New Shuttle Gaming Box - Need Input

[QuakerOatz]

I'm finally replacing my old Athlon XP (sig) system and building a portable gaming Shuttle rig. I'm all about the best bang for the buck, which has usually led me to AMD, ATI. Now it seem like the Black Edition with a 8800GT is the best bang for my buck. Here is the system:

AMD® Athlon™ 64 X2 - 6400+ Black Edition (Socket AM2) [CZBOX] Retail Box ***NO Heatsink and Fan*** $189.99
Asus® Extreme EN8800GT/G/HTDP/512M - GeForce™ 8800GT w/512Mb DDR3 & PCI Express x16 Retail Box $269.99
Shuttle® SN68PTG6 Deluxe AMD Socket AM2 Barebones System, Black $324.99
2Gb DDR2 Ram Module, PC6400 2 x $34.99

Ya that's regular old Kingston RAM, but at my level of moderate overclocking, I've always had luck with name brand, non-enthusiast memory.

This system will be using my 21" LCD (DVI) or 42" LCD TV (HDMI), for playing the latest FPS and RTS games

Concerns:
- Heat: Can this shuttle system take the heat of the 6400+ Black and a 8800GT?
- Power: How is this 300w shuttle supply going the handle the 6400+ Black and a 8800GT?
- Will my X-FI Extremegamer find a slot in this unit? Do I need it?
- Will I be able to use both the HDMI out on the onboard video and my 8800GT?

Thanks a ton!

 

[Blahman]

I'm finally replacing my old Athlon XP (sig) system and building a portable gaming Shuttle rig. I'm all about the best bang for the buck, which has usually led me to AMD, ATI. Now it seem like the Black Edition with a 8800GT is the best bang for my buck. Here is the system:

AMD® Athlon™ 64 X2 - 6400+ Black Edition (Socket AM2) [CZBOX] Retail Box ***NO Heatsink and Fan*** $189.99
Asus® Extreme EN8800GT/G/HTDP/512M - GeForce™ 8800GT w/512Mb DDR3 & PCI Express x16 Retail Box $269.99
Shuttle® SN68PTG6 Deluxe AMD Socket AM2 Barebones System, Black $324.99
2Gb DDR2 Ram Module, PC6400 2 x $34.99

Ya that's regular old Kingston RAM, but at my level of moderate overclocking, I've always had luck with name brand, non-enthusiast memory.

This system will be using my 21" LCD (DVI) or 42" LCD TV (HDMI), for playing the latest FPS and RTS games

For $75 more you could get a SP35P2 chassis and Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 processor, which I think would be a much better choice, with the ability to upgrade to a Penryn processor in the future, and better performance now.

Concerns:
- Heat: Can this shuttle system take the heat of the 6400+ Black and a 8800GT?

It will be a little toasty in the G3/G6 chassis, the 8800GT is a pretty hot card (literally) so as above I'd recommend the more robust P2 chassis over the G6. The E6750 should also run cooler and faster than the X2.

- Power: How is this 300w shuttle supply going the handle the 6400+ Black and a 8800GT?

Shuttle PSUs are renowned for their effeciency and a 300w would be plenty for those items. However the SP35P2 has a 400w PSU and would easily be able to power it and if you stepped up to a more powerful card in the future it is more than capable of powering 8800GTX and Ultra type cards.

- Will my X-FI Extremegamer find a slot in this unit? Do I need it?

Yes, both the G3/G6 and P2 chassis have two slots, one PCI-Express (for video card) and one PCI for add-in boards like your sound card. However the videocard has to be a single-slot card for the PCI slot to be available (the 8800GT is a single slot card and will work fine for this). However the onboard sound is more than adequate for most users including gamers... you might get 1% better framerates with the X-Fi but its up to you whether its worth putting in.

- Will I be able to use both the HDMI out on the onboard video and my 8800GT?

No, you have to choose one or the other (only the G3/G6 series have onboard video, the P2 does not). However DVI-HDMI converter cables are cheap (check Meritline and Monoprice).

In the end, either way you go it will be a screaming system in a tiny black box... I would definitely consider the Intel / SP35P2 route, though.

Check out the Shuttle forum at Sudhian.com, lots of great info there as well as lots of shuttle users to communicate with.

 

[canislupy]

FYI, most (if not all?) G3/G6 chassis will not allow for dual slot graphics cards at all. Some have cut the cover to allow for the dual slot card to protrude from the chassis to get this to work however.

 

[Alacrity Fitzhugh]

Verify with Shuttle that the 8800GT cards will work in their systems BEFORE shelling out the money for them. There are some known incompatabilities with some (admittedly older) models.

 

[phokur]

8800GT will fit P series no problem. 8800GT will even ft G series without modification.

 

[QuakerOatz]

Thanks guys, looks like I will go with the SP35P2 and Intel Core 2 Duo E6750. Looks like a better case and I like the sound of the 1333mhz bus.

 

[Alacrity Fitzhugh]

8800GT will fit P series no problem. 8800GT will even ft G series without modification.

It's not a question of "fit", it's a question of compatibility. It'll fit just fine. That there's an 8800GT (albeit not ASUS) on the list is a good sign, though.

 

[Blahman]

There are LOTS of SP35P2 users with 8800GT's (just check Sudhian.com's Shuttle forum). It is compatible, however it seems there were a few bad 8800GT's that would not send a signal to the display over DVI, but did with a DVI-VGA adapter+cable. Mine was one such card and I RMA'd it, the replacement card has no such problem.