At first we would like to thank Shuttle Europe for offering a sample of their latest XPC Slim Barebone DH10J for testing and reviewing.

 

 

 

About Shuttle:

 

"Shuttle Inc, founded in Taiwan in 1983, is specialised in development and production of innovative mini PCs. The joint-stock company is represented worldwide by a network of branch offices in Germany, the US and Japan. Since 2001 the attractive cube-shaped PCs have conquered nearly any field of application and have become the core business of the company headquartered in Taipei / Taiwan. Widely acclaimed by customers and press across the globe, Shuttle founds its success on effective management and long-term experience in making mainboards of highest quality standards. Since years Shuttle's mini PC barebones and fully-configured systems are the first choice of many system integrators, VARs, OEMs and ODMs banking on the high reliability and build quality. With appealing mini PC solutions Shuttle meets the requirements of consumers excellently and seeks to provide further user-friendly solutions of consumer electronics for the digital home environment."

 

Suitable for three-monitor operation

Thanks to its three display connections, this model can drive up to three displays at the same time making it suitable for video walls, digital signage scenarios or workstation applications that require a huge amount of data to be processed simultaneously.

 

Mobile data transmission by LTE possible

For this model, the Shuttle range of accessories offers a separately available adapter kit which can be used to install 3G/4G modules in an M.2-3042 format. The kit consists of an adapter board with SIM card slot, two antenna cables and the appropriate antennas.

 

HDMI interface

Goodbye cable spaghetti! Modern flat-screen TVs and large-format TFT screens can be connected to this Mini-PC with just a single thin cable. Often the audio output is also transferred in brilliant quality via the HDMI cable.

 

High-resolution DisplayPort

The DisplayPort connector allows for connections with digital high-resolution displays. Besides picture signal, DisplayPort cables can also lead digital sounds signals in excellent quality.

 

Low energy consumption

Thrift is a virtue. In terms of power consumption this Mini-PC sets an example. It is not just good for the environment but for your pocket, too.

 

Fanless and whisper-quiet

The fanless technology used in this PC means it is incredibly quiet. Doing away with these mechanical components also reduces the number of wearing parts, making the machine more durable and stable.

 

Rapid system and program start-up thanks to NVMe support

SSDs are already very fast compared to hard disks. But what is possible thanks to M.2 modules with PCIe Express technology really takes your breath away. The NVMe modules process several gigabytes per second and thus ensure the system starts up in just a few seconds with noticeably shorter program start-up times.

 

Utilising mobile technology

An array of components from mobile devices are put to use in this Mini-PC. You can tell straight away by how quiet it is. The energy-saving technologies of the components used generate minimal heat, therefore additional fans are not required. The energy you save will soon be reflected in your electricity bills in the medium to long term.

 

You can rely on SSD

This is where an energy-saving "Solid State Drive" should be used. This drive technology guarantees extremely short access times, the highest data transmission rates and considerably lower energy consumption compared to conventional hard disks. SSDs have no mechanical components at all, are therefore subject to less wear and tear and consequently benefit from a longer service life.

 

Multiformat card reader

At last – no more searching for missing digital camera leads. Simply insert the memory card and you can access all stored photos and videos immediately.

 

Anti-theft protection

The Kensington Lock forms part of the anti-theft system. As with many other Notebooks, this Mini-PC can also be safely locked, ensuring long-term enjoyment from your Shuttle product.

 

Fan-less external power supply

A highly effective external power supply provides the Shuttle Mini-PC with its energy. And since it works without a fan, it is completely noise-free.

 

Connections without all those annoying cables

Data is transferred by WLAN completely without cables. Accessing the Internet and local network resources (e.g. printers) is now child's play when within range of an access point/hotspot.

 

Just 2.5" HDDs

An extremely compact PC housing offers less space for drives, that's why this Mini-PC uses slimline 2.5-inch hard disks. The advantage of this is that there's less noise, less heat generated and reduced power consumption. However small hard disks in a small housing does not have to mean less memory. Modern 2.5" HDDs are every bit as good as their 3.5" brothers.

 

Optimal air flow

Warm air is transported out of the chassis by means of cleverly arranged components, which enables a large number of parts to be cooled simultaneously in the air flow. At no time can heat build up and adversely affect the stability of the system.

