Shuttles Again…

[Jimmy Little]

Shuttles Again…

Ok my girlfriend has given up on getting a mac and has asked me to build her a shuttle computer, I have put one of these together last year, and a agree with her that they are nice little things..

So what one ? and what else shall I go for?

It will be used for graphic design stuff, (no games) so I guess 512 ram? Not sure on the cpu size though ? and I recon it would be cheaper to get one with onboard graphics as she only needs to be doing 2D stuff, Photoshop and flash will be the most commonly used programs…

Also 17” TFT is needed… any ideas?

[Scott]

Are you thinking P4 or AMD?

I have one of each, SN41G2 for AMD Barton 2500 and SB62G2 for P4 2.8b. The AMD runs fine on 512meg PC3200 Corsair Value and the P4 is using 1gb of PC3200 TwinMOS.

Both a good little machines, and obviously the AMD one was cheaper to build by about £200... But that's only because i put a Top notch video card in the P4 rig.

As for an TFT screen, depending on how much you want to spend, and wait. The Iiyama 431 ranges are the mutts nuts

[Jimmy Little]

thanks mate, i'm looking to get an AMD one if they are cheaper, not sure which chip to buy.. got any ideas on which shuttle and cpu?

[Scott]

The SN45G2 is a good little machine, and they can be had for £130 from MD.co.uk. Couple that with a Barton 2500 or 2600, and you'd have a good little system there for under £200.

There are newer, better AMD shuttles out there, again it just depends if you want Sata, Athlon 64 support or things like that.

[jsterling]

I got a new shuttle this weekend, SN41G2B with 2800XP, 512mb ram, 120gb HD. I also mainly use it for photoshop and flash and performance is really good. Haven't run benchmarks yet but is way faster than old XP2000 and friends P42.6.

[BeelzebubUK]

You could also go for another option. The AOpen XC Cube EZ18.

Same specs as the latest AMD Shuttles but from the reviews I've read its designed just that little bit better (especially internally). Got a definite Apple theme if you go for the White (5 different colours) so your girlfriend will be happy and is stealthed straight from the box.

I would have got the P4 version (EZ65) if I hadn't bought a Shuttle SB75G2 about 2 months ago.

[Rexticle]

The SN41G2 is the best choice if you want onboard graphics. The SN45G is your best mate if you want to put a video card in.
Personally I think the SN41G2 looks better, and it still gives you the choice to upgrade with a video card at a later date.
As for the CPU? the barton 2500 is sitting at a pretty sweet spot at the moment, it also has some good over clocking features if your friend is into that.

[Jimmy Little]

so the SN41G2 comes with onboard gcard, but has space for a new one if needed?

[^^Gord^^]

I've just bought a SB75G2 to replace my SN41G2 so that will be going up for sale towards in the end of this week if your intrested in a 2nd hand one.

In answer to your question the SN41G2 has an AGP and a PCI slot. I've got a 9700 Pro in mine.

[Proplus]

Dude, if you are looking at doing a lot of graphical intensive work like using Photoshop, get a P4 one.....trust me, had one of each Shuttles, and the performance gain my missus gets on the P4 one when you does AutoCAD, PhotoShop, FormZ rendering is immense.

Plus, get 1Gb of ram, the work will need it.....

[andrewuk]

Dude, if you are looking at doing a lot of graphical intensive work like using Photoshop, get a P4 one.....trust me, had one of each Shuttles, and the performance gain my missus gets on the P4 one when you does AutoCAD, PhotoShop, FormZ rendering is immense.

Plus, get 1Gb of ram, the work will need it.....

Agreed, A P4 with hyperthreading is your best bet. Apps like PS which are multi-thread capable will benefit hugely from HT.

[Jimmy Little]

edit!

[drp]

Are you yet to build that shuttle system for your mrs then bobby?

But yeah, definately 1GB of memory will be handy for designing purposes. A decent budget card should do the trick too imo

[Jimmy Little]

just ordered now, will build on friday, we went for 512 meg of ram and may opt for the gig if need be..

[Jimmy Little]

I've just bought a SB75G2 to replace my SN41G2 so that will be going up for sale towards in the end of this week if your intrested in a 2nd hand one.

In answer to your question the SN41G2 has an AGP and a PCI slot. I've got a 9700 Pro in mine.

i might intrested for myself, let me know the price when you put it up for sale, email is in sig!

[drp]

Did you go for a GFX card in the end or are you going to use the integrated option for now?