Yes, I DO get excited about PCs!

[Jason Dunn]

<a href="http://www.shuttleonline.com/spec.php3?model=ss51">http://www.shuttleonline.com/spec.php3?model=ss51</a><br /><br />Recently in a rather...intense thread on <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2668">Apple</a> a few individuals had said that no one gets excited about new PC models. Boy were they wrong.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/ss51g.jpg" /><br /><br />I'm the proud owner of a Shuttle SS51G - this thing is a miracle of modern engineering! Firewire, USB 2.0, AGP, PCI, an innovative "heat pipe" on the CPU for no-fan operation. I've been loaned some hardware for the <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2561">Faster Smarter Digital Video</a> book, so here's what going into this little beastie: Pentium 4 2.53 Ghz, 1 gig of PC2700 DDR RAM, 120 gig Western Digital Special Edition hard drive (8 meg cache), and an as-yet unknown nVidia video card (hopefully a GeForce 4 Ti 4600). My blood is boiling at the thought of putting this thing through some benchmarks. It was a little pricey ($569 CND), but worth every penny. I'll let you know how it works out...

[Venturello]

I've read many reviews about this little box, but the configuration you got on it is SWEEEET Jason! Enjoy!!!

[mjaffe]

Hey...now I know what they did with all those left over Apple cube enclosures! ;-)

Enjoy.
Marc

[kagayaki1]

I have done so much research about the SS51 since the post was made about Small Form Factor computing a couple weeks ago. This is the coolest thing to come along in a while.

I encourage everyone to read the reviews of this little device. Most are available as links on ComputerNerd (http://www.computernerd.com), and cover some not so well known pluses and minuses about the product. But, overall, it looks like Small Form Factor computing is finally making its mark.

-Jason[/url]

[welmoed]

So who sells them? The specs look mighty interesting.

[kagayaki1]

I actually don't find it to be THAT pricey; here's why:

(all this is in US dollars) OK, a good case is going to cost you $100, no matter if it's large or small. Then, a good quality motherboard is going to cost you about $100 too. Factor in the very cool processor cooler plus fan at $40, a power supply at $50, and suddenly you're very close to the $329 US price tag (@ newegg, for those who care). I think it's actually quite reasonable.

-Jason

[kagayaki1]

So who sells them? The specs look mighty interesting.

www.newegg.com]NewEgg, www.computernerd.com]ComputerNerd, and I think www.tigerdirect.com]TigerDirect are all selling them. They are in VERY hot demand, though. In fact, I noticed just now that NewEgg raised the price by $16 just because they have them in stock.

-Jason

[heov]

I still bet you get more excited the night before MacWorld :) I hear g5 is coming soon from IBM that uses some sort of 64 bit processing...

Also, I personally like the design of the Apple Cube better, but It probably wasn't as expandable.

[Jason Dunn]

I hear g5 is coming soon from IBM that uses some sort of 64 bit processing...

Yeah, and the Unicorn is making a comeback. :wink: I find it amazing that you'd try to dismiss my excitement over the Shuttle like that. You Mac guys are something else...can't a guy be happy about his PC without you feeling insecure? Sheesh!

[Jason Dunn]

I actually don't find it to be THAT pricey; here's why...

And remember that it also has the built in video card - not a blazer by any means, but likely decent for 2D work. USB 2.0, Firewire...it all adds up to a really sweet deal.

I put most of it together tonight, and it was VERY easy to do. I'm just choked that I have to wait until next week for the RAM and nVidia card - I thought I could use PC133 SDRAM in there but I can't - I'm a little "behind the times" when it comes to RAM. ;-)

[Terry]

I'm excited about this puppy :!: ...been thinking of trying a few around the office (since HP abandoned the Vectra PCs)...anyway it has an SPDIF in and out connector...didn't know what the heck that was, but it is totally cool now that I know.

Check out http://www.epanorama.net/documents/audio/spdif.html for why this is cool!! Now I might be able to use that digital out on my 5 disk CD-player...

Only weakness I can see is the single PCI...but I don't know what I'd put there anyway...it has everything current already built in...

[Mr. Anonymous]

Oh YUM! I hadn't seen this before (where have I been?!?!), and it looks like the perfect way to satisfy my Mac craving and still be able to run all the games I like to play.

Between this, the Tmobile Pocket PC, and the new Windows iPod, August is shaping up to be a very expense month for me :)

[sundown]

Sweet - you've got me interested, too. Jason, you should become an affiliate at one of those places so we can buy through your link.

Bill

[Kirk Stephens]

I am excited (errr I meant to say jealous) for you man, very cool setup. Keep us posted as to how she treats you.

