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scrowe

scrowe

scrowe

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Joined
18 Dec 2005
Posts
24
HI All,

Looking at my first build in 3 years, not interested in overclocking, and this is gonna be a main PC (MCE2005) but in the Front room connected to 50" plasma. I'm an occasional gamer (MMORG and odd FPS or Adventure), otherwise more A/V stuff and general Internet/PC.

Putting aside the impending Core2 Duo, if I were ordering tomorrow, here's what I've come up with so far, budget around £800 + VAT, looking to source from OcUK where possible.

Shuttle XPC SN27P2 Barebones
AMD Athlon X2 4200+ AM2 Dual-Core
Crucial 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz Ballistix Dual Channel Kit
Gainward BLISS Geforce 7900 GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI-E
Leadtek Winfast DTV1000-T Digital TV Tuner Card
Samsung SpinPoint P SP2504C 250GB (x3 in Raid5)
NEC ND4571 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer LabelFlash ReWriter
Microsoft Remote Keyboard
Microsoft MCE2005 Remote (Already Have)
Microsoft MCE2005 Operating System (Already Have)

The above puts me around £200 over-budget, so immediate questions:-

1) 3x Drives gives Raid 5, but can I get 3 drives in the chassis???
2) I could redeploy my 150Gb Raptor as boot drive and 2x drives in Raid1 if that saves cash, but I'm worried about the potential Raptor noise, this needs to be quiet as possible.
3) Could drop some processor speed to save cash but 4200 seems best bang for buck currently
4) Any cheaper but fast reliable memory? Needs to be DDR2 800MHz
5) Could I go cheaper on GFX without losing performance on current games, given my less-than-demanding requirements?

Any other comments? I know the Shuttle SN37P2 for Intel Core2 Duo is out in August, so could be worth hanging on, although I guess things will be more expensive on launch.
 
i can fit 3 drives in my SN25p without a floppy, i am sure you can do the same with an SN27p, the reviews tend to suggest so



edit: Chassis
P2-type aluminum chassis, color: black
storage bays: 1 x 5.25", 3 x 3.5" (2 hidden)
stealthed drive doors

from shuttle site here http://eu.shuttle.com/en/desktopdef...ry-1013/noblendout-1/tabid-72/170_read-13021/

two sit across the top (above cdrom) and the other goes in the floppy bay
 
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OK, revised build :-

Shuttle XPC SN27P2 Barebones
AMD Athlon X2 4600+ AM2 Dual-Core
2Gb G.Skill DDR2 PC2-6400 NR Series
XXXXValue GeForce 7300GT 256MB DDR3 PCIE DVI TVO
Samsung SpinPoint P SP2504C 250GB (x2 in Raid1)
NEC ND4571 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer LabelFlash ReWriter
MSI Freeview DVB-T USB Digital TV (silly to waste pci-slot)

Western Digital Raptor 150Gb (Already Have - As Boot)
Microsoft Remote Keyboard (Now Sourced for £30)
Microsoft MCE2005 Remote (Already Have)
Microsoft MCE2005 Operating System (Already Have)

Which will be about £750 + VAT

Shall I recycle my Audigy2 ZS into the PCI-slot, or is the inbuilt Shuttle audio up to it? Plus final comments before I bosh the card?

I've sort of decided against waiting for the Intel equivalent, I've got a soft spot for AMD and I think the Shuttle/Core combo will cost another £200 methinks.
 
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Ordered today, everything from Overclockers other than the Shuttle which they don't stock.

