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Mini PC Grows Up? Shuttle XPC Reviewed
Bender writes "The Tech Report has done a comprehensive review of the just-redesigned Shuttle XPC. These toaster-sized systems, sold with motherboard but sans CPU, memory, and storage, are becoming a very attractive alternative to the standard DIY system that's over twice the size. This latest PC 'cube' has everything: PCI Express, a BTX-inspired chassis design, room for a small RAID array, and pre-routed cables. The only snag is a Pentium 4 thermal throttling problem discovered through some nice investigative work. If Shuttle can fix this problem, this thing could be a killer personal workstation box."
In spite of the thermal problem I want one. Just another challenge to overcome in modding it ;)
-nB
whois gawk date unzip strip find touch finger mount join nice man top fsck grep eject more yes exit umount sleep dump
My company has a little Shuttle that we use as a temporary server in situations that require a server to go up as soon as possible, and it's the handiest thing on earth. Just stick it into a bag, go to the site, configure it and in an half hour you have a server running. I love those little things.
Surely there's a Socket-939 version around too?
Nice way to side-step that whole "Prescott Sucks" problem.
If this works, then Apple might crap its pants. Really though, the concept of an ultra-compact, cube computer has been around for a while...this is just the PC manifestation. Maybe this could inspire Apple to re-release the Cube...
...or not.
The real litigious bastards...
The new Microstar 180 Mega SFF are amazingly sexy and can be used as a Hifi when turned off, shame they're a little noisy or I'd have one in a second.
Anyone know what's the best SFF for quiet computing? It seems to me that if you buy a SFF PC it's because you want it to be quiet and convenient. Performance is not a priority.
Who wants a small raid array anyway? Better to have a big 8 disk raid-5 stuck away in your server room available over the network.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
This would make a cool linux router box.. diskless, of course, and on a live cd/dvd... =) A little netfilter, ip2r4oute, freeswan, shorewall, snort -- shake vigorously and "voila" ---- Router...
I see there's a built-in graphic (VGA port), but no where can I find the mention of TVOut, so I guess it's not part of the package.
Personally I have to wait until there's a AMD version + TVOut. I (and most people) already have a 'okay' desktop, but I wouldn't mind an entertainment centre that can be placed in the lounge.
Uselessful technology (Air-Charged
The popularity of these small, easily portable machines would seem to vindicate the G4 cube.
:-)
Although Apple users are not often the sort of gamer who would want a machine to carry to LAN parties, I've always thought that Apple had a great product in the cube, and as the years have gone past, I've come to think that it was, like the Newton, simply ahead of its time. I wonder what would happen today if Apple introduced a G5 cube in the spirit of these mini-PCs.
(And they can re-introduce the Newton any day now, but I won't hold my breath...
They make nice little machines. As I've said many times before, quiet and small is the future for PC's.
They have always been rather pricey though. And they never seem to get cheaper. Even the very old versions cost the same as they did when they were the latest design. All they do is keep coming out with new versions that cost even more. Goofy. That's why I haven't bought another in several years.
I wish someone would take this design a step farther. That is, since they are supplying the motherboard, power supply, and case there is a perfect opportunity to tie the components that get hot to the case. You know, to be cooled from outside the case by using the case itself as a giant heatsink (just add some subtle ridges/fins to the outside). That way you have less fans and more room inside. Or more room to make the whole thing even smaller.
The ratio of people to cake is too big
I have two for MythTV boxes. They are the previous model, but they're still great. The best part about one of the new model is the power brick is external, so you have less heat generated inside the small box. The fan and thermal pipe configuration makes for a *very quiet* box; perfect for home theater applications.
--- witty signature
Is there /any/ well designed PC out there? The only great box I have ever seen is this one: http://mini-itx.com/news/images/story0334.jpg, which is built for the less-powerful mini-itx board only.
I wish there were more boxes not looking so... PC. Hush (http://www.hush-technologies.com/start.html) is getting close, but not close enough... this is still look kind of cheap. Any hints?
It'd be nice if someone would take the lead and get rid of the legacy tech that still haunts these boxes. Floppy drive? PS/2 keybaord/mouse con ectors? For reals?
That being said, this might be worth a look as nice little media-server system to replace a Toshiba laptop that recently died on me.
---anactofgod---
---anactofgod---
"Equal opportunity swindling - *that* is the true test of a sustainable democracy."
I'm sure everybody remembers the Cube, which flopped in the market, but still enjoys a cult following (much like the Newton). They were one of the pioneers of the SFF PC but have completely withdrawn from this market. They were also one of the pioneers of the one spindle ultra-portable, but have since left the market for true ultra-portables to PC manufacturers. The 12" PB is nice, but at 4.6lb it's one of the heaviest 12" laptops on the market today. For people who never use the optical drive on the road, lighter is nicer.
Pitty that Apple currently does not offer products in the catagories I'm most interested in, the SSF PC and the ultra-portable laptop.
The other week I receieved 30 SN41G2s for the university I work at and I've got another 120 arriving soon. Once you've got used to how they are put together you can get the build time down to less than 25 minutes apiece.
We used to buy Dells (which I detested from a technicians point of view) but a couple of months ago we bought two Shuttle systems as a one-off. Everyone was so impressed about how quiet, compact and well engineered they were we decided to outfit an entire new building with them. The few man-hours spent on building them is well worth it to get a quality system that the usual supects (Dell, HP etc) can't seem to deliver. A classroom full of Shuttles is noticably quieter than a room full of Dells.
One thing though, if you are looking for an SN 41G2 then make sure it's a Version 2 (Silent X) model. There's still a lot of Version 1s about which are a bit noisier.
For all intensive porpoises your a bunch of rediculous loosers
Look no further, your dream case is right here.
I'm pretty sure Newegg already has Athlon64 based Shuttle boxes in stock. I'll be putting together a Biostar version this evening. So far the Biostar seems to have a slightly better internal layout than the Shuttles I've used but I'm not too confident in the PSU and case fan. They both give me the impression that they may die in a year or so. The Shuttles I've used have all seemed pretty reliable.
Do people really buy a shuttle to fit it with a 3GHZ CPU?
Yep -- I'm a developer of high-end CAD software and I often have to lug a machine to trade shows. The shuttle is about as ideal as they come for this sort of thing, once you stick in a decent graphics card and a heap of memory.
well, one of the Athlon versions and I'm very happy. I started off thinking I wouldn't like it as I always tinker with the insides of my computers but to be honest, I don't anymore. And I like that, for some strange reasons things have stopped breaking too. Surely a coincidence ;-)
The only bad point is the noise - the cooling systems are innovative but they are noisy. I know a lot of people mod their cases to remove the grill at the back and fit more air-holes around the case. On a good day the thing is near silent, but playing any games or doing any heavy work means you have to put up with the revving of the auto-fan thingy.
It's not a living room PC and the cat can't fall asleep on it anymore, but it's tidied up my desk and stopped me from tinkering needlesly.
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