Shuttle PC died - looking to upgrade

harney

Alas my shuttle pc died after several years of service. I probably just need to replace the power supply, but will do that after getting a new system

So, I really like the form of my SHUTTLE XPC SK22G2 BAREBONES PC and would like to get another.

Up till now my system was an AMD. Is it worth going that route again, or should I look at intel?

I use Linux, so I don't need an OS
I have enough HDD, as well as a Blu-ray player and monitors.
I am living in the UK so will need to buy from there.

I think I would like something that could take 16/32GB of ram as I will use it to run vm's some times.

I am not a gamer, but have seen some systems that will run dual monitors.

I don't want to spend a huge amount of cash, if possible.

uberpixie

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/shuttle-sh67h3-s1155-intel-h57-ddr3-1066-1333-pci-e-20-(x16)-sata-6gb-s-raid-hdmi-dvi

http://www.dabs.ie/products/shuttle-s1155-intel-h67-ddr3-sata-6gb-s-usb-3-0-7GXJ.html?q=shuttle&src=16
(alternate supplier)

This and an Intel 2400K if you won't overclock (usually not much point in a shuttle due to how loud the fans get if you ramp them up a bit)

You could also go a 2600 or a 2700 if you want Hyper threading if you use software that will make use of it.

The only high end shuttle form their website for amd is their SA76R4

only supports 95W chips but will take a 95W X6 Phenom 2
http://uk.shuttle.com/main/productsSupportList?productId=1556

Good luck to finding one: shuttle stock on any site i see these days is very low and they don't always offer the latest shuttle barebones.

EDIT: just spotted the amd one here:
http://www.ebuyer.com/340609-shuttle-sa76r4-barebone-personal-computer-black-sa76r4

Monotype

Item|Price
Total build cost: €473.95 + €30 shipping
Lian Li PC-Q08B Mini-ITX Tower-Cube - schwarz|€87.82
ASRock Z68M-ITX/HT, Sockel 1155, ITX|€100.57
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155|€189.79
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€32.63
Super-Flower SF450P14XE Golden Green Pro 80plus gold|€63.14


That's at German site hardwareversand. Given that you're in the UK, you might find better alternatives at ebuyer and scan.

That's including a powerful CPU. Integrated graphics are pretty good and will support two monitors. You could cut down to a lighter CPU and motherboard but you didn't specify a budget.

Edit: If you have money to spare, you could get a Solid State Drive as well for fast booting and program loading.

Edit 2: About the RAM - Any boards that I've seen at this size just have the two RAM slots. For the moment, this means that you can just get 2x4GB. 8GB have come out recently but are not widely available and still quite expensive.
http://www.memoryc.com/computermemory/ddr3ram/16gbgeilevocorsa1333mhzdualchannelkit.html

harney

Hi Guys

Thanks for the info. I hadn't thought to get the board and case separate till now.

I take it the i5 is the best option price wise for a chip, of the i3/i5/i7 chips from Intel?

Monotype

If you want to save money, you could go with i3. The 2500K is one of the best CPUs around as you can overclock. Even in a small case like that, these CPUs run cold enough to push it a little. As a standalone CPU, it's still good as it has the HD3000 graphics while many others only have HD2000. The only i7 worth considering is the 2600K. This is almost identical to the 2500K apart from hyperthreading and extra cache. The hyperthreading will be of little use unless you're doing things like video encoding.

harney

Hi all

I'm hoping to dust off the credit card this weekend, I take it that the spec kindly provided by Monotype is still the best option?

I am thinking to go with the 16GB ram of 2x8GB.

Monotype

Still looks fine except that case an motherboard have gone down while PSU has gone up.

harney

This is a little embarrassing, but em, are these still the best specs?

I booked them and went on holidays only to find out they canceled the order on me. I only found out when it seemed like it was taking a bit of time to arrive. After some emails they claimed the tried to call me but I don't have any voice-mails so meh :rolleyes:

I need something that will work with the 16GB of ram mentioned earlier, as that is sitting happily on a shelf waiting for a good home.

I am using a laptop at them moment and power-wise it is driving me mental, even though it is a core 2 duo. I'm not even using it for that much. Perhaps I should drop down a version of Mint while waiting for the new stuff.

Monotype

Actually, I'm looking at buying the same motherboard myself. The price has come down a few euro in the past couple of days. It's likely because there's a new Z77 version of the board coming out very soon. The 2500K is still about the best you can get.