 

The fastest connection to external peripheral devices available to date

The USB 3.0 connectors of this model allow for data transfer of up to 5 Gbit/s (625 MB/s). This enables external devices such as USB hard disks to be connected and run at nearly the same speed as their internal siblings. USB 3.0 is downward compatible so that also devices of previous USB generations can be hooked up.

 

Communication in the fast lane

The integrated gigabit LAN chipset opens up completely new possibilities for communication with no restriction on the speed of data transfer. Say goodbye to information bottlenecks, whether in the company network or for home Internet access.

 

 

Fanless and silent

Completely fanless, virtually noiseless

Passive cooling through convective heat transfer

Perfect to be used in noise-sensitive environments

Fanless means less dust and thus virtually no maintenance required

 

Low Power Consumption

Power consumption in idle mode: 4.6 W

Power consumption under full load: 11.3 W / 17.6 W (CPU / CPU+graphics)

(measured with 2x 4 GB DDR4-2400 SO-DIMMs and 120 GB 2.5" SSD under Windows 10 64-bit)

 

Chassis

Slim PC with black chassis made of steel

Dimensions: 190 x 165 x 43 mm (LWH) = 1.35-litre

Weight: 1.3 kg net and 2.1 kg gross

Two holes for Kensington Lock and numerous threaded holes (M3) at both sides of the chassis

 

Operation Position

1) Horizontal

2) Vertical with mounted feet.

These feet can be purchased as optional accessory PS02.

3) Vertical (e.g. VESA-mounted behind an appropriate monitor)

In vertical position, the front USB ports should points upward.

Ventilation holes must not be blocked to ensure sufficient cooling.

 

Operating System

This system comes without operating system.

It is compatible with

- Windows 10 (64-bit)

- Linux (64-bit)

Note: Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 are not supported

 

Processor

Intel® Celeron® Processor J4005, Dual Core

CPU clock frequency: 2.0 GHz, max. Turbo frequency: 2.7 GHz

Code name: Gemini Lake, Goldmont Plus microarchitecture

14 nm structure, FCBGA1090 package (soldered)

CPU cores / Threads: 2 / 2

L2 Cache: 4 MB

Thermal Design Power (TDP): 10 W

Supports x86-64, AES-NI, VT-x (EPT), VT-d

System-on-Chip processor (SoC) with integrated graphics processor, no chipset required

 

Integrated Graphics

The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is integrated in the processor

Intel® UHD Graphics 600 (9th Gen), graphics frequency: 250~700 MHz

Supports DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.3, OpenCL 1.2, OpenGL ES 3.0, Intel Quick Sync Video, Intel Clear Video (HD)

Execution Units (EU): 12

Triple Display Support via three video outputs:

- HDMI 1.4b: max. 4096 x 2160 @ 30 Hz or 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz

- DisplayPort 1.2: max. 4096 x 2160 @ 60 Hz

- D-Sub/VGA: max. 1920 x 1200 resolution @ 60 Hz

Supports two digital displays and one analog display simultaneously.

The D-Sub/VGA connector does not support the Hot Plug feature.

 

UEFI Firmware

16 MB Flash ROM with AMI's Aptio UEFI BIOS Firmware

Based on the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)

Supports Power fail resume / AC power on state / always on / always off

Supports Wake-on-LAN (WOL) from S3, S4, S5 ACPI states

Supports boot up from external flash memory cards

With embedded Firmware TPM v2.0 (fTPM)

 

Memory

2x SO-DIMM slots with 260 pins

Supports DDR4-2400 (PC4-19200U) SDRAM at 1.2V

Supports Dual Channel mode

Supports max. 8 GB per DIMM

Maximum total size: 8 GB (either 1x 8 GB or 2x 4 GB)

Supports two unbuffered DIMM modules (no ECC)

 

2.5" Bay for Hard disk drive/SSD

Supports one drive in 6.35 cm / 2.5" format (hard disk or SSD)

Serial ATA III Interface with up to 600 MB/s transfer speed

Max. height 12.5 mm

Pre-installed SATA cable (data / power)

Supports Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)

 

M.2 expansion slot for SSD card

M.2 2280 BM slot

Interfaces: PCI-Express Gen. 2.0 X4 (max. 16 Gbit/s) and SATA v3.0 (max. 6 Gbit/s)

Supports M.2 cards with a width of 22 mm

and a length of 42, 60 or 80 mm (type 2242, 2260, 2280)

Supports SATA SSDs (BM-Key) or NVMe PCIe SSDs (M-Key)

 

Integrated Audio

Realtek ALC269 Audio Codec

Two analog audio connectors (3.5 mm):

1) Line out (headphones)

2) Microphone input

Onboard connector for 2x 2 Watt speakers

Digital multi-channel audio output: via HDMI and DisplayPort

 

Card Reader

Integrated card reader supports standard SD, SDHC and SDXC memory flash cards

Supports boot from SD card

Controller: Realtek RTS5170 Media Processor

 

Wired Network

RJ45 connector supports Gigabit LAN at 10/100/1000 Mbit/s.

