![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
Just in case I got the model number wrong, it's the Shuttle with the VFD and the 945 chipset. So without further ado, here are the questions:
1) Is the *cough* "HD" *cough* onboard audio good enough? Is it shitty enough to warrant an upgrade to an X-Fi, or is it barely noticeable, in terms of in-game audio positioning and music? I'm thinking about paring this up with a Z-5300 set (for music and movies when my anti-videogame mom is around) and a Grado Labs SR-80 headphone (for gaming when the bitch goes to sleep and I finally get some piece of mind). I've been playing piano since I was 4 (15 years old right now), so it's disturbingly easy for me to pick up minute defficiencies (sp.?) in audio quality, just so you know.
2) Is the PN15 802.11g USB doohickey good enough for lag-free gaming? Or should I forget using that spare PCI slot for a sound card, and get a Belkin Pre-N instead? My room is about 20 meters away from the router, and about 2 meters higher in elevation because it's on a different floor. Most of the games I play are multiplayer games, and it would really, REALLY suck to have to sit through lag or run downstairs with the PC to where the router is to play Counter-Strike or Battlefield 2. And I don't want to share my PC with my PC-illiterate mom or my GunBound playing bro, since I highly doubt that neither one need a Geforce 7800 GT to fulfil their PC needs.
3) Is Corsair XMS2 DDR2-675 2x512MB supported? There was this thing on Shuttle's compatibility list that said that "X16" blah blah blah was not supported, but I'm not sure if Corsair's XMS2 falls in that. I want to make the switch from 1GB to 2GB later on, so I want to know if that's supported too.
4) Just what can I do with the VFD? Can I get it to do everything it's advertised to do, plus get it to scroll "n00btard's Shuttle" or "fuck off" on it?
1) Is the *cough* "HD" *cough* onboard audio good enough? Is it shitty enough to warrant an upgrade to an X-Fi, or is it barely noticeable, in terms of in-game audio positioning and music? I'm thinking about paring this up with a Z-5300 set (for music and movies when my anti-videogame mom is around) and a Grado Labs SR-80 headphone (for gaming when the bitch goes to sleep and I finally get some piece of mind). I've been playing piano since I was 4 (15 years old right now), so it's disturbingly easy for me to pick up minute defficiencies (sp.?) in audio quality, just so you know.
2) Is the PN15 802.11g USB doohickey good enough for lag-free gaming? Or should I forget using that spare PCI slot for a sound card, and get a Belkin Pre-N instead? My room is about 20 meters away from the router, and about 2 meters higher in elevation because it's on a different floor. Most of the games I play are multiplayer games, and it would really, REALLY suck to have to sit through lag or run downstairs with the PC to where the router is to play Counter-Strike or Battlefield 2. And I don't want to share my PC with my PC-illiterate mom or my GunBound playing bro, since I highly doubt that neither one need a Geforce 7800 GT to fulfil their PC needs.
3) Is Corsair XMS2 DDR2-675 2x512MB supported? There was this thing on Shuttle's compatibility list that said that "X16" blah blah blah was not supported, but I'm not sure if Corsair's XMS2 falls in that. I want to make the switch from 1GB to 2GB later on, so I want to know if that's supported too.
4) Just what can I do with the VFD? Can I get it to do everything it's advertised to do, plus get it to scroll "n00btard's Shuttle" or "fuck off" on it?