[vox] shuttle mini pc's [was The Mystery of the Dying Laptop]

[Shwaine]

> Wow, so it looks like that which the nvidia guy told me about is here.
> I'd like to play around with one of those at some point.  How much did
> that box set you back and what came with it (i image you had to buy
> ram/cpu/disks)?
>

The Shuttles themselves cost from $250-350 depending on where you buy it
and if you go for the SN41G2 (with onboard graphics, up to CPU 333fsb)
or SN45G (cheaper because no onboard graphics, but also has CPU 400fsb).
There's also an AMD 64 nForce model, SN85G4, that goes for $350 and up.

I got most of my stuff for my SN41G2 from Newegg.com. They also
occasionally have refurbished models for much less, but I went with the
new price. I added to it an AMD XP Barton "3000" (best processor supported
by this box), 1GB (2x512) Corsair XMS TwinX1024-2700LLPT RAM (PC2700 is
highest you can go with the onboard graphics), 160GB HD and DVD/CD-RW
combo. Came to just under $1000, with $100 in rebates, back in the summer.

You could get by for cheaper with other RAM, but the nForce onboard
graphics is very sensitive to RAM quality. I went with the Corsair TwinX
because most people who used it for the SN41G2 on Shuttle forums reported
no problems with the onboard graphics using it. Also, Corsair tests that
line in nForce models, so it's a pretty safe bet. Some of the high end
lines from Crucial and Kingston are also reported to work well. Just note
the keyword "high end", heh. If you go value RAM, you should probably go
for the SN45G and a video card. Probably will end up costing a bit more in
the end depending on the video card though.