Shuttle PC questions...
Posted by: Top Cat on 27 March 2005
Hi folks.
My desktop PC is ill*. It's a big hulking thing and I fancy a smaller case. I'm looking at
this which would allow me to use my current CPU, etc.
I'd like any comments about them. I'm gradually moving away from PCs and toward Macs, but due to what I do for a living I need to keep one foot in the PC world.
I'm not after a fast machine, so I've no interest in upgrading from my XP1800 CPU or 9800 graphics card, and I've confirmed that this Shuttle PC will accept my CPU and memory type.
I can get a lot of info from the web about them, but two things I can't work out, and what maybe someone can help me with, are:
(1) Shuttle PC m/bs seem to have integrated graphics which I don't want. However, they all have 8x AGP slots; do I take it that the integrated graphics can be turned off in favour of an AGP card such as my 9800SE Aiw?
(2) I hate the noise of PCs. A friend's iMac G5 is silent in comparison, and whatever desktop Mac I ultimately get will probably be pretty quiet. Therefore, I'm keen for the Shuttle PC to be quiet - but are they? The web site suggests that they are, but how quiet?
I'm thinking of buying the Shuttle XPC SK43G (that's it's code) from Overclockers.co.uk. Never having dealt with them before, are they pretty prompt in dispatch?
Thanks,
John
* dodgy HDD controller and shutdown/startup issues, not to mention loud fan & rattly case.
Posted on: 27 March 2005 by Roy T
John,
A visit to the
EU Site will let you know about the internals both bits and graphics. A visit to the
Forum will let you know about the kit but please remember owners of kit do like to moan a bit like some Naim owners. If you search for the model number then vast tracts of information will pop into view and you just have to sift the wheat from the chaff. I'll post some more links this evening.
PS also search for overclockers on the forum and see what others think of the outfit.
Roy
Posted on: 27 March 2005 by Roy T
John,
these few answers may help you a bit.
Shuttle PC m/bs seem to have integrated graphics which I don't want. However, they all have 8x AGP slots; do I take it that the integrated graphics can be turned off in favour of an AGP card such as my 9800SE Aiw?
Yes, onboard graphics can be turned off in the BIOS.
I hate the noise of PCs. A friend's iMac G5 is silent in comparison, and whatever desktop Mac I ultimately get will probably be pretty quiet. Therefore, I'm keen for the Shuttle PC to be quiet - but are they? The web site suggests that they are, but how quiet?
IIRC the Zen runs at 26db due to passive cooling and external power supply but does not offer the use of a user supplied graphics card. Some of the newer kit runs almost as quiet but comes in a "P" case but this does not use your CPU.
If you want really quiet then passivly cooled may be the way to go, have a look at
Hush,
Quietpc,
Silentpcreview plus some of the other sites that do this type of kit and addons.
Where to buy information can be found in this
thread.
Posted on: 28 March 2005 by gusi
John,
The sales guys at a place where I worked used shuttles extensively for demoes. NOt sure which model they used but they were quiet, fitted a triple headed video card and were easy to cart around. They come with a nice carry case.
I didn't hear of any boxes breaking down.
I have often thought of buying one when my current PC needs upgrading.
Gus
Posted on: 28 March 2005 by Top Cat
Hi again,
In the end I decided on the Shuttle XPC SN45GV3, which is a slightly up-specced version of the one I was looking at. It should arrive later in the week. I managed to resist the temptation to start changing other bits as well, which is a first for me...
Thanks,
John
Posted on: 28 March 2005 by Roy T
John,
good choice indeed, prehaps a quick read of the instruction
manual (zip download) while you wait for your new toy to arrive is in order?
Posted on: 28 March 2005 by Steve G
I've seen a few magazine reviews of various Shuttle bare-bones setups and they've all tended to be complimentary.
The only slight reservations I'd have with your setup is the use of a 250W power supply given that Radeon 9800's are usually a bit power hungry.
Posted on: 29 March 2005 by Top Cat
Hi Steve, point about PSU taken. However, if it doesn't work with the 9800 I will sell the 9800 as I bought it but have hardly needed its extra oomph, given that I rarely play games. I still retain a dualhead Matrox card which would do just fine if it comes to it.
It should arrive tomorrow (would have been today but for yesterday being a holiday).
John
Posted on: 29 March 2005 by Steve G
I'd think that if you don't have anything else power hungry in it then 250W should be ok with the 9800. Most of the 9800's I've seen have significant sized fans on them as well so in the interest of quiet you might want to consider a different graphics card anyway.
I used a 9600XT on my machine and even that is a little noisy, although there are fanless versions available (I think they use a heat pipe instead of a fan).
Posted on: 29 March 2005 by Top Cat
Might just do that. The 9800 AiW (with TV tuner), even though only a 128Mb version, has got to be pretty saleable even now. In the fullness of time, almost all my PC work is going to be done using RDC anyway
John
Posted on: 29 March 2005 by Steve G
quote:
Originally posted by Top Cat:
The 9800 AiW (with TV tuner), even though only a 128Mb version, has got to be pretty saleable even now.
