At first we would like to thank Shuttle Europe for offering a sample of their latest XPC nano NC10U3 Barebone 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."

 

HDMI 2.0

The enhanced version of the popular HDMI standard permits even higher screen resolutions. 4K playback in resolutions of 3.840x2.160 and above promise breathtakingly sharp details. And the audio signal is of course still transmitted via the same cable – creating fewer cables.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Intel chipset inside

Play it safe with the reliable chipsets from the world's largest chip manufacturer. Intel chipsets have proven themselves over many years, have been presented with awards by the trade press and offer the best possible degree of compatibility.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Securely attached

The practical VESA mounting surface on the back of the device enables it to be attached to monitor arms or wall mounts. The VESA format is standardized, making it suitable for most mounts.

 

The interface for the fastest of memory media

Internal drives to be used inside this Mini-PC can transfer data at a speed of up to 6 Gbit/s. Hard drives thus run significantly faster and brand-new media technologies such as SSDs can use their full potential. Be sure to look for SATA 6 Gbit/s.

 

Chassis

Barebone PC with a black plastic chassis

Dimensions: 142 x 142 x 42 mm (LWH) = 847 ml

Weight: 0.4 kg net, 1.2 kg gross

Hole for Kensington Lock

Includes vertical stand and 75 / 100 mm VESA mount

Low Power Consumption

Power consumption in idle mode with 2.5" SSD under Windows 10: ca. 6 W only

 

Operation Position

1) Horizontal

2) Vertical with stand

3) VESA-mounted behind an appropriate monitor

 

Operation System

This barebone system comes without operating system.

It is compatible with:

- Windows 10, 64-bit

- Linux, 64-bit

 

Processor

Model: Intel Core i3-8145U (ULV)

System-on-a-chip architecture (SoC) with integrated memory and graphics controller: no chipset required

FCBGA1528 package - directly soldered onto the mainboard

Code name: Whiskey Lake U (8th Generation Intel Core)

Cores / Threads: 2 / 4

Clock rate: 1.8 GHz

Max. Turbo Frequency: 3.9 GHz

L1/L2/L3 Cache: 128 kB / 512 kB / 4 MB

TDP wattage: 15 W maximum

Manufacturing process: 3rd-generation enhanced 14nm++

Maximum Tjunction Temperature: 100 °C

Supports 64-bit, VT-x (EPT), VT-d, Enhanced SpeedStep, NX bit, AES-NI, SSE 4.1/4.2

 

Cooling Fan

Built-in CPU cooling fan with 4-pin connector

Supports temperature-controlled RPM fan speed

 

Integrated Graphics

Intel UHD Graphics 620

GPU clock frequency: 300~1000 MHz

Execution Units (EUs): 24

Supports DirectX 12

Supports full H264, H265 8/10 bit, VP8/9, VC-1, AVC hardware decoding

Supports Quick Sync Video and Clear Video HD technology

Supports up to two independent screens:

1) DisplayPort 1.2 supports Ultra HD @ 60 Hz

2) HDMI 2.0a supports Ultra HD @ 60 Hz

 

Mainboard / BIOS

AMI BIOS in 8 MByte EEPROM with SPI interface

Supports resume after power failure

Supports Wake on LAN (WOL)

Supports Power on by RTC Alarm

Supports booting from USB devices and SD card reader

Supports hardware monitoring and watch dog function

Supports Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)

Supports Firmware TPM v2.0 (fTPM)

 

Power Adapter

External 65 W power adapter (fanless)

Input: 100~240 V AC, 50/60 Hz, max. 1.6 A

Output: 19 V DC, max. 3.42 A, max. 65 W

DC cable ca. 175 cm with coaxial connector: 5.5 / 2.5 mm (outer/inner diameter)

The DC-input of the computer supports 19V±5%.

AC cable, ca. 170 cm, with flat, two-pole Europlug

 

Memory support

2x SO-DIMM slot with 260 pins

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

Supports DDR4-2666 at 2400 MHz

Supports Dual Channel mode

Supports a maximum of 32 GB per DIMM,

maximum total size: 64 GB

Supports two unbuffered DIMM modules (no ECC or registered)

 

2.5" Drive Bay

Supports one Serial ATA hard disk

or one SATA SSD drive in 6.35 cm / 2.5" format

Device height: 15 mm (max.)

