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Talk to me about Shuttles...

L

lopoetve

Extremely [H]
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Joined
Oct 11, 2001
Messages
34,252
Ok. So I'm new to the SFF revolution... Just been thinking, do I ~really~ need a huge tower? Especially with my new upgrade coming...

What I want to run: Socket 939, AMD X2 3800.
2 optical drives (1 is ok, but I'd like 2 if I can squeeze it in).
2 hard drives
7800GT (or 7800GTX)
Audigy 2 ZS soundcard.

Is there a SFF (preferably from shuttle, I've had good luck with their products from before) that will fill this niche? And, notably, is there one that will do it ~quietly~?
 
I too have been silently wondering this.

As far as my desire just 1 Optical Drive probably and 2 Raptors...

And probably without the audigy. As well as an X2 4400

I've been eyeballing the Shuttle SN26P which is pretty new to the Shuttle lineup for AMD chips. Reviews I've read have been as solid as the SN25P's just SLI and a few other perks. I'm very much looking forward to it end of Q1 or start of Q2...
 
I have seen people run all that you mentioned in a shuttle except two optical drives. Never saw one like that. Your best bet if this is a must is to get two laptop drives and mod them in there.

I have a sn95g5 socket 939 running a 3500+ with 2 hard drives, 6600gt, dvd burner, hercules sound card, gig of ram and have had zero issues.

Issues you may have, the vid card coolers might be to big for the case, probably wont get two ide optical drives inside, and maybe some heat problems. But the PSU's can handle all the gear. Ill see what I can dig up modelwise.
 
I can live with one optical, just have to region-free flash my main drive ;)
 
Shuttles are not your best bet
X-Qpack/microatx mobo/new PSU is your answer :D
 
CRaZYMoFo said:
Shuttles are not your best bet
X-Qpack/microatx mobo/new PSU is your answer :D
Click to expand...

I agree. better performance at a cheaper price, nuff said :D
 
I have a SN25P and the lack of a PCI slot will cost you the Audigy card.

The Silverstone SG01 is another option if you think the X-Qpack isn't refined enough looking. Any mATX board will fit in there. And it'll be as quiet as you build it, they have an imporved model with better cooling arriving this month iirc.
 
I've always wondered if you could fit 2 slimline drives into 1 5.25" bay. This would give you your 2 drives.
 
CRaZYMoFo said:
Shuttles are not your best bet
X-Qpack/microatx mobo/new PSU is your answer :D
Click to expand...

never heard of it, and I really don't feel like building my own this time around like that. I want a completed package that I drop the parts into.

EDIT:

1. Never heard of a good mATX mobo that wasn't shuttle.
2. Looks goofy :p
3. Don't know anything about the PSU's for those either.
4. Looks kinda cheap, especially with that POS they include as a PSU.
5. Way too much work.
 
qbert95 said:
I agree. better performance at a cheaper price, nuff said :D
Click to expand...
Price isn't the concern, performance is questionable imo... and the extra worth makes that one not worth it.

Not to mention that I really don't like how it looks, and it's bigger than most of the shuttles I've been looking at.
 
Well get a shuttle then
SN25P
U lose 1 opti drive and the sound card if it is PCI
 
You can do that with most s939 sff's, minus the 2nd optical drive. However, if you get 2 slim optical drives you could swing it. My ideq has room for 2 hdds, though I'm only running 1 atm. It is actually very quiet until the vid card fan spins up (under 3d, but I usually have headphones on or the sound on when that happens), in normal operation you only hear the hard drive spinning. The bad things: You won't be able to run a 2 slot vid card, and the single slot card hsf sits close to other things so the cooling isn't optimal. The other bad thing is that it has splitters for all of the power connections, so it makes me nervous power wise, though no problems yet. I am planning to add another hard drive in the near future, so that should put that portion to the test. I'm not sure if a 7800gt uses any more power than an x800xt, but so far I haven't had any problems.
 
CRaZYMoFo said:
Well get a shuttle then
SN25P
U lose 1 opti drive and the sound card if it is PCI
Click to expand...



