Exclusive: SLI Head-to-Head: Monarch Micro-ATX vs. Shuttle SFF

Shuttle SN26P - Overview

Compared with the Monarch Revenge, the Shuttle SN26P is in a slightly different position. It's a bit more expensive than the equivalent Hornet, It doesn't have as much room for expansion (and lacks the ability to support two dual-slot GPUs), and it is a proprietary motherboard/case design. The last point means that in the future, you could conceivably swap out the uATX board in the Hornet for something newer and better, whereas the SN26P will always be an enforced for SLI setup. When you're dealing with a case and power supply that can cost hundreds of dollars, that fact may be an important consideration. However, as mentioned before, I question whether or not most users really upgrade old cases in that manner. When a system gets too old/slow for my needs, it usually gets sold to a friend or family member (or relegated to secondary PC status), and it's time to build a completely new system.

We've looked at the Shuttle SN25P previously, and the vast majority of everything that we said there applies to the SN26P. The major changes involve the addition of a second X16 slot for SLI support, a new sleeker paint job, and some minor tweaks to the drive rails inside. Considering that we gave the SN25P a Silver Editor's Choice award, that's a good thing. Again, we recommend that you read the earlier review if you haven't already, as we're going to limit this review discussion to the major changes.

Appearance

The most striking change is definitely the paint job, and honestly, the pictures here don't do it justice. Imagine the sleek matte black paint job of the Stealth Bomber, and to me, that at least sort of describes the SN26P. I've never been a huge fan of glossy paint jobs, since they just attract fingerprints and dust, so the new look of this Shuttle really appeals to me. That being said, the front panel does have a glossy finish and mirror-like quality. It still looks very good, but it would be interesting to see a non-reflective front to match the rest of the case. That may or may not look better in practice, though, and the contrast between the light absorbing side panels in the reflective front adds some nice visual flair.

Click on images to enlarge.

As nice as the paint job looks, it's important that it does not scratch or mark easily. Again, we are happy to report that the finish does seem relatively durable. Careless mishandling or intentional scratching would damage it, but short of that, it does resist showing any wear or tear. The finish feels somewhat tacky/rubberized - and I mean that in a good way. The coating also seems to be quite thick, which would certainly help it to resist scratching. Obviously, tastes differ from person to person, but I give very high marks to this particular Shuttle XPC in the artistic category. Now, let's see how it does on technical merit....