Shuttle PCs

[joshuatree]

Anyone here with experience using Shuttle small form factor PCs? Good? Bad?

TIA

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Shuttle PCs

Not me personally, but I have a friend that uses them and is quite happy. He wanted something more portable then a standard desktop but didn't want a laptop. He's not a gamer, so I don't think he pushes the units that hard.

For those of you wondering what we're talking about, here's the link. The unit is about the size of a shoebox. Just a bit bigger then two 5.25" bays.

[joshuatree]

Re: Shuttle PCs

Thanks for the feedback. Yep, not planning on pushing this PC hard but I'm just wondering if the 250W/300W power supplies these models come with is sufficient?

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Shuttle PCs

I'm just wondering if the 250W/300W power supplies these models come with is sufficient?

I'd hope so, but check what all goes into the unit to see how hard the power supply is pushed.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Shuttle PCs

I thought about shuttle form factor builds, however I realized one major pitfall to SFF, limited expansion in a box that has a bigger footprint than most full-size ATX towers.

As TimKona knows, real estate can be expensive so when land's scarce, the only way to expand is up. Most people put their desktops under their desk in that nice little nook that Sauder Lander made for tower designs, however the width of that nook can't accomodate many SFF boxes so you end up placing that SFF box on top of your already crowded desk. That's counter productive.

It's a cool design but most modders are slowly going back to ATX tower designs as they do a better job of handling expansion needs as well as the single most important issue that drives modders absolutely sadistic and that's cooling. SFF boxes don't do a good job of cooling vital components as well as standard ATX boxes.

And no a 250-300 watt PSU is grossly insufficient for those intending on running today's graphics cards, DVD burners and the host of buss powered USB devices.

For me I'll stick to ATX until a better form factor comes out.

[WailunaWalker]

Re: Shuttle PCs

I bought a first generation Shuttle box when they first came out and followed it up with another SFF, MSI Mega PC 865 Pro a few years ago. I used both PCs as Multimedia PCs hooked to my living room TV and they both got a lot of use.

I am a big proponent of these boxes and would say they are excellent for the purpose of web surfing, multimedia playback/PVR (BeyondTV), <S Office and the occasional 2D game like MAME emulators. My wife uses the MSI as her primary PC paired a Bluetooth Keyboard and mouse for years. They are easy to put together as you don't have to deal with mounting them in the case and everything fits nicely together. Just add CPU, RAM, HD, DVD Drive, and Video Card (if you don't want to use the onboard).

They have improved alot since the first Shuttle came out. Heat piping is much better and processors are running cooler but I would stay away from them for serious gaming though. Heat and adequate power will always be a problem, and your are usually limited, atleast internally, with how many expansion cards you can use and upgrade down the line.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Shuttle PCs

My wife uses the MSI as her primary PC paired a Bluetooth Keyboard and mouse for years. They are easy to put together as you don't have to deal with mounting them in the case and everything fits nicely together. Just add CPU, RAM, HD, DVD Drive, and Video Card (if you don't want to use the onboard).

Basically you had a barebones system, (not much of one though with that many add on's) I assume yours came with a motherboard and powersupply as you had to add everything you mentioned.

You can buy Shuttle PC cases with nothing else but you would have to purchase a SFF motherboard to fit the case. Some shuttle cases uses standard ATX-12 PSU's while others use micro ATX-12 PSU's which are limited in output wattage. Find a case that uses standard size PSU's so you can put the highest wattage rated PSU for maximum efficiency.

Shuttle's are great but because of their wide footprint it may not fit some computer furniture nooks. Standard ATX tower cases (including some micro ATX) allow for greater cooling due to better convection action going on in them tall cases.

If you're planning on running the hotter P4's then you may want as much cooling as possible.