AMS GBox vs. Shuttle XPC, help me decide!

[bluemax]

I could get either of these two systems, but here's a sample of prices in Canadian buckazoids:

Chyang-Fun eCube CF-S868 s478 P4 $339 (no 533FSB, louder, cheap!)
Shuttle SS51G s478 P4 .......................$424 (400/533)
Shuttle SB51G s478 P4 .......................$485 (400/533, Intel chipset only difference vs. SS51G??)
Shuttle SK41G socket A .......................$449 (VIA KM266-AMD, Anand's review placed it slow on speed. )
Shuttle SN41G2 socket A, nForce2 .....$519 (speedy, usable onboard video, louder, expensive)

Price is a big concern. Obviously the gBox is pretty tempting because it's $100 less than the nearest Shuttle.
But will I *regret* it? I like the handle idea... I'll need it. It's that or spend MORE money and get the Shuttle carrying bag...

Is there a major speed difference?
...a major quality difference? (construction/stability)
...a major cooling difference? (gBox is fan vs. ICE pipe.... is that a big deal?)
...a major NOISE difference? I want quiet... most reviews put the gBox as louder, but how BAD is it?

Wish the bGox had a parallel port..... but my wife will have the printer all to herself on her own machine anyways.

If I get an Intel P4 machine, I'll probably swap my wife's P4 1.5 Willamette with a Cel1.7 - she doesn't game.
If I get an AMD machine, I'll go around XP1800+ which is just over $100CDN. I have to stay cheap. XP a too-hot processor for a mini system?


Help me decide! That price difference can go into a video card later so I don't use internal video for long. (I'm not a major gamer, but dual VGA is tempting! I know the SN41 has 2xVGA but for $200 difference I could get a very nice video card - much better than sub-MX440)

HELP! :Q

 

[BentValve]

I too am considering one of these and I think the Gbox is the best deal for sure..I wish more people sold them though.

 

[Workin']

I have a Shuttle SS51G with a P4-1.6A oc'd to 2.13GHz and I don't regret spending the dough on it. I looked at the Gboxes and I did not like the handle, it's something I would never use. The top of the Shuttle is flat so I can stack papers and stuff up there without them falling off.

You just have to decide which features are important to YOU and then choose accordingly. The price diff isn't that huge, get what you really want so you don't regret it later.

 

[vetteguy]

Did you know that there is a new GBox out? The "GBox Blue" is a 533fsb P4 board w/HyperThreading support, USB2, FireWire, yada yada yada. It's $299 US. A few people over at the sudhian forums have gotten the new ones and so far the reviews have been favorable, saying that it is at least as good (and possibly better) than the Shuttle SB51G.

As far as the original Gbox, I have one and have been very happy with it. It is not loud at all (the video card is twice as loud as the rest of the system). It performs very well and can hang with the "big boys" just as well as a Shuttle. The only complaint I've heard so far is about the PSU. The original (and first revision of the blue) come with a 150Watt PSU. I have never had any trouble with it, but some have reported being unable to use a 9700 Pro in it (it works fine on mine though). The second revision of the Blue (should be shipping now) has a 220W PSU, but I've heard that it's not quite as good as the Shuttle's. Also, the Blue has a new "XBlade" cooling system which is supposedly louder than the original.

So, it looks like for the GBox, you have

Pros: Price, handle, performance, style (if that's important)
Cons: Noise (perhaps a bit louder than the SS/SB51, but quieter than the SN's), lower quality PSU.