It'd certainly make good money on Ebay.
Posted on: 29 March 2005 by kan man
I have a pair of SN45G's, 18-24 months old. Both have Barton 2500 processors and the one I use for games runs a Radeon 9800 Pro. No problems with the power supply (200W in my case) but you might get some issues with heat build up if you're gaming. The cure is to core a hole in the top and fit a case fan.
Mine have on board sound but not graphics.
They're both quiet in operation unless worked hard causing the cooling fan to speed up. Make sure you choose a quiet HDD, that's the noisiest thing on my non games machine.
The motherboards are great for overclocking and I have upped the clock speed to XP3000 without any heat or power problems.
I bought one of mine from Overclockers without incident.
Hope this helps
Steve
Posted on: 30 March 2005 by Top Cat
Well, it's just arrived and very cute it looks too (in a geek kind of way).
All I need to worry about now is how to remove the existing heatsink from my CPU - I believe IPA (isopropyl alcohol) applied with a cotton bud will remove the existing heatsink glue compound - can anyone confirm? Don't want to ruin the CPU...
So, that's my evening taken care of - probably several hours of cursing, swearing and boredom as I install a fresh XP (which was on the cards anyway)... but maybe this time things'll be a bit different - it certainly looks a bit more straightforward in terms of cable routing and so on than my previous homebrew efforts...
John
Posted on: 30 March 2005 by Steve G
quote:
probably several hours of cursing, swearing and boredom as I install a fresh XP
I've installed XP on a number of machines recently (including a few homebrew ones) and generally it's just been a case of putting the CD in and them waiting until the install process finishes.
Posted on: 30 March 2005 by Roy T
John,
will you also be loading a flavour of Linux onto your new machine? You never know when having a duel boot machine will save you (windows) life.
Posted on: 30 March 2005 by Top Cat
Roy, I'm tempted. I installed the most recent Mandrake and KDE recently, and whilst I liked what it offered, it wasn't without a few technical hitches. That said, my longer-term plan would indeed include a Linux distro. I toyed with the idea of replacing my 74Gb Deathstar HDD with a 74Gb Raptor and dual-booting it, but I'm trying to save my money for an Apple PowerMac G5 (whatever version is imminent) and a 30" LCD to go with it. Hugely expensive, but as I'm just about to leae the world of permanent employment to go back to contracting, I can once again justify such things...
John
Posted on: 30 March 2005 by Roy T
Posted on: 30 March 2005 by Top Cat
Ta, I somewhat naughtily have a one gallon container of very pure IPA I keep for the usual sorts of things - you know, cleaning stubborn records, contacts, getting barbecues started...
So, that seems to be the stuff for the job, I should be set. Will report back tomorrow (with luck!)
John
Posted on: 31 March 2005 by Top Cat
Well, last night I sat the various bits upon the table and assembled me a Shuttle. Hats off to SHuttle for a largely accurate, easy to understand installation booklet. I expected a few hitches (as this always seems to be the way things go anyway) but aside from a bit of fiddling to get everything into the one box - i.e. 9800AiW, HDD, FDD, CDR, Scsi card, etc. (as there's not a huge amount of space to play with) it all went well.
Plus points: Many - looks good, feels a bit faster than before despite same HDD & CPU, instructions good and it's nice and compact.
Minus point - just the one: It's not nearly as quiet as I'd hoped. As PCs go, it's reasonable, but the 9800 and ICE fans, plus a fairly noisy Deathstar hard disk all contribute to a significant, if reduced, amount of noise. On the plus side, of these bits of noise, only the ICE fans can really be said to be the fault of the Shuttle, and it's not too bad.
Overall, I'm pretty chuffed with my 'reskinned' PC.
John
Posted on: 31 March 2005 by Steve G
quote:
Originally posted by Top Cat:
Minus point - just the one: It's not nearly as quiet as I'd hoped. As PCs go, it's reasonable, but the 9800 and ICE fans, plus a fairly noisy Deathstar hard disk all contribute to a significant, if reduced, amount of noise.
Good the hear that it's going well. My PC in the office (a Dell Optiplex 170L in one of their low-profile cases) is more or less silent in operation, but the main machine at home is a bit noisier - mainly due to the fan on the graphics card.
Most decent graphics cards have sizeable fans but there are after market options to quiet them down and I'm pretty sure I've seen one for the graphics card you're using.
Posted on: 31 March 2005 by Top Cat
As an aside (I got it wrong): the Shuttle barebones system I bought DOES NOT have a built-in graphics system. Luckily it works fine with the 9800.
Does anyone know what sorts of settings - FSB, multiplier, etc. - I should be using for an Athlon XP1800 with a single 512Mb Dimm? There's a heck of a lot of 'tweakability' with this M/B and I am not 100% sure what the best settings ought to be,.,..
John
Posted on: 31 March 2005 by Roy T
IIRC you can both reset to the default values and tweak away to your hearts content via the bios and a quick look through the
forum may well tell you all you wish to know on these topics.
Posted on: 08 April 2005 by Roy T
John,
Is your new shuttle still going well and have you tweaked anything yet?
