Since the SN25P XPC is designed to be a performance based kit, it is likely that a number of high performance components will be installed inside of the system. This means that the components will also likely produce a fair amount of heat. In order to improve the cooling of the design, Shuttle has designed new thermal zones to help reduce the heat within the system.
One of the primary thermal zones is that of the processor. It tends to produce a fair amount of heat and requires active cooling. Inside the tight confines of a small form factor system, the processor can have a hard time getting a good amount of air flowing over it. To solve this, Shuttle designed the processor to pull air in directly from the side of the case rather than the front. The air is then pulled through the heatsink and expelled out the opposite side of the case with an 80mm fan.
Users may be concerned that the additional holes on both sides of the case may increase the amount of noise generated by the SN25P. Even with the larger number of fans, the SN25P can actually run with lower noise levels than some previous models thanks to the smart fan controls inside of the BIOS.