[klinux]

Good for you Jason! I have thought about getting it too but am waiting for the SN40 which is the nVidia MB based version.

And who says PC and Mac cannot co-exist peacefully together? :) I enjoy both my Mac iBook 700 Mhz and Shuttle SV24 (other PCs not shown).

http://home.earthlink.net/~dkla1/_uimages/Desktop.jpg

[Dave Conger]

...a few individuals had said that no one gets excited about new PC models. Boy were they wrong...

Mmmmm, that is one hot computer (pardon the drool that I got on your desktop when i was staring at it). It is very cool how the made the front panel...good to see that some companies are mimicking those tricks moders have been using for a while. The only thing I hate is working inside...think you could post a shot of the inside? I would be interested to see if they made any innovations in there.

[kagayaki1]

Those modifications pictured follow the modifications made by PCPowerZone pretty closely. http://www.pcpowerzone.co.uk/reviews.php?id=85]Check it out here. That should answer all your questions, Dave.

-Jason

[kagayaki1]

Hmm....the urls only seem to work sometimes. Weird. Here's the link again:

http://www.pcpowerzone.co.uk/reviews.php?id=85

-Jason

[kagayaki1]

Keep in mind with the modifications pictured at PCPowerZone.co.uk that they were done on a SS50. May not seem like a big deal when looking only at model numbers, but Shuttle did a fairly radical exterior design change on the AMD enabled SS40, and followed with similar design on the P4-based SS51.

The blue lights through the holes are tough to do on the newly designed unit, since there are no holes........it will be interesting to see what others do with the SS51.

-Jason

[kagayaki1]

BTW, not trying to diminish the work done by klinux....it looks awesome!

-Jason

[klinux]

Thanks for your feedback kagayaki1.

Many SFF (small form factor) enthusiasts dislike the blue cover because it is harder to customize and harder to get it to match other audio and computer equipments.

Jason: here's where I go to get my daily dose of SFF and Shuttle info and discussion (not as good as PPCT!). Hope to see you there! VIAhardware forums (http://forums.viahardware.com/categories.cfm?catid=33)

[Foo Fighter]

Wow! Not a bad looking system, Jason. Love the I/O ports in front. Even Firewire too?

What about performance? The problem with mini/micro AT PCs like this is that performance is often sacrificed for size. 5400RPM hard drives, integrated video and audio chipsets.

The only aspect of the design I don't like is the blue face-plate. I would have preferred graphite. Is the rest of the case silver..or is that just my imagination?

[Foo Fighter]

Hey, when the hell did I become a Pocket PC theorist? Is that the next step up from intellectual?

[Underwater Mike]

Wow, and a great price, too! Would make a nice addition to my crappy nine-month-old Presario 2700 notebook, which cost almost 10 times as much. The only thing I wish it had, since there are two 3.5" bays, is RAID support.

Please post a lot of pix!

Foo, the SS51 press sheet on Shuttle's site, http://www.shuttleonline.com/ss51_xpc_press.htm, says that there are different colored faceplates available. Not idea about cost or colors, but it shouldn't be too bad.

[Janak Parekh]

Wow! Not a bad looking system, Jason. Love the I/O ports in front. Even Firewire too?
Yep, built into the mainboard.

What about performance? The problem with mini/micro AT PCs like this is that performance is often sacrificed for size. 5400RPM hard drives, integrated video and audio chipsets.
The hard drive here is user-installable. Built-in video is mediocre (integrated SiS video), but there's an AGP slot in this one (first Shuttle small-case unit to have it, and that's why it's majorly cool). Audio is a generic 5.1 + SPDIF component... although you can plug in a PCI sound card or an Extigy. It's not bad at all.

--bdj

[kagayaki1]

I wonder if you would drop a RAID card into the PCI slot....hmmm.....server enthusiasts :wink:

klinux - thanks for the forum recommend! It's awesome!!

[kagayaki1]

What about performance? The problem with mini/micro AT PCs like this is that performance is often sacrificed for size. 5400RPM hard drives, integrated video and audio chipsets.

The neat thing about this case is there is very little sacrifice, except for the fact there are limited drive bays and expansion slots, of course. It takes 7200 drives, and like someone else said, the AGP 4X slot is new, and the case can accomodate even the monster Ti4600!!! Also, there's just a ton of integrated stuff on the motherboard (USB 2.0, firewire, PS2, serial, VGA, on and on).

The only thing it seems to lack is a parallel port......, but I probably can learn to live without one.

[Underwater Mike]

RAID on a PCI would be possible, but I'd rather have it on the board. Geez, everything else is on there already!

BTW, here's a very good review: http://tech-report.com/reviews/2002q3/shuttle-ss51/index.x?pg=1. The integrated audio received high marks.