Intel i211 Ethernet Controller with MAC, PHY and PCIe interface

Supports Wake-on-LAN

 

Wireless Network (WLAN)

M.2-2230 WLAN card with Realtek RTL8188EE Controller

Supports IEEE 802.11b/g/n

Max. 150Mbps up-/downstream (1T1R) at 2.4 GHz

One external antenna supplied

 

LEDs and Buttons

Power button

Power LED (blue)

HDD LED (yellow)

 

Front Panel Connectors

2x USB 3.0

SD card reader

Audio line-out (headphones)

Microphone input

 

Back Panel Connectors

HDMI 1.4b digital video and audio output

DisplayPort 1.2 digital video and audio output

D-Sub/ VGA analog video output (15-pin) - no hot plug

4x USB 2.0

Gigabit network (LAN, RJ45)

2x RS232 serial port, 9-pin D-Sub (support of an auxiliary voltage of 5 / /12 V, the left port is switchable to RS422 / RS485), DC input for the external power adapter

4-pin connector (2.54 mm pitch) supports

- external power on button

- Clear CMOS function

- +5V DC voltage for external components

External WLAN antenna (perforation for second antenna available)

 

Other Onboard Connectors

Connector SPK1 (4-pin) supports two 2 W speakers

Connectors COM1/COM2 for serial ports (occupied)

Connector CN9 for supplied CMOS battery (type CR2032)

Jumper JP2 for power-on-after-power-fail (hardware solution)

 

Power Supply

External 40 W AC/DC power adapter (fanless)

AC Input: 100 ~ 240 V AC, 50 ~ 60 Hz

DC Output: 19 V / 2.1 A

Automatic voltage adjust

Dimensions: 89.5 x 37 x 26.5 mm (LWH)

 

DC Input connector

DC Connector: 5.5 / 2.5 mm (outer/inner diameter)

The DC-input of the computer supports an external power source with either 12 V ±5% or 19 V ±5%.

 

Supplied Accessories

Multi-language user guide (EN, DE, FR, ES, JP, KR, SC, TC)

VESA mount for 75 / 100 mm standard (two metal brackets)

Four thumbscrews M3 x 5 mm (screws together VESA mount and PC)

Four screws M4 x 10 mm (to affix VESA mount on the PC)

Four screws M3 x 4 mm (to mount a 2.5" storage into the bay)

Driver DVD (Windows 64-bit)

External 40 W power adapter with power cord

 

Optional Accessories:

- PS02: optional stand for vertical operation

- CXP01: adapter cable for external power button

- PRM01: 2U rack-mount front plate for two Shuttle XPC slim PCs

- WWN01: adapter plus 2 antennas & cables supports one M.2 LTE module and one SIM card

 

24/7 Nonstop Operation

This device is approved for 24/7 permanent operation.

Requirements:

- Free air circulation around the PC must be guaranteed.

- Ventilation holes must be kept clear.

- Any installed disk must also be approved for permanent operation by its manufacturer

 

Environmental Specifications

Operating temperature range: 0 ~ 40 °C

Relative humidity range: 10 ~ 90 % (non-condensing)

 

Certification and Compliance

EMI: FCC, CE, BSMI, RCM, VCCI, RED

Safety: CB, BSMI, ETL

Other: RoHS, Energy Star, ErP

This device is classed as a technical information equipment (ITE) in class B and is intended for use in living room and office. The CE-mark approves the conformity by the EU directives:

(1) 2004/108/EC relating to electromagnetic compatibility (EMC),

(2) 2006/95/EC relating to Electrical Equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits (LVD),

(3) 2009/125/EC relating to ecodesign requirements for energy-related products (ErP),

(4) 1999/5/EC related to Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment (R&TTE)

 

Shuttle has recently launched the successor of the DX30 fanless 1-litre PC, suitable for 24/7 operation that is now named DL10J. The previous generation was packing a Celeron J3355 Apollo Lake Dual Core processor, Intel 500 HD Graphics, support for DDR3L memory and different expansion options. With the DL10J, we are getting and upgraded Intel Celeron J4005 from the Gemini Lake generation running at higher clock speeds, while maintaining the same TDP; the Intel Graphics (UHD 600) features improvements as well, the system runs with DDR4 SODIMM this time, has a newer audio CODEC and small modifications in the back panel can be spotted as well.

