Shuttle XPC slim DH370 mini-PC Review: A Compact Digital Signage Powerhouse
by Ganesh T S on May 6, 2019 8:00 AM ESTMiscellaneous Performance Metrics - I
This section looks at some of the other commonly used benchmarks representative of the performance of specific real-world applications.
3D Rendering - CINEBENCH R15
We use CINEBENCH R15 for 3D rendering evaluation. The program provides three benchmark modes - OpenGL, single threaded and multi-threaded. Evaluation of different PC configurations in all three modes provided us the following results.
The excellent single-threaded performance of the Coffee Lake core, as well as the 6C/12T configuration come into play here in the single and multi-threaded scores. On the OpenGL side, the GPU is not particularly powerful, and the system comes in the bottom half of the graph.
x265 Benchmark
Next up, we have some video encoding benchmarks using x265 v2.8. The appropriate encoder executable is chosen based on the supported CPU features. In the first case, we encode 600 1080p YUV 4:2:0 frames into a 1080p30 HEVC Main-profile compatible video stream at 1 Mbps and record the average number of frames encoded per second.
Our second test case is 1200 4K YUV 4:2:0 frames getting encoded into a 4Kp60 HEVC Main10-profile video stream at 35 Mbps. The encoding FPS is recorded.
Again, the performance of the Core i7-8700 stands out, as its excellent single-threaded performance as well as the number of cores / threads help the XPC slim DH370 come out on top.
7-Zip
7-Zip is a very effective and efficient compression program, often beating out OpenCL accelerated commercial programs in benchmarks even while using just the CPU power. 7-Zip has a benchmarking program that provides tons of details regarding the underlying CPU's efficiency. In this subsection, we are interested in the compression and decompression rates when utilizing all the available threads for the LZMA algorithm.
In CPU-intensive benchmarks such as 7-zip (and x265 earlier), where the slower RAM doesn't have too much effect, the XPC slim DH370 with its Core i7-8700 comes out on top easily.
Cryptography Benchmarks
Cryptography has become an indispensable part of our interaction with computing systems. Almost all modern systems have some sort of hardware-acceleration for making cryptographic operations faster and more power efficient. In this sub-section, we look at two different real-world applications that may make use of this acceleration.
BitLocker is a Windows features that encrypts entire disk volumes. While drives that offer encryption capabilities are dealt with using that feature, most legacy systems and external drives have to use the host system implementation. Windows has no direct benchmark for BitLocker. However, we cooked up a BitLocker operation sequence to determine the adeptness of the system at handling BitLocker operations. We start off with a 2.5GB RAM drive in which a 2GB VHD (virtual hard disk) is created. This VHD is then mounted, and BitLocker is enabled on the volume. Once the BitLocker encryption process gets done, BitLocker is disabled. This triggers a decryption process. The times taken to complete the encryption and decryption are recorded. This process is repeated 25 times, and the average of the last 20 iterations is graphed below.
Despite the slower DRAM, the XPC slim DH370 emerges as the best performer for the BitLocker encryption and decryption workloads.
Creation of secure archives is best done through the use of AES-256 as the encryption method while password protecting ZIP files. We re-use the benchmark mode of 7-Zip to determine the AES256-CBC encryption and decryption rates using pure software as well as AES-NI. Note that the 7-Zip benchmark uses a 48KB buffer for this purpose.
The 7-zip encryption and decryption rates in the XPC slim DH370 are well ahead of the other systems being considered - a trend that we have seen across all the CPU-intensive benchmarks in this section.
Yet another cryptography application is secure network communication. OpenSSL can take advantage of the acceleration provided by the host system to make operations faster. It also has a benchmark mode that can use varying buffer sizes. We recorded the processing rate for a 8KB buffer using the hardware-accelerated AES256-CBC-HAC-SHA1 feature.
Here, we see the Bean Canyon NUC giving it close competition. The Ryzen system is well ahead of the Intel-based systems in this benchmark.
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mikato - Tuesday, May 7, 2019 - link
Don't get me wrong, I would like that too. SilentPCReview.com needs to be revived perhaps. They, and their community, were the best. People lost interest I guess once storage drives, power supplies, retail computers, even GPUs improved noise by a lot. Plus other reviewers started paying attention to noise partly through their work. But with mini PCs and HTPCs maybe there is renewed thirst for noise analysis.The issue may be - how does Ganesh prevent outside factors and just the changing ambient noise level from influencing noise measurements? He would need some type of anechoic chamber and probably some audio equipment. Read this to see what goes into it, for removing outside influence and actually having a low enough ambient noise level for meaningful measurements - http://www.silentpcreview.com/anechoic_chamber_SPC...