Loosing the sound card is what has kept me on my current shuttle...i am a Audio Junky...Onboard sound just sucks to much.
 
The only drawback to thr shuttles IMO is the sound. It sucks. However, SLI in my SN26P kicks ass at LAN parties, at which I'm usually only using stereo anyway.
 
RadCliffeX said:
Loosing the sound card is what has kept me on my current shuttle...i am a Audio Junky...Onboard sound just sucks to much.
Click to expand...

Same. Is there a shuttle that will let me have an Audigy. Again, I don't care about the dual opticals any more. I'll flash the burner to region free.
 
The st20g5 has a pci slot if you can deal with the ati chipset (I've had no bad experience with them myself)? Other than that, the biostar ideq 330p also does if that's all your after, along with room for 2 hdd's, and has the nf4 chipset if you'd prefer that. It also has a mini pci slot for a wireless card so you can run wireless, the audigy and your 7800gt without problem.
 
bobzdar said:
The st20g5 has a pci slot if you can deal with the ati chipset (I've had no bad experience with them myself)? Other than that, the biostar ideq 330p also does if that's all your after, along with room for 2 hdd's, and has the nf4 chipset if you'd prefer that. It also has a mini pci slot for a wireless card so you can run wireless, the audigy and your 7800gt without problem.
Click to expand...

I personally do not believe that the ATi chipset is mature enough for general use yet.
 
lopoetve said:
1. Never heard of a good mATX mobo that wasn't shuttle.
2. Looks goofy :p
3. Don't know anything about the PSU's for those either.
4. Looks kinda cheap, especially with that POS they include as a PSU.
5. Way too much work.
Click to expand...

1. Biostar tforce 6100
2. Personal prefrence, but a some ppl like it some dont.
3. Uses regular atx power supplies. Just can't be an extended one or it will interfere with the optical drive.
4. see 2.
5. The only differnce between building this or a shuttle is installing the motherboard. I've built one shuttle xpc and one biostar ideq and my current system.

I must admint the sg01 looks hella sexier.
 
Well forget that. That Biostar has some serious issues.


http://techreport.com/reviews/2005q3/biostar-ideq330p/index.x?pg=5

Swapping slots would require a motherboard redesign, but short of gutting the iDEQ's wind tunnel or hacking up the side panels, it may be impossible to reliably run high-end graphics cards in this box.
Click to expand...

EDIT: Also no PCIE power connector. I'm reminded now of why I stopped using Biostar in the first place.
 
The solution to all your probs is right in front of you. You just rather call it goofy looking.
 
Keyser0804 said:
1. Biostar tforce 6100
2. Personal prefrence, but a some ppl like it some dont.
3. Uses regular atx power supplies. Just can't be an extended one or it will interfere with the optical drive.
4. see 2.
5. The only differnce between building this or a shuttle is installing the motherboard. I've built one shuttle xpc and one biostar ideq and my current system.

I must admint the sg01 looks hella sexier.
Click to expand...

1. I repeat my previous statement. ;) I'm not convinced that Biostar has a good motherboard.
 
Some of that review is out of date, specifically not being able to select 1t command rate in the bios, the last 2 (at least) have support for it. The vid card placement is an issue (see my earlier post) but my x800 doesn't have a problem, also any decent vid card should come with a splitter to get power to the card (also see my earlier post on all of the power coming from one cord). those are the only real issues with the system, and both have been a non-issue for me. 1t command rate is also stable for me...I get 2.4ghz (240x10) stable on my system with the stock cooling and have had no vid card lockups during gaming. YMMV of course.
 
bobzdar said:
Some of that review is out of date, specifically not being able to select 1t command rate in the bios, the last 2 (at least) have support for it. The vid card placement is an issue (see my earlier post) but my x800 doesn't have a problem, also any decent vid card should come with a splitter to get power to the card (also see my earlier post on all of the power coming from one cord). those are the only real issues with the system, and both have been a non-issue for me. 1t command rate is also stable for me...I get 2.4ghz (240x10) stable on my system with the stock cooling and have had no vid card lockups during gaming. YMMV of course.
Click to expand...

