At first we would like to thank Shuttle Europe for offering a sample of their latest XPC nano Barebone NC40U5 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."

 

Product Features:

 

THREE EXPANSION OPTIONS VIA M.2 MODULE

Three M.2 slots enable expansion with several data carriers and additional modules, for example for WLAN or mobile radio. Thanks to the fast PCI Express connection, high data volumes can be transported in a short time via the M.2 slot.

2× M.2-2280 for two NVMe SSDs

M.2-2230 for a Wi-Fi module or similar

 

THREE 4K-CAPABLE MONITOR CONNECTIONS

Various graphics outputs with ultra-high resolution digital signals, offer flexibility in the choice of displays and enable multi-monitoring. This model has one HDMI 2.0, one DisplayPort and one USB-C port that can be used simultaneously.

 

UP TO 64 GB OF RAM

Modern professional applications consume a particularly large amount of memory. With two slots and therefore 64 GB of RAM in total, this Mini-PC can handle any demanding task.

 

SPACE FOR A 2.5" DRIVE

As a complement to an NVMe SSD, this model also offers a home to classic data storage devices in 2.5" format*. Hard disks and SSDs in this format offer many terabytes of storage space.

(*Up to a height of 12.5 mm)

 

Product Specifications:

 

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

 

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

- Windows 11, 64-bit

- Linux, 64-bit

 

Processor

Model: Intel Core i5-1235U

12th Generation Intel Core, code name "Alder Lake-U"

System-on-a-chip architecture (SoC) with integrated memory and graphics controller

FCBGA1744 package - directly soldered onto the mainboard

Processor cores: total 10

- Performance Cores: 2 P-Cores (4 Threads) at 1.3 / 4.4 GHz basis/turbo clock

- Efficient Cores: 8 E-Cores at 0.9 / 3.3 GHz basis/turbo clock

Smart Cache: 12 MB

TDP wattage: 15 W maximum

Manufacturing process: Intel 7 (10 nm)

Maximum Tjunction Temperature: 100 °C

 

Cooling Fan

Built-in CPU cooling fan with 4-pin connector

Supports temperature-controlled RPM fan speed

 

Integrated Graphics

Intel UHD Graphics with 80 Execution Units (EU)

Graphics Max Dynamic Frequency: 1.20 GHz

This PC supports up to three independent screens

with up to 2160@ 60 Hz (Ultra HD / 4K):

1) DisplayPort (supports DP 1.4a)

2) USB-C Port (supports DP 1.4a and USB 3.2 Gen 1)

3) HDMI-Port (supports HDMI 2.0b)

 

UEFI Firmware (BIOS)

AMI BIOS in 32 MByte EEPROM with SPI interface

Supports resume after power failure

Supports Wake on LAN (WOL)

Supports Power on by RTC Alarm

Supports hardware monitoring and Watchdog function

Supports Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)

Supports Firmware TPM v2.0 (fTPM)

(Hardware TPM optional, on project request only)

 

Memory support

2x SO-DIMM slot with 260 pins

Supports DDR4-3200 (PC4-25600) SDRAM at 1.2 V

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 (max. 600 MB/s) bandwidth

Pre-installed SATA/power cable

Two M.2 Slots for SSDs

This PC comes with two M.2-2280M slot for SSD cards in M.2 form factor:

1) M.2-2280M slot supports PCIe Gen4 x4 (from the top)

2) M.2-2280M slot supports PCIe Gen3 x4 and SATA v3.0 (from the bottom)

It supports M.2 cards with a width of 22 mm and a length of 80 mm.

Supports M.2 cards with M key or B+M key.

Two thermal pads for M.2 SSDs are included.

Supports RAID configuration thanks to the Intel® Volume Management Device Technology (Intel® VMD). Supports RAID 0 or RAID 1 mode of two M.2 SSD cards with PCIe interface (NVMe protocol). For this the SATA mode must be changed to "Raid" in the Advanced BIOS setup.

