Just got Shuttle SN45G for 2nd Time

Hey guys,

Looking for some expert opinions. I just got my 2nd SN45G back from Newegg, because I had to RMA the first one after it just died after not 4 hours of usage. I think it was a result of me changing the BIOS settings when I first recieved the unit. Here are my system specs:

Athlon XP 3000+
Geforce 4 Ti4800 AGP 8X
1 GB (2 512 Sticks) of PC3200 RAM (Corsair value variety)
80 GB Western Dig 7200 RPM HD
NEC DVDRW 4x +/-

I have a few questions:
1- Should I get the 250 PSU upgrade I have seen around? Is it worth the extra 50W?

2- What is a good fan to replace the big 80MM fan in back with, since it is really loud and revs like a ************? Also, where can I buy it?

3- I would really appreciate if someone could give me a safe set of RAM timings and other BIOS options I must change from the defaults so this baby doesnt get toasted again.

Thanks in advance for anyone who responds, I am really hoping to avoid another death for my Shuttle.

Well regarding the psu, i had one of the dodgy enhance ones with my shuttle so i got the silenx jobbie. It is nice and quiet and i think i lets my system run a little cooler aswell, so i think its worth it :)

For the fan, the noiseblockers from www.ultim8pc.co.uk seem to be good or perhaps a vantec stealth fan from www.kustompcs.co.uk

The setting that breaks the mobo is the vdimm (ram voltage) so as long as you don't go near it with a bargepole you should be fine :) btw some people have reported some success using it with the newer shuttles, have a look at the www.sfftech.com forums for some more info, although personally i wouldn't risk anouther dead shuttle :)

Corsair ram timings can be found here

I use a pabst fan on my shuttle, very quiet.

Good luck btw. ;)

Thanks alot!

Yeah, I think I may go with the Vantec stealth and I'm leaning towards getting that psu. Just want to be safe. Thanks again, and I'm sure I'll have more questions. Hehe ;)

Well, this SN45G is doing the same rubbishrubbishrubbishrubbish the one I RMA-ed did, so I will try and explain it below and hope someone can help.

Basically, I make changes to the BIOS as follows:

I remove Floppy support and change boot order so CDROM boots first (in place of floppy) and take away Floppy boot seek, because I dont have a floppy drive.

I then change the FSB to 200 like I am supposed to be able to run. I Change AGP aperature size to 128MB, and I turn off AGP fast writes. Other than that, I maintain the settings that are loaded when Optomized defaults are used. When I try to restart, I cannot. System powers on, but doesnt get past post. I can only run past post in safe mode after I have used the jumper on pins 2-3 to reset to fail safe defaults. When I boot up, my XP 3000+(2.1Ghz) appears as a 1050MHZ (yes, half) and the memory frequency says its at 400 Mhz. Then I get this message:

CMOS Checksum error - defaults loaded
Warning! Now System is in Safe-Mode
Please re-setting CPU or Memory Ratios/Frequency in CMOS setup

I then have the choice to continue or go into setup. When I continue, I am obviously running at half speed for the chip, and whatever else the fail safe defaults load. When I go into setup and make changes, after I do save and exit I get stuck back at square one again, unable to pass post.

This is driving me nuts, I dont want to have to run my chip at half speed. ANy suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Just thought Ide be more specific on my RAM type

Corsair
Part Number: VS1GBKIT400 PC3200 1024MB 2x64Mx64