to the DIMM slots and CPU socket.

It’s designed for quick installations though, which is why the CPU cooler uses those simple Intel click-mounts. Those wanting even more storage can use the M.2 2280/2260/2242 NVMe/SATA mount too. This also comes with support for Intel Optane drive. You’ll find a full PCIe x16 lane here, but also a 4x lane should you need it. Plenty of options to play with then!? So, let’s get this beast tested!