 

Audio

C-Media CM6542 Audio Codec with USB interface

Two analog audio connectors (3.5 mm) on the front side:

1) Line-out (head-phones)

2) Microphone input

Digital multi-channel audio output: via HDMI and DisplayPort

 

Gigabit LAN

Ethernet Controller Intel i219

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

Supports WAKE ON LAN (WOL)

Supports network boot by Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE)

 

M.2-2230E slot for WLAN cards

M.2-2230E slot supports WLAN expansion cards

Interfaces: PCI-Express X1 and USB 2.0

Supports M.2 cards with a width of 22 mm and a length of 30 mm (type 2230)

This PC comes with two pre-installed internal antennas with I-PEX4/MHF-IV connectors

Optional Shuttle accessory: WLN-M / WLN-M1 (AC/AX WLAN card with external antennas)

 

Front Panel connectors

1x USB-C (supports DisplayPort 1.4a and USB 3.2 Gen 1 at max. 5 GBit/s)

2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A (max. 5 GBit/s, blue)

Audio line-out / headphones (3.5 mm jack plug)

Microphone input (3.5 mm jack plug)

Power button

Power LED (blue)

Hard Disk LED (orange)

 

Back Panel connectors

DisplayPort 1.4a

HDMI 2.0b

2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A (max. 10 GBps, red)

2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A (max. 5 GBps, blue)

Gigabit LAN (RJ45, Intel 219)

DC-input connector for external power adapter (5.5 / 2.5 mm)

2x perforation (6.5 mm diameter) for optional external WLAN antennas

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.

 

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, 3-pin Micky MM C6 and Schuko earthed safety plug

 

Supplied Accessories

Multi-language Quick Installation Guide

Driver DVD for Windows 10/11

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

with 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

Three screws for mounting of M.2 cards

Two self-adhesive thermal pads for M.2 SSD cards

Power adapter 65 W with AC power cord

 

Optional Accessories

- WLAN module with external antennas [4]

WLN-M (802.11ac, Wifi 5, BT4.2) or WLN-M1 (802.11ax, Wifi 6, BT5.2)

 

Environmental Spec

Operating temperature range: 0~40 °C

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

 

Conformity/Certifications

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

Safety: CB IEC60950/62368, cTUVus (UL 62368), BSMI

Other: RoHS, Energy Star, ErP

 

Just recently, Shuttle has surprised us with another launch from their XPC nano miniPC series, which does feature improvements but is also built upon a much newer architecture, Alder Lake from Intel. The actual products have a different name depending on the integrated SoC, as follows:

 

-NC40U – Celeron 7305

-NC40U3 – Core i3-1215U

-NC40U5 – Core i5-1235U

-NC40U7 – Core i7-1255U

 

The sample we are going to review in this article is the NC40U5, which features the Intel Core i5-1235U processor, incorporating two performance cores and no less than eight efficiency cores, the performance cores being the only ones hyper-threaded. The processor comes with a 12MB of cache, while the iGPU is Iris Xe Graphics with 80 execution units and support for eDP 1.4b, DP 1.4a and HDMI 2.1 video outputs.

 

The NC40U5 barebone did arrive inside a compact cardboard enclosure featuring the XPC nano branding:

 

 

On the side, Shuttle has included some technical characteristics, the product serial number but also a QR code:

 

 

Even if it is quite light, the box is provided with a plastic handle, for easy manipulation:

 

 

By lifting the top cover, we will note that the miniPC is not only protected by lots of plastic foam, but is also wrapped inside a transparent plastic bag:

 

 

The hardware bundle is offered inside a separate box, while the documentation is available in a re-sealable plastic bag:

 

 

The guide informs the user on how to open up the system in order to install the missing parts and get it powered on:

 

 

Shuttle did also include a disk with drivers and the manual in electronic format; the only issue would be that not many of us do now possess optical drives to make use of it and many people do prefer going online and picking up the latest versions instead:

 

 

The bundle box is quite crowded with plenty of accessories:

 

 

Here we will note the power cable and the power adapter, two different thermal pads, sets of screws, a set of rubber feet, the 2.5’’ drive adapter, the vertical stands but also the VESA mount:

 

 

The power adapter was manufactured by APD and is rated on the output as 19V at 3.42A, for a total of 65W:

 

 

A status LED is also available with this adapter, in order to monitor if it is functioning properly:

 

 

 

The power cable ends up with a jack plug:

 

 

 

