Just got an SN45G - First impressions

nan0bug

Banned
Apr 22, 2003
3,142
0
0
I must say this little box is everything the reviews say and more. Right now I'm running 220x10.5 for 2310mhz, and I have a feeling it will do more once I work on the cooling a little bit. The noise isn't an issue for me, although I suppose it could be for those of you out there who are really noise sensitive.

A few things, if you are in the market for one:

Read the manual. Read it twice. Putting this thing together without knowing what you are doing will achieve nothing but frustrating you and possibly damaging your shiny new XPC.

Do a bios update before you attempt any overclocking. For some reason the bios it ships with doesn't take well to overclocking, and will give you bios checksum errors and all kinds of other interesting stuff if you don't flash it first. There is a winflash utility in case you (like me) don't plan on putting a floppy drive in it. The new bios gives you more multiplier control as well (I think it adds 11.5, 12, and 12.5)

Don't bother with expensive memory, the Buffalo PC3700 on newegg is working great for me, so it should work equally well for you.

Make sure you keep all the screws you take off when putting everything together in a safe place until you need them again. They're odd sized so you probbably wont have one laying around that you can easily replace it with.

Did I mention read the manual?

All in all if I had to rate it, I'd give it a 9/10. -1 because short of ripping the bezel off your cd drive and stealthing it, shuttle offers no way to keep the case looking as clean as it does without any drives in it.

Oh, by the way, Logitech z680's kick ass too. :)
 

DAPUNISHER

Super Moderator CPU Forum Mod and Elite Member
Super Moderator
Aug 22, 2001
31,680
31,534
146
Good info :) I'll have to grab the new bios so I can get those missing multipliers, I was wondering why they left those out before? Did you get the ACHME PSU with your's?
 

nan0bug

Banned
Apr 22, 2003
3,142
0
0
not sure who made the PSU, I will have to get back to you on that. I got it from newegg if that helps. I know the PSU is doing ok powering my radeon 9700 pro, a cdrw/dvd combo, 180gxp, a TT Smart Fan 2 (I swapped out the sunon that came on the ICE system for it, its a little louder but a LOT cooler) and the proc and memory of course.
 

SUOrangeman

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 1999
8,361
0
0
I've had an SN45G for a few weeks now as the wife's PC/office HTPC. XP 1600+, 2x 512MB PC2100 (I think its PC2100), All-in-Wonder 7500. I've currently got her 30GB as main and a removable WD1200JB in the larger bay. I'd ultimately like to get a dual 5.25" FireWire chassis to house the 120GB and her CD burner ... or any future DVD multi-format burner. The icing on the cake would probably be a Newq Platinum for FM radio alone.

I started playing around with myHTPC this weekend and it really rocks. I can pull the weather, Internet radio, and an up-to-date TV programming schedule (EPG), ... along with all my MP3s and the lone DVD ISO. All my media just a few clicks away. I also run edna to streaming MP3s to my desk at work. The AIW's DVI connection to the Dell 1800FP seals the deal.

If I could change a few things on the XPC itself, it would be the bright power and HD lights and possibly installing a quieter fan. All in all, I'm not complaining ... unless the wife is using it!

-SUO
 

joecool

Platinum Member
Apr 2, 2001
2,934
2
81
All in all if I had to rate it, I'd give it a 9/10. -1 because short of ripping the bezel off your cd drive and stealthing it, shuttle offers no way to keep the case looking as clean as it does without any drives in it.

i completely agree, the shuttles are totally sweet and very well thought out in all aspects except this. i almost when with the biostar IDEQ200N just because of the sliding cover on the front - truely the perfect solution to hiding the drive bays - and because they pre-route all wires for a slightly cleaner case interior. however, since my shuttle is meant to be an htpc i need tv-out which the biostar doesn't have on-board. i'm sure they'll fix this in the next rev tho so watch out shuttle!

 

dejacky

Banned
Dec 17, 2000
1,598
0
0
My shuttle XN45G came with revision 1.0 FN45G motherboard and the old Enhance power supply. Everything seems to work okay, so I hope it stays like that! I bought it from www.excaliberpc.com. Shuttle.com seems to always have trouble with their bios update page. Does anyone know of any other reliable sources for shuttle updates?

-dejacky
 

HemoPhilic

Member
May 9, 2002
148
0
0
I wanted to get a sn45g but went with the Ideq 200n instead. I really like their offering features and aesthetics wise. I hope I dont regret getting a biostar instead of a shuttle...
 

joecool

Platinum Member
Apr 2, 2001
2,934
2
81
i love my xpc. really well-made little box, tons of features, great performance, etc. i agree that reading the manual in advance is wise. the installation isn't really that tricky but the manual has some good tips. have fun!
 

HemoPhilic

Member
May 9, 2002
148
0
0
After having played with the 200n for a couple days now, I'm glad I got the biostar instead of shuttle.