Then there are logistics issues. Will Anandtech pay for or provide what may be needed? Does he do review work at his house/apartment? Is there an Anandtech central office? Do other Anandtech reviewers mostly live in the same area? Can someone rent an anechoic chamber? Keep in mind SPCR was mostly one guy on a mission, while Anandtech and Ganesh have plenty of other concerns.
Is there a spot in the middle where noise measurements are "good enough"? Any ideas? I do see noise measurements at other review sites sometimes, but I don't know if they are good enough for comparing among different product reviews that took place at different times and possibly at different places.
GDVX_111 - Monday, June 13, 2022 - link
This query comes 3 years later, so I know that the odds on a response are not good, but WHICH existing Shuttle model is going to have more than adequate HTPC chops and features, as well as the desired quietness, heat dissipation, and reliability characteristics ? (Regardless of price, even.) I say existing model because I like Shuttle, and I don't care to build something from scratch out of disparate parts that may be available. The SH67H3 cube that still serves as my desktop computer would certainly fill the bill, and is plenty quiet even a few inches away on my desk, but of course it is several times the size and would require space I don't have in either of my video stacks.Another design factor that struck me as being perhaps dubious in these more compact, digital kiosk or signage oriented models has been the move to outboard power bricks, rather than an integrated PSU. But perhaps that is unavoidable, given the compact size.
bill44 - Monday, May 6, 2019 - link
How about 3D BD ISO playback?Does it use LSPCon for HDMI?
timecop1818 - Monday, May 6, 2019 - link
Yes, it uses MegaChips MCDP2850 to convert DisplayPort to HDMI 2.0. You can see it on the motherboard photo in the QuickStart manual. What about 3D BD ISO playback? Why wouldn't that work?ganeshts - Monday, May 6, 2019 - link
3D is usually not supported if you have a LSPcon. I have reason to believe 3D is not supported over the HDMI 2.0a ports in the last two Intel platform generations.With the advent of 4K and HDR, the industry has got much more convincing features to make people upgrade their equipment (compared to 3D). Effectively, 3D is dead from an industry viewpoint. YMMV.
Opencg - Monday, May 6, 2019 - link
great example of a tech killed off by lack of content (i mean good content). too many movies were simply reprocessed without being produced from the ground up with the intent of 3d. the industry tried to charge a premuim for lackluster content with hardware implementations having support and quality issues. not to mention some big problems like focal blur guessing.i really hope vr doesnt go the route of 3d games and 3d movies. but yeah people dont seem to understand that the most important things are affordability and minimizing barriers to entry. also not having an industry clinging to ancient monitization practices helps.
Death666Angel - Monday, May 6, 2019 - link
I think it is more about the technology itself. In order for stereoscopic 3D to work well, you need to have most of your field of vision filled by the content. That is easily done in a cinema, where the screen is huge and the ambient lights are darkened and everyone is fine with that. At home, most people I know have their setup with a small TV (37" to 50") and it is in a corner somewhere it makes sense but is out of the way (since the TV may be on a lot, but hardly watched focused most of the time). Only some die hard movie people (like myself) have a large TV (55"+, preferably 65"+) that is not too far away from the main sitting position (couch). But even then, it is a bit too small for 3D to work well and immerse myself in it and I can't really darken everything down as much as in the cinema. And I have never had comfortable 3D glasses. They always either hurt my sides or my nose.VR won't go away as 3D will, since it has a much larger impact in the professional world (engineering, architecture, medicine, art...), but home VR has an uphill battle to fight still.
0ldman79 - Tuesday, May 7, 2019 - link
Honestly I'm kind of expecting 3D to come back again.They are now making fully transparent TVs.
Layer the screens and you can have actual 3D (at least two layers of depth) without glasses.
Death666Angel - Tuesday, May 7, 2019 - link
How would that work? You still need a way to block one eye from seeing the content the other eye sees. Doing it with a parallax barrier requires cost and doesn't work for more than one person without a lot of complications (which increase price, a lot). You also lose resolution compared to full 3D SBS and active shutter glasses.Or do you just mean 3D in a diorama way where you have discreet layers of content? That is not 3D.
bill44 - Monday, May 6, 2019 - link
Thanks ganeshts.I know it's a dead format, but I would like to use it as long as my TV lasts.
Hoping one day I can get a modern PC that has native HDMI ports (no LSPCon).
Does anyone know of TB3->HDMI adapter/cable that does work?