The different sets of screws are packaged separately and these are for fitting a 2.5’’ drive inside the NC40U5, for installing the VESA mount, for attaching the feet for the unit to be installed vertically, but also for the M.2 slots:

 

 

 

The rubber screws will be applied on the bottom of the chassis, if the user decides to use the product in a horizontal fashion:

 

 

 

 

The two thermal pads are quite thick, have different heights and are meant for M.2 drives, in order to interface with the chassis’ back and top covers:

 

 

 

 

The 2.5’’ drive mount adapter comes with four mounting points on the chassis but also a protective layer in order to avoid short-circuits when regular HDDs are used; the maximum height of SATA drives is 15mm:

 

 

 

 

The vertical mount feet retain the same design as the older versions:

 

 

 

Each of the feet does have rubber interfaces on each side, in order to keep the computer steady on the surface and avoid scratches:

 

 

 

The VESA mount is composed from two metallic components, for easy removal:

 

 

 

The top cover of the NC40U5 does feature a thin brushed aluminum cover, which is additionally protected by a transparent plastic film, to avoid damages during transit:

 

 

 

A subtle logo is present in the middle area as well:

 

 

 

The chassis is 142 x 142 mm, with a height of 42 mm; in the front, we will note two USB 3.2 Gen1 ports with a blue color, an USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-C port, a microphone jack and a headphone jack, the drive LED indicator, the Power button but also a Power LED:

 

 

 

On the side, we will find a ventilation grill, which will act as an intake when the computer is placed in a vertical position:

 

 

 

In the back, we do have the DC-In power connector, a DisplayPort 1.4a, a HDMI 2.0b, two blue USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports, two USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports, but also a RJ45 Gigabit LAN port:

 

 

 

The opposite side with the previous ventilation grill does act as an air exhaust; here we will also note some placeholders for WiFi antennas and a Kensington lock port:

 

 

 

The bottom area does come with two stickers, the middle mounting points for VESA but we will also see the places to mount the supplied rubber feet. The fixing screws are present on the right side:

 

 

 

After removing the two screws, the cover is easily-removable. This specific cover was also designed to hold the 2.5’’ drive with the specific adapter:

 

 

 

Carefully, we were able to completely remove the barebone motherboard from the chassis:

 

 

 

The frame of the chassis does have two WiFi antennas pre-installed, with protected ports, waiting for a M.2 WiFi card to be mounted:

 

 

 

Here is a close-up to the two WiFi antennas:

 

 

 

 

The small board is not very crowded in terms of components, which allows good ventilation; the part you are seeing here is the bottom of the PCB:

 

 

 

The M.2-2280 SSD port on the top is coupled with the M.2-2230 WLAN module port on the bottom. The storage M.2 slot does support PCIe Gen3/NVMe or SATA drives:

 

 

 

On the board, we noted the CM6542 ultra-low-power audio single chip, which takes control of the two analog jacks in the frontal area of the miniPC:

 

 

 

Nearby, we will find a GST5009 LF Magnetics Module:

 

 

 

The SuperIO chip on the board is an ITE IT 5571E-128:

 

 

 

The SATA Power+Data cable is linked to the motherboard with a special connector:

 

 

 

 

The frontal area of the PCB does come with the Intel Core i5-1235U SoC, a secondary M.2 storage area, two memory slots and a tiny active cooling system:

 

 

 

The barebone does support up to two DDR4-3200 SODIMM memory modules, while the maximum capacity is 2x32GB=64GB:

 

 

 

The M.2-2280 slot does support up to PCIe Gen4/NVMe storage:

 

 

 

The IT66318FN HDMI 2.0 Retiming Buffer is nearby:

 

 

 

In the VRM area, we will spot the RT3624BE Dual Channel PWM controller, but also the APL5935 3A Ultra Low Dropout Linear Regulator:

 

 

 

The BIOS chip is socketed and can be removed for replacement or flashing:

 

 

 

The CMOS battery is capsulated:

 

 

 

JP1 is available right near the cooling system; this is an extra measure to enable Power on after Power Fail function in BIOS, if the BIOS option won’t be executed due to short power failures:

 

 

 

The cooling system does integrate a heatpipe system for increased efficiency, while the PWM fan is actively controlled depending on the SoC temperature; the airflow created by the fan does help with air circulation for the rest of the components as well!