Supports Serial-ATA III, 6 Gb/s (600 MB/s) bandwidth

 

Card Reader

Integrated SD card reader

Supports SD, SDHC and SDXC memory flash cards

Supports booting from SD card

 

M.2 Slot for SSDs

The M.2 2280 BM slot provides the following interfaces:

- PCI-Express Gen. 3.0 X4 with up to 4 GB/s data transfer rate

- SATA v3.0 (max. 6 Gbps)

It supports M.2 cards with a width of 22 mm

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

Supports M.2 SATA SSDs (with B+M key) and M.2 PCIe SSDs with NVMe (with M key)

 

Audio

Audio Realtek® ALC 662 High-Definition Audio Codec

3.5 mm / 4-pole combo audio connector for headphones and microphone

Digital multi-channel audio output: via HDMI and DisplayPort

 

Gigabit LAN

Ethernet Controller Intel i211

Supports 10 / 100 / 1.000 MBit/s operation (Gigabit)

Supports WAKE ON LAN (WOL)

Supports network boot by Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE)

IEEE 802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE)

Interface: PCIe v2.1

 

Wireless LAN

Built-in M.2-2230-A/E WLAN card and internal antenna

Single-Chip 1T1R WLAN Controller Realtek RTL8188EE

Supports IEEE 802.11b/g/n, max. 150 Mbps up-/downstream

Security: WPA/WPA2(-PSK), WEP 64/128 bit, IEEE 802.11x/i

 

Front Panel connectors

USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A (max. 5 Gbps, blue)

USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type C (max. 5 Gbps)

SD card reader (supports SD, SDHC, SDXC)

Power button

Power LED (blue, flashing when in suspend mode)

HDD LED (orange)

 

Back Panel connectors

DisplayPort 1.2

HDMI 2.0a

2x USB 2.0 Type A

Gigabit LAN (RJ45)

Audio Combo Port for headphones and microphone (3.5 mm jack, 4-pole) [2]

DC-input connector for external power adapter

2x perforation for optional external WLAN antennas

 

Left Side connectors

Serial RS232 COM port (D-Sub, 9-pin)

Note: The serial connector (COM port) cannot be used if the NC10U3 is operated in vertical position.

 

Always-On Jumper

By removing Jumper JP1 (please refer to the Quick Installation Guide)

the system will start unconditionally once power is applied.

 

Clear CMOS Jumper

Short Jumper JP2 for about 10 seconds to restore factory settings of BIOS.

 

Supplied Accessories

Multi-language Quick Installation Guide

Driver DVD for Windows 10

VESA mount set (two parts), made of steel,

Six screws (4x M4x10, 2x M2.5x3)

Bracket for a 2.5" drive with eight screws (M3x5)

Two aluminium stands (110 mm width) with four screws M3x7 for vertical operation

Four black, rounded rubber feet, ca. 10 mm diameter x 2.5 mm

Two screws for mounting of M.2 cards

Power adapter 65 W with AC power cord

 

Optional Accessories

WLN-M: Wireless LAN module with two external antennas,

supports WiFi IEEE 802.11n/ac (2.4 / 5 GHz) and Bluetooth 4.0

 

Environmental Spec

Operating temperature range: 0~40 °C

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

 

 

 

The XPC nano series from Shuttle has been recently updated with the NC10U series, now featuring Whiskey Lake processors. The new series can be purchased with the Celeron 4205U SoC (NC10U), the Core i3-8145U (NC10U3), the Core i5-8265U (NC10U5) or the high-end Core i7-8565U (NC10U7). The Celeron solution does incorporate Intel HD 610 graphics, while the i3, i5 and i7 come with Intel HD 620 graphics, but also a higher operating frequency.

 

Versus the previous NC03U series, the NC10U does feature 4K/UHD @ 60Hz support with both DisplayPort and HDMI outputs but also up to 64GB of DDR4 RAM at 2400MHz.

