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Shuttle SS40G Mini-PC

Posted by michael on from the size-isn't-everything dept.

Thomas writes "Just got an email from a friend telling me Viahardware.com has put up a review of the Shuttle SS40G - the latest barebones system. I read through the review, and it looks like Shuttle has finally made a system that is capable of being totally silent. It has a cool heatpipe and radiator design for cooling the CPU, not to mention that it looks very cool."

10 of 166 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Silent computers by iangoldby · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's not quite silent. There are two fans - one (almost silent) for the PSU and a second reasonably quiet one for the CPU radiator, according to the article. It may be quiet but that's not the same thing as silent. Anyway, even without fans you'd still have the noise from the hard disk.

  2. This will revolutionize computing by PhysicsGenius · · Score: 4, Funny
    I, for one, am glad that somebody finally had the cojones to stand up to Corporate America and defiantly make a noise-free computer. Too long we have put up having loud fans forced down our throats and paid the so-called "beep tax". If there is one thing that consumers have been clamoring for, it is quieter hard drives and dammit, somebody is finally giving them what they are willing to pay hundreds of extra dollars for.

    Thank you ShuttlePC, you have made the world a better place.

  3. No Noise?? by TheNecromancer · · Score: 4, Funny

    A totally silent computer?? How in the heck do they expect me to fall asleep without that fan noise??

    --
    Attention all planets of the Solar Federation! We have assumed control! - Neil Peart
  4. Re:stealth advertising? by mccalli · · Score: 5, Insightful
    ...do the Shuttle PC's get a lot of free advertising on slashdot. more so than any dell, ibm, etc. equipment. In fact the only other manufacturer that seems to get as much is Apple.

    I imagine it's because they're doing something interesting with the design, a quality they share with Apple.

    With a standard desktop box, you're more interested in the components themselves and Slashdot gives a fair amount of prominence to the likes of Intel, AMD, nVidea etc.

    Cheers,
    Ian

  5. Re:Silent computers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    You can approach silence by using a VIA C3 CPU, which does -not- require a CPU fan.

    The seagate barracuda IV is so quiet as to be essentially noiseless; the background hum of fluorescent lights should be louder than a machine so spec'ed.

  6. Re:Two Things Every Review Should Have... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    NewEgg.com has em (or will get em on 6/3/02) for $350.
    I bought my SS50 from them about a month and a half ago....wish I woulda waited....*sigh*

  7. Other smallish boxes / boards by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    EZ-Go:

    http://www.directron.com/ezgo.html

    Soldam cube:

    http://www.slippersandpipe.co.uk/article.php?a=sol dam_cubes

    Other form factors:

    http://www.directron.com/slim.html
    http://nedcomp.bit-net.com/mini1.html

    VIA Mini-ITX motherboard (find a case for it somewhere...):

    http://www.via.com.tw/en/VInternet/mini_itx.jsp

    Advantech Single Boards Computers, e.g.:

    http://www.advantech.com.tw/products/PCM-9572F.a sp

    OQO Crusoe-powered handheld:

    http://www.oqo.com

    tiqit handheld:

    http://www.tiqit.com

    Older review of Shuttle SV24:

    http://www4.tomshardware.com/howto/02q1/020111/ind ex.html

  8. ss50, a powerfull fragging-machine? by Sarin · · Score: 5, Funny

    It seems that the ss40 & ss50 have a more powerfull little brother: anyone remember the Soviet ss20 nuclear missile?
    I bet that's a hell of a lot better fragging machine, it doesn't have USB though, but I guess it has a setting called USA.

  9. Own several of shuttle's boxes, very nice by Sean+Clifford · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I bought about ten of the SV24 and SV25 boxes for the office and I love 'em. In fact, I just ordered 3 more yesterday. I'm just waiting for the SS40 to come out with an AGP slot then it's on like Donkey Kong for a new LAN party box.

    These boxes are perfect for office PCs. They're tiny, packed full of features (gotta love the firewire), are quiet - and they're pretty. Only had one problem with a single box - a bad power supply that shuttle promptly replaced.

    Out of the can, RedHat 7.2 (haven't 'upgraded' to 7.3 yet) installed though you have to configure the video and some other goodies manually. Once you're up and running it's solid. I'm considering clustering a few of these, though I'm more tempted by Transmeta's rack o' blades.

    I have to say that Shuttle has hit the nail on the head with this series. I can't wait for the AMD 1AGP/1PCI version! If you have a grand or so laying around, snap one of these puppies up. :)

  10. You're not gonna get a silent Athlon system.. by -tji · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't know what the submitter considers "silent", but the article lists the noise levels between 44 and 55dB. That wouldn't even rate a quiet on my scale.

    Quiet would be a device like the Seagate Barracuda IV hard drives, which are around 30dB.

    The main problem with the SS40 is using the Athlon CPU's. These things just run HOT, and are going to require some significant cooling.

    To get a truly quiet system, you should start with a cooler CPU, like one of the 0.13u Celeron or PIII's. Or, take a P4 and underclock it to run cooler. To make it really cool, start with a low power / low heat CPU, like the VIA C3 - which doesn't even require a CPU fan.