Shuttle SN25P or Biostar iDEQ 330P

[davepuma]

I have just ordered a Biostar iDEQ 330P for a portable gaming rig. I went for it as it was smaller and cheaper than the Shuttle System. However, I'm having second thoughts as the Shuttle has a PC-E-1 slot and the only PCI-E slot the Biostar has is for the graphics card. I'm a little concerned that my expensive system will not be upgradeable or as future proof as I can make it. At the same time, I don't have a need for any of the extra slot as I will use a USB wireless adaptor for WLAN and the on-board sound is fine as far as I'm concerned.

I have opted for the following:

Athlon 64 4000+
Saphire X800XL Ultimate Edition (improved cooling) (Don't know about it's power connection though...)
Geil Value 1Gb RAM (single stick)
NEC 3540 DVD-RW
Maxtor 200Gb Diamondmax 10 SATA HDD

Will the little box cope with the heat generated by that lot!?

Regards

Dave

[DJWillis]

Both the Shuttle and the Biostar will cope with that little lot .

In all fairness there have been a number of niggles with the Shuttle SN25 and high-end parts like the 4000+, some RAM, overall QC etc. so the Biostar could be a better call if you want less problems at build time.

All I have heard about the Biostar so far is complementary and it seems like a good call, I am looking at one for an X2 based system in due time.

I would not say that the lack of a PCIX1 slot is going to hinder upgrades for the life of the box as PCI cards will be around for a good number of years and the miniPCI on the Biostar is handy IMHO for things like wireless or a second LAN while still keeping the PCI slot free (if you are happy to be creative in wiring it all up ).

Oh, and PLEASE get 2 sticks of RAM either 2 1Gb sticks or 2 512's as the dual channel memory controller really starts to pull away nicely in these NF4 based boxes and the newer E type CPU’s.

[Merlin4458]

stupid question, was is X2, is it a new cpu chip coming out,? or those playstation chips they are using. :s lol

[!nfil]

stupid question, was is X2, is it a new cpu chip coming out,? or those playstation chips they are using. :s lol

It's an Athlon 64 chip with two cores and a larger Memory Cache.

[Merlin4458]

they out now? if so what examples?

[!nfil]

they out now? if so what examples?

They will be out in a couple of weeks or so, you can preorder them at some retailers however they carry a very hefty price tag (£400 for the lowest model to £800 for the highest).

The only 4 models you can preorder are the 4200+ at 2.2Ghz with 512kb Cache, 4400+ also at 2.2Ghz but with 1Mb Cache, 4600+ at 2.4Ghz with 512kb Cache & 4800+ also at 2.4Ghz but with 1Mb Cache.