The product is shipped inside a medium-sized cardboard box that highlights the usage model for this particular mini-PC:

 

 

 

As we have been accustomed before, on the side we will find the product serial number, but also some technical specifications:

 

 

 

For easy manipulation, the box does also feature a plastic handle:

 

 

 

After lifting the top box cover, we will get to see that the inside contents are fully protected by foam material:

 

 

 

First, we will remind of a separate cardboard enclosure that contains the bundle:

 

 

 

 

Here we can find:

 

-a WiFi antenna

-a power lead

-the power adapter

-VESA mounting adapters

-mounting screws

 

 

 

The power adapter is small and compact, since the DL10J is very efficient in this regard:

 

 

 

The mentioned adapter can supply a maximum of 40W and is provided with an activity LED:

 

 

 

 

The VESA mounts are offered by default, in order to easily mount the computer in the back of the display:

 

 

 

An installation disk is also provided, which contains the necessary drivers; if you have an Internet connection handy, you can always use the online resources in order to get the latest versions:

 

 

 

The Quick Installation Guide is offered in many languages, along with a separate leaflet, that contains the VESA mounting guide:

 

 

 

Each installation step is described with text and photos:

 

 

 

DL10J does feature the same dimensions as the previous model (190 x 165 x 43 mm) and even the color scheme has remained the same:

 

 

 

On the frontal panel of the unit, we do have the microphone and headphone jacks, the Power and HDD activity LEDs, one central Power button, a SD card reader but also two USB 3.0 ports:

 

 

 

The lateral panels of the unit do feature ventilation holes but also mounts for the optional vertical operation stands; a Kensington lock port is also supplied here:

 

 

 

 

In the back, we can spot contacts for fitting a separate power button, Clear CMOS but also +5V DC voltage supply for external devices. Furthermore, we do have the WiFi antenna port, no less than four USB 2.0 ports, a DisplayPort 1.2 digital video and audio output, a HDMI 1.4b digital video and audio output but also 2x RS232 serial ports (the left port is switchable to RS422/RS485). Moving on, we do have a D-Sub/ VGA analog video output (15-pin), a Gigabit network port but also a DC-IN port. For fitting a second antenna, a perforation is also available on the right side:

 

 

 

The bottom area of the unit does feature small, circular rubber feet for a horizontal mounting position:

 

 

 

Here we will locate the usual Shuttle sticker with the product code name and power rating:

 

 

 

By just removing two screws, we do have access to the DH10J internals; a mounting plate for an optional 2.5’’ HDD/SSD can be spotted here:

 

 

 

A passive aluminum radiator cools the Intel Celeron J4005 Dual Core SoC:

 

 

 

The CPU VRM is located in the vicinity:

 

 

 

An AW-NE199NF WLAN card is preinstalled (manufactured by AzureWave and using a Realtek RTL8188EE controller (1T1R 802.11bgn) and also supporting BT 4.0:

 

 

 

The 2280 M.2 BM slot supports PCI-Express Gen 2.09 x4 SSDs or SATA v3.0; the SSDs can have a length of 42, 60 or 80mm:

 

 

 

Two SODIMM DDR4 slots are provided, which support DDR4-2400 RAM (a maximum quantity of 8GB):

 

 

 

 

A closer inspection of the PCB does also reveal the ASMedia ASM1442K, which is a high-speed TMDS level shift IC for HDMI:

 

 

 

The CMOS battery is located near the CPU heatsink:

 

 

 

If not needed, the SATA cable can be removed from the board easily:

 

 

 

 

In order to help with our testing, Shuttle were nice and offered us an Intel 760p Series SSD, 128GB capacity:

 

 

 

This was paired by a dual-channel kit of Crucial 2x4GB SODIMM DDR4-2400 1.2V CL17:

 

 

 

The installation of these components inside the barebone was pretty straight-forward:

 

 

 