I don't really care about the command rate, I care about a 7800GT or 7800GTX being able to fit and not burning the system to a crisp, and the lack of forethought to include a PCIE power connector.
 
lopoetve said:
1. I repeat my previous statement. ;) I'm not convinced that Biostar has a good motherboard.
Click to expand...

Check out the biostar thread. You need to flash bios, but ppl getting around 300 fsb on a mAtx board for 75 bucks. Tell me that is not bad ass, throw in an opty or x2 with a 7800gt and ur set.
 
Keyser0804 said:
Check out the biostar thread. You need to flash bios, but ppl getting around 300 fsb on a mAtx board for 75 bucks. Tell me that is not bad ass, throw in an opty or x2 with a 7800gt and ur set.
Click to expand...

Not overly interested in overclocking, more interested in stability, ease of use, and warranty service. And quiet. Quiet is very good.

edit: and what thread?
 
What other cases are out there for mATX mobos? I don't mind the biostar one, but the silverstone case is excessively priced (and a bit bigger than I wanted), and I'm not overly impressed at the aspire one.
 
CRaZYMoFo said:
Certainly is taking you long enough :D
Click to expand...

I really wish they offered some of the shuttle options like this, just the case or something. I really prefer their design, but...
 
lopoetve said:
Ok. So I'm new to the SFF revolution... Just been thinking, do I ~really~ need a huge tower? Especially with my new upgrade coming...

What I want to run: Socket 939, AMD X2 3800.
2 optical drives (1 is ok, but I'd like 2 if I can squeeze it in).
2 hard drives
7800GT (or 7800GTX)
Audigy 2 ZS soundcard.
Click to expand...

Iwill has the dual cpu shuttle clone out, im not sure about the dual opteron dual core SLI thing. But dual optical drives? I cant remember any shuttles with two 5 1/4 bays.

Can you live with a USB optical drive? (just get a 5.25" usb enclosure for $40.00). Theres always the option of having network storage, if USB isnt fast enough.
 
lopoetve said:
I really wish they offered some of the shuttle options like this, just the case or something. I really prefer their design, but...
Click to expand...

Now so far the only main issue you seem to have is that the qpack is uglier than the shuttle (maybe a little bigger but it is a big deal for you?)
For a $80 case you can always make it look sexy with some paint an thing :) Be creative

You already know abotu some of the mobos so that is not really an issue.

The mian reason why everyone prefers the qpack is because they it is cheaper and more versatile than the shuttles. We like to mod our cases and stuff and even if you dont you never know when a lil mod will make a big difference in the future. Basically for the price and features, you cant go wrong. You are also free to choose any u-atx mobo and everything else :D
 
CRaZYMoFo said:
Now so far the only main issue you seem to have is that the qpack is uglier than the shuttle (maybe a little bigger but it is a big deal for you?)
For a $80 case you can always make it look sexy with some paint an thing :) Be creative

You already know abotu some of the mobos so that is not really an issue.

The mian reason why everyone prefers the qpack is because they it is cheaper and more versatile than the shuttles. We like to mod our cases and stuff and even if you dont you never know when a lil mod will make a big difference in the future. Basically for the price and features, you cant go wrong. You are also free to choose any u-atx mobo and everything else :D
Click to expand...
Yep, bigger and uglier ;)

I've never modded a case, and in reality, probably never intend to. I buy 'em the way I like them to look, wouldn't even know where to start (other than adding lights) when it comes to modding, and my art skills are... well... I'm an engineer, and I'll leave it at that.
 
actually i like the windowless QPacks they are much nicer. The Antec Aria is nice cooling, but is plauged with heat problems so i hear. And the Silverstone ones look just plain stupid.
 
I'm probably going to catch hell for this, but I'm going LGA775. Which is better, the SB81P or the SB83G5?
 
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