Need Mini barebone "Shuttle" buying help

[SammyBoy]

Hey guys. I tried to search, I've looked at newegg etc, and I've read a couple tom's hardware articles. The problem is I've been out of the loop for a while and I don't know enough to make this decision for myself, so I turn to AT!

OK, here's the situation.

I currently have a horribly neglected computer. It's been running out of it's case for about 8 months now, sitting on a piece of plywood behind my desk on the window seat. I want this to change.

My brother also needs a half decent computer.

What I have as far as hardware goes......
Athlon XP1700+ or something
640mb DDR ram. Some of it's PC2100 though. Can I run a P4 with 2100 ram?
I have a nice gigabyte KT400 mobo that'll run this system fine.
A lowly geforce2mx

Getting hard drives from a buddy so that isn't a problem.

So here's what i need. Athlon or P4 based Mini PC barebones kit. Don't really have a preference but I'm used to AMD stuff and the CPU's are cheaper, right. Worried about cooling a bit though...Needs to have an AGP slot. Also needs to have firewire
Half decent video card - I can figure this out myself. Might go Nvidia for a change (had a couple 8500's til they got fubared and I got too lazy to send to ATI cuz they sucked the 1st RMA i did)


So basically my question is....

Which Mini barebones should I start with? Should I go with an off brand one for cheaper or a 300ish Shuttle one?
And will my PC2100 work with a p4 or any AMD worth it's beans or do I need new ram too.

Thanks a lot
-Sam

 

[SammyBoy]

OOOH read me!

Just found this over at newegg:

Biostar Barebone PC for Athlon XP Processors Model# IDEQ 200N - RETAIL
Specifications:
Processor Support: AMD Athlon XP processor (up to 3000+)
FSB: 333MHz
Chipset: NFORCE2 IGP + MCP-T
Memory: 2x Dual Channel DDR400, max 2 GB
IDE: 2x EIDE Devices
SATA: SATA RAID
Slots: 1x AGP (8X), 1x PCI
Ports: 2x USB 2.0, 1x IEEE 1394, VGA, 1x LAN, and Audio
Onboard Video: Integrated GeForce 4 MX graphics
Onboard Audio: 6-ch audio
Onboard LAN: 10/100mbps LAN



That sounds awesome. 232 after mail in rebate or something. How will the onboard Geforce4 graphics compare to my radeon 8500?

 

[Ionizer86]

Onboard MX, if you have 2x 333MHz ram, will be maybe half as fast as the Radeon 8500.

 

[bluemax]

If you like the nForce chipset (and who doesn't?) you'll probably like the Shuttle SN45G.
This model uses the latest/fastest/best (not nF3 though) version of the nF2 chipset and will run 400FSB.
It doesn't have any onboard video, but you have the superior Radeon 8500 anyways.
And it's cheaper.

Don't forget to go to SUDHIAN/SFFTech for reviews and their forums for GREAT SFF support!

 

[dcdomain]

Sorry for jumping in, but I'm in a similar situation and didn't want to clutter the forums with similar threads. I'm building a new mini computer for my home theatre system. Obviously it doesn't need to have great performance.

I have a Radeon 8500 card that I will be using as well. I want the system to be black in the front so that it will match my other home theatre components. I don't care which chipset or what CPU it'll use as long as it is cheap. I've been out of it, so I don't really know how the price wars are going between AMD and Intel.

I looked through Biostar, Shuttle, Soltek and MSi. I saw a few that looked pretty good but were pricey. I guess as long as it has firewire and is black I'll be pretty happy. I've read some of the reviews on Anandtech as well but still haven't reached any conclusions. Does anyone have any specific unit to recommend given my situation? Thanks!

*(Honestly, everyone mentions that the Shuttle ones are built well, and they look great but the cheapest all black unit is the Shuttle Black XPC SB62G2 for Socket 478 at 800/533MHz FSB Intel CPU, Model SB62G2 which is $325 and it doesn't have firewire!)

Chyang Fun, FIC, AMS and Prelude all have boxes similar to the Frag box that seems to be popular. Jetway has one box that is black for a pretty cheap price, but I don't know about the audio...

 

[jaxdolfan]

I have the ShuttleX SN41G2. It looks really cool and works really well.

My only complaint is that it is loud. The fan constantly runs (it is the box fan, not my Vid card fan) and it whines up and down to keep the temp under control.

Just food for thought. I recently saw and ad for the quietest toaster style ever made. I dont remember the model, but I'd look into it if I were you. These things are made to sit on the desktop, and one thing you dont want, is a whiny fan in your ear all day.

 

[dcdomain]

SN41G2B [x]
SB62G2 [x]
SB75G2 [x]
SB65G2 $331
20th Anniversary $378
AMS Black GBox CF-968L $233
Jetway Black MiniQ 760 $215


Heheh, damnit I didn't want to spend this much on the SFF case/barebones itself, but when you look at the base model which is around $300, it makes sense to move up one slot, paying an extra $30 or so for the wireless LAN, and then moving up once again by paying another $40 for the included black bezel DVD rom and memory card reader. %*@)*$@. There are the two cheaper knock offs, I really could do without the handle on the AMS, and the Jetway is the cheapest, but there are no reviews. Can anyone comment on these chipsets? This thing doesn't need to perform amazingly. Play DVD's, DIVX, SVCD's, that's about it...

 

[dotZIP]

hey jaxdolfan...
I used to have that problem...
I solved it by:

1. replacing sunon with panaflo h1A
2. using speedfan to control fan speeds

now my video card is the loudest component... looking towards a zalman zm50-hp to cool my 9600pro (fits without cutting). And also, new 250w psu's that come with the st61g4 should be out soon, they're supposed to run quieter, cooler, and deliver more power.
SFFTech forums should give you more information on choosing the mini-pc for you

 

[jaxdolfan]

Wow. thanks for the info. I installed speedfan and my fan just increased in noise! I'll have to learn about the program or uninstall it.

 

[jaxdolfan]

Any pointers on how to set it up? It has the fans running like gangbusters and there is a phantom "fan" and temp reading where the fan isnt running.