 

The barebone is shipped inside a familiar packaging, with the usual XPC box art:

 

 

 

On one of the box sides we will get to see the product serial number, the complete factory code name, its main technical specifications but also the model name we should expect to have inside (in our case, the NC10U3):

 

 

 

The provided box is also provided with a plastic handle, for easy manipulation outside the store:

 

 

 

Inside we will find the barebone fully protected by foam material, but also a separate cardboard box with the accessories:

 

 

 

A separate bag with instructions is also provided:

 

 

 

Even if a DVD is offered with the product, we will always recommend downloading the latest driver versions from the website:

 

 

 

The instruction manual is quite detailed and offers enough information for get everything running in no-time:

 

 

 

Let’s check and see what is included in the accessory box!

 

 

 

 

The power brick is manufactured by Asian Power Devices and does also feature an activity LED:

 

 

 

On its back, we can also check out its output specifications, which are 19V at 3.42A:

 

 

 

The PSU cable ends up with a jack plug:

 

 

 

A power lead is also supplied:

 

 

 

The barebone also supports installation of a separate 2.5’’ drive; for this we have a dedicated drive cage:

 

 

 

 

In order to install the NC10U in a vertical manner, we have the aluminum stands handy as well:

 

 

 

On the bottom of it, we will find rubber layers as well, so the product won’t move on the surface we will use it on:

 

 

 

The VESA mount is available in the original packaging and is composed of two separate pieces:

 

 

 

 

The mounting screws are supplied in separate plastic bags, for a better categorization:

 

 

 

In order to use the barebone horizontally, we do have supplied a set of rubber feet:

 

 

 

The chassis of the NC10U3 is made of plastic, but the top layer holds a brushed aluminum component, which gives it a professional look; in the middle, we will find a white Shuttle logo:

 

 

 

In the frontal area, we do have an USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A Port, an USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type C port, a SD Card Reader, an HDD LED indicator, an On/Off button but also a Power-on LED indicator:

 

 

 

On the left side, we will find the mounting holes for the vertical stand, a RS232 COM Port but also a ventilation grill:

 

 

 

In the back, we do have the DC input for the power adapter, the HDMI 2.0a output, DisplayPort, a Gigabit LAN port, two USB 2.0 ports but also an audio combo jack (headphones and microphone):

 

 

 

The right side does have holes pre-drilled for optional external antennas, but also a secondary ventilation grill; here we will also find the hole for the Kensington lock:

 

 

 

On the bottom we do have the mounting holes for the VESA mount in the middle, but also the areas where the rubber feet should be mounted:

 

 

 

After removing the two screws on the bottom plastic cover, we can remove it in order to reveal the internals; here we do also have the SATA 2.5’’ Data/Power cable for mounting the optional drive:

 

 

 

 

WLAN is assured by the AW-NE199NF (M.2 2230 card) which incorporates a Realtek RTL8188EE controller with support for 802.11b/g/n wireless:

 

 

 

The motherboard can be completely removed from the rest of the chassis as well:

 

 

 

A closer look will reveal the internal wireless antenna:

 

 

 

On the back side of the board, we will get to see quite a few components, together with the SoC cooling system:

 

 

 

A closer look will reveal the MegaChips MCDP2800BC controller, which is a converter from DisplayPort 1.2a to HDMI 2.0:

 

 

 

The Gigabit LAN interface is possible thanks to the WGI211AT Intel controller:

 

 

 

Nearby we will find the GST5009LF 1000Base-T Magnetics module:

 

 

 

Storage can be installed as a M.2 2280 SSD with support for SATA and PCIe X4 standards; smaller-sized M.2 drives can be installed as well:

 

 

 

In the back of the COM port, we’ve got the capsule with the CMOS battery, but also the BIOS module as well:

 

 

 

The ITE IT8772E is the SuperIO chip on this board:

 

 

 

Near the SoC, we will find one of the two DDR4 SODIMM slots:

 

 

 

The blower-type fan is installed over the heatsink and helps eliminate the heat:

 

 

 

Very close to it we will locate the Intersil 95857C multiphase controller:

 

 

 

On the other side of the board, we do have the second RAM slot:

 

 

 

In order to compare apples to apples, we will use the same RAM+SSD as we did with the previous barebones; the RAM kit is a 2x4GB Crucial DDR4-2400 SODIMM with a rated voltage of 1.2V, CL17:

 

 

 

The RAM can be installed in just a few seconds:

 

 

 

 

The SSD is an Intel 760p Series, 128GB total storage capacity:

 

 

 

 

Here is how the system does look with the vertical stand installed; the unit will use very little space this way:

 

 

 

The NC10U3 welcomes us with an usual Aptio Setup Utility, and not the fancy UEFI interface; in the Main menu area, we will get to see some details about the currently flashed BIOS, the installed SoC but also the total quantity of installed memory; here the user will also be able to adjust the date/time:

 

 

 

The Advanced Settings menu does come with the following sub-sections:

 

 

 

The TPM Configuration area does allow the user to enable/disable Security Device Support:

 

 

 

From the Hardware Health Configuration menu, we can adjust the fan profile but also check the live temperatures, the fan speed along with the CPU/DRAM voltages:

 

 

 

 

The CPU Configuration area comes with additional details regarding the installed SoC, but also some other related options which we can enable or disable:

 

 

 

From the SATA Configuration area, we can select the SATA controller operating mode:

 

 

 

The USB Configuration menu does not have any options we can configure:

 

 

 

From the OnBoard Device Configuration area, we can enable/disable different interface controllers, but also select the operating mode for the M.2 slot:

 

 

 

The Serial Port options can be also configured here:

 

 

 

The Power Management Configuration menu allows the user to configure some PM-related options:

 

 

 

The Security menu allows the user to change the admin/user passwords, choose when the password check should be prompted, but also enable Flash Write Protection or enable Secure Boot:

 

 

 

The Boot menu does feature the usual options:

 

 

 

Finally, we do have the Exit menu, where we can save, discard or load factory defaults:

 

 

 

The NC10U3 system is equipped with the i3-8145U ScC at its core (as the DS10U3), from the 8th generation of Intel's Core processors. It sports the Whiskey Lake code name, was manufactured on the 14nm process and comes equipped with two cores, while the number of threads is four thanks to HyperThreading. The SoC base frequency is 2.1GHz and in Boost it can climb up to 3.9GHz. Additional info regarding the internal components were collected via AIDA64:

 

CPU

Motherboard

IMC

Chipset

SSD

Network Adapters

iGPU

Audio Devices

 

 

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

The NC10U series follows the design lines of the previous member of the XPC nano line, the NC03U, by incorporating Whiskey Lake support and besides a noticeable boost in speed we do also get better video output options for 4K @ 60Hz, we can install more RAM but also can run memory at higher speeds than before. Unlike the DS10U3, which was designed to run in an industrial environment with passive cooling, the NC10U3 does feature active cooling with a small fan which is quite silent during normal operation or even high stress scenarios.

 

In terms of SoC operating temperatures, these are higher versus the passively-cooled model, mainly because the voltage fed to the CPU during low to medium loads is higher (up to 1.3V); Shuttle mentioned that they have chosen this type of behavior in order for the CPU to throttle faster, have a lower boost speed overall, in order to be able to keep the fan silent at all times and not get in situations where it would ramp up during several scenarios such as watching movies, writing a document or browsing web pages.

 

Our System Stability test in AIDA does confirm this type of behavior, but the CPU will still stay between safe operating parameters (temperature, voltage):

 

 

(click to enlarge)

 

The only downside in this type of behavior is the fact that the system has a bit lower performance versus the passively cooled DS10U3 and this can be seen in detail while watching our benchmark results, in both synthetic benchmarks, encodings but also in games.

 

We do enjoy the fact that the product is quite upgradable by allowing us to swap the pre-installed WiFi card with another model (WLN-M with two external antennas, WiFi AC support and Bluetooth 4.0), install M.2 storage with different form factors but also install a secondary storage solution in form of a 2.5’’ drive which can be either a HDD or SSD.

 

All accessories for mounting the PC (vertically/horizontally/VESA) are supplied in the box, while the product does retain some features for digital signage/industrial use as well, such as the Always-on jumper or the serial RS232 COM port.

 

The NC10U3 barebone does have a RRP of 378 Euros excluding VAT.

Shuttle XPC nano NC10U3 Barebone is Recommended for:

 

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