Shuttle's SS50 reviewed 140
EconolineCrush writes "What's 200x181x280mm, decked out in brushed aluminum, and supports a Pentium 4 processor with DDR SDRAM? Shuttle's SS50 bare bones system The Tech Report has a review up of the latest aluminum cube from Shuttle, and it's an impressive little beast. Small form factor PCs are becoming more popular, and this is the first platform I've seen with Pentium 4 support, DDR, and decent on board video via SiS' 650 chipset."
Page 1 of 8 (Score:2, Informative)
Shuttle's SS50 mini-barebones system
Cube power
by Scott Wasson [mailto] -- April 25, 2002
SHUTTLE'S FIRST cube computer, the SV24 [tech-report.com], arrived on the scene last fall, and it created a sensation. The SV24's compact form factor, wealth of built-in features, and potential expandability left our minds reeling over the possibilities. Sold as a "mini-barebones system," the SV24 could be outfitted with a processor, storage, and a single PCI card as its owner saw fit. We could build a home DVD player, or a purpose-built PC, a web-surfing terminal, or just a nice computer for grandma. Fully decked out with a 1GHz processor, the SV24 could become a fairly powerful little system.
Much as we liked the SV24, it wasn't without its faults. The form factor was, if anything, actually a little too small. The inevitable wave of SV24 copycats and competitors, like the Pandora S [tech-report.com], offered more room for expansion and a much-improved vertical PCI slot configuration. And small as it was, the SV24 still sounded like a much bigger computer. The din of the SV24's exhaust fan was enough to lull an overworked tech writer to sleep at the keyboard.
The SV24's biggest drawback, however, was its outdated Socket 370 platform. See, truth be told, we like the cube-PC-as-second-computer thing, but some of us prefer the option of replacing our massive tower cases altogether. Maxed out, the SV24 could accommodate a 1.13GHz Pentium III processor with a 133MHz front-side bus and PC133 SDRAM. That's a recipe for a brand-new Apple or an outdated PC; we considered it a little pokey. An updated version of the FV24 motherboard added support for faster PIII "Tualatin" processors [tech-report.com]. Yawn.
We said when the SV24 arrived that Shuttle ought to "sell a bundle of these things." And perhaps they did, because Shuttle is already launching a pair of powerful successors to the SV24. These new cubes address most of our complaints about Shuttle's original cube systems. The system we're reviewing today will support Pentium 4 processors as fast as 2.4GHz, and an Athlon version is reportedly on the way. Depending on your needs, this cube might just--maybe, possibly--be able to replace your desktop system altogether. To that end, we've benchmarked this thing to see what happens. Can a cube fulfill a PC freak's desire for both high style and high performance? We'll find out.
The new cube
Shuttle's SS50 is significantly more advanced than the SV24 in a number of ways, but before we get into that, I'm sure you'll want to get a look at the SS50. As you can see below, the new cube is just a little bit larger than its predecessor.
The Shuttle SV24 is just a shade smaller than the SS50
The SV24 has only one horizontal PCI slot while the SS50 has two vertical ones
No, I'm not kidding about the surround sound. It's for real. But I'm just getting started on the specs.
Also... (Score:4, Informative)
Probably BUT ... (Score:2, Informative)
This is reatailing at $350 bareboned
pretty cheap
I would rather get one of these.. (Score:3, Informative)
what? can't hear you over the roar of my ss50 :P (Score:4, Informative)
Viahardware Small Form Factor & Quiet PCs Forum [pcstats.com]
And a number of ppl on that forum have complained about the noise--the SV24 was loud, but the SS50 is even louder
Apparently the excessive noise is die in large part to the crappy PSU fan, but
And incidentally, for the crowd that thinks undervolting the fan or using a low rpm fan is the solution, note that at 26'c ambient, the CPU already measures >50'c (more figures on page three of the above link).
Re:what? can't hear you over the roar of my ss50 : (Score:4, Informative)
Re:No, the Problem with Compaq... (Score:3, Informative)
There's a reason companies don't build their own PCs or buy from Joe-Bob's Computer Warehouse.
Via Eden for fanless system (Score:3, Informative)
Via EdenManufacturer's page [viavpsd.com]
Good features:
Fanless operation
Eq to Pentium 533 (< 10db?)
integrated decent graphics with iDCT compensation for DVD
ATA-33/66/100 support
10/100 Mbps Ethernet
MC 97 Fax/Modem
TV-Out (S-video)
1394
USB 2.0
AC 97 codec
Compact package
Quiet HDTV home entertainment with following add-ons:
Ultra-quiet DVD drive
160G HD
HDTV Card [telemann.com]
Decent 5.1 sound card
Roll your own software
Estimated cost $900
Connected to a 5.1 receiver w/speakers, this gives you a good sytem which plays all music formats, DVD player, acts as a DVR (for both NTSC and HDTV formats, > 40 hrs.), file server, reasonable gaming.
Gerry
my $0.02
Manufacturer's page [viavpsd.com]
Review1 [viahardware.com]
Review2 [overclockers.com]
Review3 [pcpowerzone.co.uk]