OT - Shuttle XPC

Caruso wrote on 9/19/2004, 7:00 PM
I have been looking at one of these small form factor computers with an eye for using it to record/edit with Vegas in remote locations. I've never been a fan of laptops and, for my tastes, they are more expensive than desktops, and I need a regular keyboard in order to type properly.

If the hype on these little boxes is believable, they are powerful, yet quiet, and I love that compact little case.

Anyone here have any experience or comments?

Thanks.
JC

Comments

wethree wrote on 9/19/2004, 7:47 PM
got two SB51Gs and I love em-- one has a 3G HT P4 w 1G RAM and ATI9700Pro Graphics card, 1 has a 2.4G P4 w 1GRAM and onboard IBM graphics card. Other than drilling a few extra grill holes into the side of one to drop the temp of the ATI card I've had zero problemos with em.

bestx3,

bt
Laurence wrote on 9/19/2004, 7:51 PM
I have one of the models that is a couple of years old now. A P4 3.06 with the slower 533 bus. I really like it, although I put better video and audio cards in it. I can't imagine going back to a large format machine now. Their current systems are even faster though.

Actually in spite of it's small size, it is my bigger machine. For portable I use a Toshiba Satellite P25. What absolutely makes this machine for me (aside from the 17" widescreen display and good built in speakers) is that you can pop the battery out and replace it with an extra hard drive. The unit that fits into the bay is just an empty case where you can slide in your own hard drive. It can also drive an external monitor in dual monitor mode, though most laptops can these days. This is one awesome laptop.
TheDingo wrote on 9/21/2004, 2:44 PM
Review of the new Shuttle SN95G5 Cube ( AMD 939 CPU )
http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_content.asp?id=sn95g5&page=1

Review of the new Shuttle SB81P Cube ( Intel LGA775 CPU )
http://www.sfftech.com/showdocs.cfm?aid=563

I've been using a Shuttle SN41G2 ( AMD XP3000 CPU ) for a couple of years
now, and it's been great. Very fast machine.

24Peter wrote on 9/21/2004, 4:30 PM
I built a Shuttle system for myself 2 yrs ago and it's still running strong. I've got two 120 GB WD drives, a DVD drive and ATI Radeon graphics card with a P4 2.4 ghz processor 512 MB RAM and my MPEG-2 renders are often better than real time. Plus it sits on my desk and is reasonably quiet. (The newer ones are even quieter.) It's so small, people always ask where my computer is. :-)

I did have a problem with memory clock speed: while the MB was rated for 333Mhz memory, even with good quality memory, the system was unstable. Lowering the clock speed to 266Mhz solved that problem and it's run fine ever since. The new ones can hold up to 4 SATA hard drives along with a DVD burner and high end graphics card. Go for it!
Laurence wrote on 9/21/2004, 7:31 PM
Another thing, you can buy cases especially made for the SFF Shuttle systems if you're using them for portable systems.
Caruso wrote on 9/22/2004, 2:28 AM
Thanks for the replies. I went out and got one - model 5690. In addition to Vegas, I use Wavelab to make live recordings in my studio and at onsite recording sessions. I found that the inherent system "noise" kept my Wavelab Level meters at a steady -44 db - way to much racket to deal with when making a recording.

I emailed Shuttle's tech dept about the problem. They responded that this was a limitation of the onboard sound card and suggested that I upgrade to a better one.

I was initially miffed that I should have to go out and buy an upgrade to make a brand new system do what it (apparently) is designed to do.

The folks at the store (Best Buy) were more than happy to refund my money or make an exchange. In the end, I decided to try a new sound card (Creative Audigy LS - $50).

The new card did eliminate the problem - my level meters now show no activity when the system isn't receiving a wanted audio signal.

Adding the card eliminates the functionality of my optical in jack (the Audigy includes an optical out only), but, I've never used optical before, so, I'm ok for now with that.

In reading the reviews cited in this thread, I realize that my model isn't the most recent, but it's a major step up for me from the 900 mhz/100 fsb machine I've been using - and it's a much more compact much lighter package to carry around.

I'm thinking about moving my copy of XP Pro onto this new machine (it ships with XP Home) - we'll see.

Additional comments welcome.

Oh, and where are those special cases to be found?

Caruso