Best Computer

[harrycary]

The XPC form factor PC isn't anything new. Tigerdirect has been selling these for awhile. They even offer a "media center" version with TiVo-like features and a remote.
Despite those features you can't upgrade them very easily(if at all). You're better off building a PC with a [more standard] ATX form factor.
This might be nice if you had it networked with a "real" computer.

EnJoi: Not so sure about the specs you've listed though. The Shuttle system(like your photo) comes with onboard audio and video. No AGP slot for a video card(no space, duh). Here's what Tigerdirect lists:

Processor:
AMD Socket A 462
Athlon XP/Athlon/Duron with 200/266/333MHz FSB
Support AMD XP processors up to 2200+
Support AMD Morgan/Duron processor up to 1.3GHz+

Memory:
2 x 184pin DDR DIMMs (support dual channel DDR)
DDR266/333/400 unbuffer DDR SDRAM (up to 2GB)

Chipset:
nForce2/MCP-T

Expansion Capability:
PCI Slot x 1
USB port x 2
IEEE1394 port x 1
5.25” Reserved Bay x 1
3.5” Reserved Bay x 2
(Two HDs or single floppy + single HD)

Case:
Aluminum chassis 300(L) x 200(W) x 185(H) mm

Front Panel:
Two USB 2.0 ports
One IEEE 1394 port
One Mic-In
One Speaker-Out
Power-On
Reset
One 3.5” bay
One 5.25” bay

Back Panel Ports and Connectors:
One PCI slot panel
One PS/2 Keyboard
One PS/2 Mouse
Two VGA port
One Serial Port
Two 1394 ports
One S-video/Composite connector
Two USB ports
One RJ45 port
One line-in connector
One line-out connector
One Center/Bass connector

Onboard Graphic:
Integrated GeForce2 MX 265-bit 3D VGA
8X mode AGP slot
S-Video Out
Dual Display Support

Audio:
Realtek ALC 650
5.1 Channel Hardware Audio
Support AC-3 Digital SPDIF OutputAudio Driver

Onboard LAN:
Realtek 8201BL
10/100Mb Fast Ethernet LAN Learn More
Support Wake on LAN, Boot to LAN, PXE 2.0
LAN driver

IDE interface:
Two UltraDMA/100 IDE Channels Master from SiS961
80-pin Cable Backward Compatible Legacy ATAPI Devices
ATAPI IDE CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW and LS-120 Supports

[3RA1N1AC]

Originally posted by harrycary@22 April 2003 - 17:46
Despite those features you can't upgrade them very easily(if at all). You're better off building a PC with a [more standard] ATX form factor.

the thing is, the ideal use for a small pc like this would be as a family room/living room entertainment box. for movies, music, and maybe some light gaming. so you put a tv tuner/capture card in it... a VIA C3 processor (compatible with amd's socket A, not very powerful but also doesn't require a fan)... use the onboard graphics chip... and you end up with a nice little box that doesn't make a lot of noise, and just acts as a media player and PVR (like TIVO).

since these are not applications that require a lot of horse power, the sort of person who builds one of them would prolly not have any reason or desire to upgrade it for quite a while. mini pcs have a specific niche, and they're not meant to be high performance machines. which may be a little hard for some people to understand... "what???? why would someone want to build a pc that doesn't have all the latest, greatest, biggest, baddest parts in it?" but there is a market for lower-end pcs that don't need to get 300 frames per second in quake 3 or blow fifty decibels of hot air into the room.

[3RA1N1AC]

Originally posted by Soul814@22 April 2003 - 14:59
by the look of that it doesnt seem like you can replace the floppy

sure you can. at the very least, you could replace it with a zip drive. but if it's possible, the better choice would prolly be to put the cover back on that drive bay and install a second hard drive in it. with a cd-rw (and and the fact that windows and linux can both boot from cd), floppy drives and zip drives are fairly unnecessary nowadays.

[Schmiggy_JK23]

These are ment as digital home entertainment hubs people, and they arent new or revolutionary or anything.

Alienware, and numerous other companys have been selling them since the windows media center edition came out.

They are ment to fuction as tivos, dvd movie, mp3 players, etc. Of course it offers full functionality as pc, but its mainly ment for watching recorded tv, burning tv shows, watching dvds, as it has pretty much all the digital outs, and what not your home stereo/theater system needs.