The Amazing Small Form Factor Thread

[Jonty]

Hi guys

Thought I'd resurrect this thread to note the Shuttle SB83G5M. The highlight of this particular model is the integrated LCD display behind the mirror faceplate which is designed for use with Windows Media Centre Edition 2005, which can now be purchased like other versions of Windows. It looks rather cool, and couple with some passively cooled interior components it would make a really nice system.

I'm quite tempted to upgrade soon myself but there are several new technologies on the near horizon which put me off ...

• Intel's Next-Generation Chipsets - Up to 8GB 667Mhz DDR-II RAM, SATA-II, RAID and NCQ support, together with the existing 7.1 audio etc.
• Next-Generation Graphics - GeForce 7800 GTX/Radeon x900, both should be hugely impressive and go well beyond 20,000 in 3DMark'05.
• SATA II - 300Gbps theoretical transfer rates. Fast, hehe.
• Wireless USB - Set to wipe the floor with Bluetooth and even many USB devices. 480Mbps transfer rate over short distances, low power consumption etc. Admittedly support can be added via dongles, but integrated solutions should appear soon'ish (there are I don't know how many launch partners).

Kind Regards

 

[Jonty]

Hi guys

Computex has brought with it some interesting new Shuttles.

For AMD, there's the SN26P:

• First nForce 4 SLI SFF System (pictured running two 6800 GTs on the 350W PSU)
• Athlon 64/X2/FX Support

Impressive And for Intel, a new powerhouse the SD31P:

• Intel 945G/ICH7R Chipset with Pentium D (Dual Core) Support
• SATA-II and Intel Matrix Storage Support
• DDR2, PCI-Expressx16, PCI-Expressx1 Support
• Intel GMA950 Integrated Graphics
• 7.1 Integrated Audio
• 350W Silent-X PSU

No word on prices yet but I'm guessing around £300. Both use the large (and not so pretty?) 'P' chasis with the two 5.25" drive bays.

Kind Regards

 

[Embattle]

Nice

 

[Jonty]

I certainly wouldn't say no It also seems that people could have a nice graphics card to pair with these systems.

nVidia's partners are showing off dual-core 6800 Ultra cards, heaven knows how powerful they are, and MSI have even designed a 6800 with a PCI-Express interface on the bottom, and an AGP interface on the top, so you merely flip the card over depending on what your motherboard supports

Even more exciting is that nVidia's first G70 cards should be with the manufacturers by mid-June, and we already know they can push 20,000 in 3DMark'05 (the G70 is also a single-slot card). It also seems Gigabyte have developed a 4xSLI motherboard, like nVidia's SLI-2 which they're working on. Can you image four G70 cards running side by side?

Kind Regards

 

[Embattle]

I can also imagine that it would require a direct feed from the power station too

 

[Jonty]

I can also imagine that it would require a direct feed from the power station too

hehe, probably true There's some leaked information that the G70 requires 150W of power (75W from the PCI-Express bus, 75W from a 6-pin power connector) however the sample they have is months old now. But certainly two or even four of them would put huge demands on the PSU, particularly if you had a dual-core processor and the rest of the system kitted out. That said, MSI's dual-core 6800 GT manages to get by with just 75W or so, so I'm guessing the G70 won't be as demanding as predicted.

Talking of graphics, ATI's multi-GPU Crossfire system has been doing the rounds. It sounds fairly cool and has some advantages of nVidia's design, but it seems you'll need an external dongle and none of ATI's present cards will function without being updated by the manufacturers. No word on if Shuttle will be introducing a Crossfire-capable system, but they already have ATI-based motherboards so it wouldn't surprise me. That said, I still know of very few people who could really afford two graphics cards (except you Danya ). A bit like that physics chip that's being touted, around $299 for an add-in card which sits idle if the game/application doesn't support it. Integrated into a graphics card or motherboard I could perhaps understand, but at that price I doubt the take up will be that great (although Unreal Tournament 2007 apparently has one map where you can set off an avalanche of 600+ boulders, all with their own physics, sounds impressive ).

Kind Regards

 

[caLLous]

I saw the GA-8N-SLI Quad on THG last week, it looks mighty impressive!

 

[Ch3tan]

Right one of those two just replaced the sn25p as my next shuttle of choice

 

[Ch3tan]

To expand on what Jonty has said>

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=23789

sn26p, two 6800GT's running in SLI mode. They come with the shuttle and are cooled with a heatpipe system. Sounds very expensive but cool.

 

[Ch3tan]

http://global.shuttle.com/ADVNews/NewsDetail.asp?CTID=A69AC49F-B90C-445E-A412-560BA5F2A03D

athlon 64 x2 support for the latest 939 shuttles via a BIOS update.

Triple post mania!

 

[Jonty]

Building on what Ch3tan has posted, I've talked to Shuttle and they're investigating whether their SN95G5 Socket 939 systems can be updated to support the X2. Presently the v1 and v2 versions of these systems are having intermitent troubles running the latest Athlon 64 'Venice' cores and such, with only the v3 known to be stable (there was a limited trade-in program in the US, but nothing elsewhere as far as I know). Whether a BIOS update to support the new cores, including the X2, will be forthcoming I'm not sure. That said, the X2 is still hugely expensive for what it is, really, coming in at £400 for the 4200+.

Kind Regards

Jonty

P.S. The Athlon 64 FX 57 is also due out soon, although the 55 versions is around £600

 

[Jonty]

Hi guys

Now the non-disclosure agreements are up, I'd thought I'd post about Shuttle's latest and greatest Intel system launched today. The SD31P is the first Intel dual-core supporting SFF, and has some pretty amazing specs:

• Intel 945G Chipset
• Pentium 6xx and 8xx Support, with 1066/800Mhz FSB, LGA 775 Socket and 64-bit Support
• DDR2 RAM Support (2GB)
• SATA-II, including one external SATA connection (3Gbps)
• Creative 7.1 Integrated Audio (24-bit, with EAX Support)
• Gigabit LAN
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
• 350W PSU
• 8-in-1 Card Reader
• 1x PCI-Express 16 Lane, 1x PCI-Express 1 Lane

Many of the features are 'nice to haves' rather than 'must haves', but in terms of a forward looking system it's really quite impressive. Perhaps the only downside is the P chasis (and maybe the price tag) but that's fairly subjective.

Kind Regards

Jonty

P.S. When nVidia launch their G70 cards tomorrow, pairing one of those in a system like this would make one very powerful SFF system for all those Intel fans out there (boosted when nVidia release their multi-threaded drivers)

 

[Salteh]

http://global.shuttle.com/ADVNews/NewsDetail.asp?CTID=A69AC49F-B90C-445E-A412-560BA5F2A03D

athlon 64 x2 support for the latest 939 shuttles via a BIOS update.

yay ( st20g5 )

 

[xane]

Bump, as The Register are pimping release of the latest Shuttle SN26P, an AMD 939 nForce4 with SLi support.

 

[SheepCow]

Be careful with Biostar. Believe it or not their systems do not like RAM. Or rather, they only like very specific makes of RAM. Kingston is the only make I can remember that they like (my gf has one)