----- Original Message -----
From: "Sean Gibbins" <sean@???>
To: "Hampshire LUG Discussion List" <hampshire@???>
Sent: Sunday, April 12, 2009 3:30 PM
Subject: Re: [Hampshire] What is a Shuttle PC?
> Rob Malpass wrote:
>> Hi all
>>
>> I've done a bit of googling but (apart from the obvious shape of the
>> case) what's so special about a shuttle PC?
>>
>> I'm looking to put together a new machine with quite a bit of grunt
>> (6Gb RAM+ and as fast a CPU as I can afford). The only other real
>> specification I need is that it can handle dual monitors. Aside from
>> that, standard sound is ok, as is standard network. A front USB port
>> would be handy but no other major requirements. I intend to dual
>> boot Ubuntu and Vista and the main thrust of the machine's work will
>> be video editing (hence the RAM, CPU and graphics).
>>
>> Physical space is an issue but is there anything else to watch out
>> for? I notice for instance that lots of Shuttle PCs have only 275W
>> power supplies - presumably the case can't take any more hardware so a
>> stronger PSU isn't an issue - is that right?
>>
>> TIA - I promise I have done a lot of googling on this but not turned
>> up the one answer I need - why buy a shuttle PC as opposed to a
>> traditional tower?
>>
>
> Having owned a couple I'll have a go for you Rob!
>
> Shuttles are typically compact, nice looking, and well built from good
> quality components, and as such come with a price tag to match.
>
> For your money you'll get a case, a Shuttle motherboard and a cooling
> system that latterly has negated the need for fans. You'll get good
> instructions and pretty much everything you need to get going if you buy
> barebones, and obviously if you shell out for a pre-built system you'll
> get something ready to go out of the box.
>
> High-end Shuttles will typically take a similarly high-end graphics
> card, although you need to be careful when selecting it that the
> physical size of the card (or cards!) does not make it incompatible with
> the case. The last Shuttle I owned had room for an optical drive and two
> hard drives on board, which made conditions pretty cramped inside
> although because of the clever design cooling was not compromised by this.
>
> The last time I upgraded to take advantage of the then new dual-core AMD
> CPUs I struggled to get everything working where Linux was concerned
> (Ubuntu Hoary or Warty - I forget which), and workarounds were needed
> where some of the newer components were concerned. Shuttles are
> typically up to speed where latest developments in CPU technology and
> memory are concerned, although I'm not sure about the spec as far as
> maximum memory is concerned so you'll need to check out the Shuttle site
> [1] for specifics, but I suspect that you might be pushing it where 4Gb+
> is concerned.
>
> The PSUs are often the topic of hot debate regarding whether or not they
> are suited for purpose in a high-end machine. They are good quality and
> the ones I owned were certainly capable of performing above and beyond
> what their rating might have suggested in normal PC terms; I was using a
> PCI-e graphics card that demanded a PSU rated over 400W, and the 275W
> Shuttle unit worked just fine.
>
> Why buy a Shuttle? Well, if you want a good looking machine that has a
> small footprint and is reasonably quiet then a Shuttle might be the one
> for you. However, due to the proprietary nature of the mobos you will
> not be upgrading that machine forever, and as mentioned the small size
> of the case will limit you in terms of what will physically fit inside.
> I have a soft spot for them but I don't think I will be going back to
> them for the reasons outlined here and because of the high purchase price.
>
> So, my advice is that if you want a beast of a gaming machine or a real
> workhorse you'll probably get more mileage out of a decent tower machine
> than you will out of Shuttle, which will look nice and perform well for
> a while, but will age quicker and not be as upgradeable in the long run.
>
> Sean
>
> [1] http://sys.eu.shuttle.com/home.jsf
>
>
> --
> The computer can't tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact
> mathematical design, but what's missing is the eyebrows.
> Frank Zappa
>
>
> --
> Please post to: Hampshire@???
> Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire
> LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk
> --------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Sean - very useful.
My inteded use for this new box is to basically build something that can run
Vista or W7 brilliantly so I guess the exapandability argument wins it for
the traditional desktop case.
If only decent screen magnification software were around for Linux, I reckon
I could dump M$ completely but I've done a lot of research and those
programs that there are e.g. gmag are very buggy - hence I use Vista and VNC
into Linux boxes where I can use ZoomText to do the magnification.
Cheers
Rob