Apparently the airflow around the RAM/under the drive mounts is not good (especially since there's no venting on the front panel), but I bet it wouldn't be too hard to add some ventilation without ruining the aesthetics. This review (http://www.pcpowerzone.co.uk/reviews.php?id=85&page=1) of the SS50 includes some interesting mods to improve airflow and lessen noise. Looks simple enough, even for a klutz like me. :?

[Jason Dunn]

The only aspect of the design I don't like is the blue face-plate. I would have preferred graphite. Is the rest of the case silver..or is that just my imagination?

These look pretty cool eh?

http://akiba.ascii24.com/akiba/news/2002/08/09/images/images693681.jpg

[harsaphes]

you can configure and buy the 551 here.

Ajump.com

[marconelly]

OK, wait a sec...

2.53GHz machine with 120GB HD costs $560 CDN and you consider THAT pricey? I would buy this thing in a heartbeat!

Nah, that sounds too good to be possible. Only the box + MB is 560, right?

[Jason Dunn]

Nah, that sounds too good to be possible. Only the box + MB is 560, right?

Right - $569 CND is just the Shuttle SS51G.

You still need to buy the RAM, CPU, hard drive, CD-ROM, and floppy. Still, I figured out I could configure a 1.5 Ghz P4 system with 256 RAM, 20 gig HD for under $1000 CND. Not bad at all!

[Terry]

The folks at
Grantie Digital
have some goodies (including RAID) that seem to fit well with the Shuttle...
http://www.scsipro.com/catalog/pg22b_firewireidehotswapraid_2.htm

[Jonathon Watkins]

Hey, when the hell did I become a Pocket PC theorist? Is that the next step up from intellectual?
Can't think of a better person it could happen to Foo! :D

It's this semi-random uncertainty principle in title changes - isn't it Jason - i.e. not at 100, 200, 500 posts etc. - makes things interesting!

I really like the look of this case - but wonder how it will cope with the heat generated by the next generation of 3Ghz furnaces.......

[st63z]

Wait, so the other parts going into the SS51G are all loaners? Oh, such pain (when you have to return them)... ;)

Like some others, I'm also waiting for the SN40. Not that I didn't particularly want the SS51 (it's just as awesome), but more that I'm out of $$$ right now to buy parts for another new system, argh. I think I've wasted my whole year's budget this summer (the latest being the two T68i's yesterday).

[Jonathon Watkins]

I think I've wasted my whole year's budget this summer (the latest being the two T68i's yesterday).
Either you are buying for other people - or you have a really weird way of talking to two people at one with two phones! :wink:

[Jason Dunn]

Wait, so the other parts going into the SS51G are all loaners? Oh, such pain (when you have to return them)... ;)

A mixture. The nature of product evals is always vague - some companies make you sign loaner agreements, others just give you the stuff and tell you you can keep it, others don't do either - and I'll only know when I'm finished the book. ;-)

[st63z]

I think I've wasted my whole year's budget this summer (the latest being the two T68i's yesterday).
Either you are buying for other people - or you have a really weird way of talking to two people at one with two phones! :wink:

It's called multitasking, silly. Or, stereophonic conversations... OK, seriously, family members, 'nuff said ;)

Earlier this summer, let's see.. it was the recent ReplayTV 4500 boxes (and upgraded HDDs), the new home tower PC, the new speakers, the 256MB SD cards (with one 512MB on backorder), the new miniDV camcorder, new digicam, etc. But the biggest drain has got to be my new car and all the stupid $$$ things I'm buying (and will continue to buy) for it, ugh, it's a new out of control obsession...

I HAVE set aside a fixed budget reserved for my future XScale PPC, hey I'm not that far out of control :D Especially as my old iPAQ's stylus silo just broke, and I JUST lost my all-in-one stylus pen, ack!!

[Underwater Mike]

Like some others, I'm also waiting for the SN40.

What's the SN40? Is that the AMD version with AGP/PCI instead of 2 PCI?

[st63z]

^ Yeah, based on the new nForce2 mobo chipset. Scan the ViaHardware forum briefly and you'll find all the pertinent info.

If I recall correctly, I think its integrated graphics is roughly equivalent to one of the GeForce4 MX's. For non-serious gaming (or low-res gaming strictly on the tube) it should do. Also good for the dual-head. The other stuff is mostly the same as original nForce.

nVidia is also releasing a chipset version w/o the graphics, but last I checked people were unsure which version(s) Shuttle will put into their FlexATX mobo.

Anyways, the possibility of adding some ATI A-i-W Radeon 9700 AGP card is also exciting. Ironic, using an ATI graphics card with an nVidia mobo :)