Shuttle XPC SN27P2 Barebones
AMD Athlon X2 5000+ AM2 Dual-Core
2Gb G.Skill DDR2 PC2-6400 NR Series
Leadtek GeForce 7600 GS SILENT 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI
Samsung SpinPoint P SP2504C 250GB (x2 in Raid1)
NEC ND4571 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer LabelFlash ReWriter
Leadtek Winfast DTV1000-T Digital TV Tuner Card

Western Digital Raptor 150Gb (Already Have - As Boot)
Microsoft Remote Keyboard (Now Sourced for £30)
Microsoft MCE2005 Remote (Already Have)
Microsoft MCE2005 Operating System (Already Have)

Hopefully this will all run pretty silent, sitting under the Plasma, and ready for Vista in January.
 
althought 3 drives may be possible, as a Shuttle owner and owner of 3 previous ones I would not recommend populating every void, purely from a heat source perspective

also, are you sure the 27 has a spare pci slot, recent p series [25P and 26P] only have pci-e which is a real limitation if you want a decent sound card and tv tuner
 
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Yeah, according to reviews and the shuttle site it has 1xPCIe 16x slot and 1xPCI, so should be OK.

I think this chassis is bigger than normal shuttles, so I'll hopefully have more luck with 3x drives fitted.
 
you have to be careful with the depth of the 2nd PCI card - the Shuttle disk drive cage is quite deep and can interfere with the 2nd PCI card.
You can get 3 drives in shuttle but (i) personally would also worry heat generation as they don't draw air over that part of the case..

good luck!
 
Thanks for the advice,

I guess I could make do with Raptor as boot, and single 250Gb as Data, with the second as a spare kept in the box, if people really think the 3 drives will have cooling/ventilation issues. I'll need to make sure I get the data backed up regularly.
 
Why not an external usb drive if you want mass storage?

With three inside I think you may well have heat issues yes but with the 27P being larger maybe thats why?

Either way it will be interesting to see how this comes out
 
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i wouldnt worry too much about the heat tbh. they will have been tested with 3 hdd's in seein as it was designed for 2-3 hard drives

if you really are concerned then try it first, if the temps of them are too hot to your liking then take one out
 
Too late, ordered, but I do have a couple of 200/250Gb USB external drives anyway, plus a caddy I could but another drive into. One will certainly be used for data backup.

In the medium term I intend to get a NAS device anyway for permanently storing Music and Video archives on.
 
Well, maybe it's not too late, as I've just cancelled my order with Overclockers.

Everything was in stock Monday (and plenty of it), but I was told it could not be shipped to my work address. I said I could receive it Wednesday at home, but they weren't able to do that, I would have to call back today (Tuesday) to arrange delivery for Wednesday. Phoned this morning and was told there was no stock of the processor so I agreed to downgrade to the 4600+ which was in stock. Which was fine and was told it would be delivered tomorrow. Concerned at lack of confirmation email I phoned today 5pm to be told the DVD-Writer had also gone out of stock, and it was too late to substitute another for delivery tomorrow, nor apparently were they going to try to call me or email me to notify of the fact. Displeased at almost wasting a day off work for no reason (lucky I checked), plus the way my order has been compromised after initially being assured on Monday there was plenty of stock, I think I'll go elsewhere.
 
I have been denied a works delivery before also, and similar escapades as yourself - just one of those things I am afraid

Sounds strange why they wouldnt take your money on Monday and confirm delivery (even if on Tuesday - which would fail , but del company would automatically try again Wed when you were there)

Even if that wasnt plausable sounds a little strange that OC couldnt do something but in general they are a very good and reliable company majority of the time
 
I know OcUK have a good reputation, it's why I was keen to order as much of the kit as possible, and their pricing is often superb. However their order processes clearly aren't up to scratch. It seems now, that actually payment was taken for my entire order on the 22nd, irrespective of stock, and yet the fact payment has been taken isn't enough to secure you the stock they do have, is quite unfair.
 
I think the 3800+ is specced at 35w, maybe too under-specced if I want to use the rig for gaming too?


I'm assuming the current AM2 4600+ is 89W and a new 4600+ model will be 65W?

I see there's a 4800+ model at 65W also.

When are they due out?
 
Looking at the shuttle case last night, it has it's own heatsink/cooler for the CPU, but you need some thermal paste.

Would Arctic Silver 5 be the thing?

Or this stuff that says AMD recommended?

Akasa AK-TC5022 Thermal Compound
 
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