 

 

 

The PWM connector for the fan is secured with glue as well on the pins so it won’t break that easily:

 

 

 

Cooling is also assured for the VRM components, thanks to a thermal pad interface:

 

 

 

For testing purposes, we will use our trusty Silicon Power A60 NVMe 512GB drive:

 

 

 

In terms of RAM, we will supply the unit with the maximum it supports: a 64GB DDR4-3200 CL22 memory kit from Neo Forza:

 

 

 

 

Shuttle was nice and also supplied the WLN-M1 kit:

 

 

 

This one includes antennas, antenna cables but also the WiFi card:

 

 

 

The wireless card is an Intel AX200NGW, which is a 2x2 dual-band WiFi6 (802.11ax) card, and also comes with support for BT version 5.2:

 

 

 

The installation is quite straightforward, by using the pre-mounted antennas:

 

 

 

After choosing the correct screws, the installation of the vertical stands is easy as well:

 

 

 

 

The NC40U5 does adopt the simple Aptio Setup Utility instead of the mouse-enabled and rich-graphics interface and this is expected for such a system:

 

 

 

In the Advanced area, we can configure the necessary components:

 

 

 

TPM support can be enabled or disabled, of course:

 

 

 

The PM Configuration area will allow the user to work with specific options:

 

 

 

More details on the CPU can be found out in the CPU Configuration area, but from here we can also enable/disable certain features:

 

 

 

 

The SATA controller modes can be configured as well:

 

 

 

The OnBoard Device Configuration menu allows the user to enable/disable onboard controllers, such as the audio/LAN ones but also select how much RAM should be reserved for the iGPU:

 

 

 

The fan operating mode can be chosen from the next menu:

 

 

 

Product information can be also set manually:

 

 

 

The Security area comes with the usual options, but from here we can also enable or disable Secure Boot:

 

 

 

Boot options are next:

 

 

 

The last menu is the usual Save & Exit options:

 

 

 

With the help of AIDA64 reporting tool, we have extracted some more details on the test system:

 

CPU

Motherboard

IMC

SB

Network Adapters

iGPU

Audio Devices

 

The 64GB C22 kit from Neo Forza is operating at the intended speeds and timings:

 

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 Alder Lake Core i5-1235U SoC does offer impressive performance for the rated TDP, a notable step-up from the previous generation. The 15W TDP limit does decrease the clocks of the Performance and Efficiency cores by quite a bit, but the system will continue to perform very well. In light loads, we noted spikes at 4.4GHz for the Performance cores and up to 3.3GHz on the Efficiency ones, which can also exceed the rated TDP to about 18W, easily manageable by the Shuttle cooling system!

 

Despite the small size, we can install no less than two M.2 drives, but also a 2.5’’ drive, so plenty of storage without the need for attaching anything externally. The drives can be used along with the supplied thermal pads for additional cooling and the supplied SoC fan will assist with the airflow as well.

 

In our thermal testing, we noted maximum temps reaching about 85 degrees Celsius in very high loads for the CPU/FPU/Cache/System Memory and iGPU, still 15 degrees away from TjMAX.

 

 

 

With an ambient of 26.8 dBA, the system is practically inaudible in IDLE with about 27.4 dBA, while in Full Load we do get a fully-manageable 31.7 dBA, even when pushing the system to its limits.

 

In terms of power consumption, the system is very efficient during low loads, with a total power measured at the wall of about 13.6W, while at max load (including iGPU at 100%), we noted a total value of 43.1W.

 

The NC40U5 comes with two pre-installed internal antennas with I-PEX4/MHF-IV connectors and can fully support the optional WLN-M / WLN-M1 kits. The vertical stand feet but also the VESA mount are bundled with the product, so no extra purchase is required.

 

If you need use of multiple monitors, the NC40U5 can output via the DisplayPort, the HDMI 2.0 but also via the USB Type-C at 4K resolution.

 

The XPC nano NC40U5 barebone can be found online for about 517.44 Euros.

 

Shuttle XPC nano Barebone NC40U5 is Recommended for:

 

 

 

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