DH10J does feature a regular Aptio Setup Utility, so no fancy UEFI graphics here; the main menus are concentrated on the top area of the screen, while on the right we can consult several explanations of the included configuration options. The Main menu area does show the currently installed BIOS details, CPU info, total installed RAM quantity, but also allows the user to set the system date/time:

 

 

 

Advanced menu contains the following sub-sections:

 

 

 

The TPM Configuration area does allow configuration of a Security Device, if present:

 

 

 

Power Management Configuration area does allow us work with some of the usual PM functions:

 

 

 

Hardware Health Configuration does show the live CPU/System temperatures, but also the current voltages:

 

 

 

Advanced CPU details are available inside the CPU Configuration sub-section; here we can adjust some more values such as EIST, Turbo Mode, C State Support and Intel V.T.:

 

 

 

The USB Configuration menu does only display the currently detected devices:

 

 

 

From the OnBoard Device Configuration area we can enable or disable different interfaces such as Audio, LAN, Video Aperture size, M.2 slot function and more:

 

 

 

 

The SATA Configuration menu will display the currently connected storage devices:

 

 

 

From the Security menu, we can change the passwords, enable Flash Write Protection or work with Secure Boot:

 

 

 

The Boot priorities but also some miscellaneous options can be configured from the dedicated section:

 

 

 

 

The Exit menu does allow the user to Save, Discard or Load Factory Defaults:

 

 

 

First hardware monitoring program we have fired up is CPU-Z, with its multiple information tabs:

 

CPU

 

 

Caches

 

 

Mainboard

 

 

Memory

 

 

SPD

 

 

GPU-Z will give us a summary on the integrated GPU:

 

 

We have also fired up the latest AIDA64 for finding out more details regarding the internal components:

 

CPU

 

 

 

Motherboard

 

 

 

CPU IMC

 

 

 

Integrated Graphics

 

 

 

AIDA64

 

Cinebench R15

 

 

 

Blender Ryzen Render

 

 

PCMark 7

 

 

PCMark 8

 

 

SuperPI XS [2M]

 

X265 Benchmark 1080P 64-bit Normal

 

GeekBench 4

 

 

3DMark Vantage

 

 

3DMark 2013

 

 

Tomb Raider

Andrenaline Action Benchmark Presets

 

Hitman: Absolution

Andrenaline Action Benchmark Presets

 

Sleeping Dogs

Andrenaline Action Benchmark Presets

With the DL10J, Shuttle is offering a solid upgrade option from the Apollo Lake DX30, thanks to the upgrade to the latest generation Gemini Lake Intel Celeron J4005 SoC. Even if we are talking about the same TDP, IPC has been increased along with the maximum clock speeds and on the graphics side, the new processor does feature Intel UHD Graphics 600, being able to drive up to three monitors. The chassis is compact and solid and preserves the outside appearance as the previous model; the VESA mount is included in the package by default, so you can mount the mini-PC in the back of the display right away.

 

While the system can be used as a regular office PC (small to medium complexity workloads) and for viewing multimedia contents, Shuttle has added extra interfaces for digital signage and control PC use; with the arrival of the DL10J, the manufacturer has also introduced the WWN01 upgrade module in M.2 format. With this card, we can access 3G/4G Internet (via the included SIM slot), while the two provided antennas are meant to improve the speed and signal quality; the mentioned module does replace the stock WLAN card, so you need to decide which interface you will use before purchasing it.

 

The WWN01 module is not the only one we can purchase: Shuttle has also the PS02 (two stands for vertical operation), a cable for remote power-on connection (CXP01) and a 19" 2U rack mount front plate (PRM01).

 

In order to observe the maximum temperatures the system can get, we fired the AIDA64 stress test and monitored with the latest version of the HWiNFO64 application. While the system and its surroundings do remain at very acceptable temperatures, the SoC can get quite toasty (at about 83 degrees Celsius, ambient of 26 degrees Celsius), but it is well within specifications since TJunction is set at 105 degrees Celsius:

 

 

 

Regarding power consumption, the system draws very little: about 6.02W in IDLE and about 19W in Full Load, so pretty much the same as the older DX30.

 

The DL10J barebone RRP is about 168 Euros without taxes, while the WWN01 adapter can be had for about 45 Euros.

Shuttle XPC Slim Barebone DH10J is Recommended for:

 

 

 

We would like to thank again to Shuttle Europe for making this review possible!