Looking to build a quiet sff on a budget Prefer not to do any modding (including cutting out the grill on the Shuttles). Have heard that Shuttles can be a bit noisy (even with the SilenX psu). The Antec Aria has problems with heatsinks if using a socket A motherboard and can be noisy. Any advice would be appreciated on case, motherboard and heatsink.
If you going to buy a shuttle make sure you get the slientx psu it's very well made and also get one that comes with ICE as it cools very well. Since you don't really mention what your going to use the system for or how what your budget is I'll just suggest a few units (ingore those which don't apply), SN45G V3 - Is a decent socket A barebones a few people on this forum seem to own them.
Thanks for the reply -H- Building for a relative - as far as I am aware will be used for surfing and other basic stuff - no games or intensive use apps. Athlon XP preferred. Looking to be spend around £100 - £130. I thought the shuttles were a bit noisy and the fan grill had to be cut out Any opinions on the Biostars?
Never used a Biostar so can't comment. Shuttles can be noisy just like any PC depends on what components you use. The fan grill is normally cut out to improve cooling (although I've not bothered yet on mine). Since it's only going to be used for surfing you might as well get one with onboard video and save money on a graphics card. SK43G is in your budget and is socket A with onboard everything.
Biostars are very good, I haven't tried them out but my friend has 2 at his house There are many barebones around with integrated sound and graphics which will definately be what you want. Go for a socket A, maybe a 2500+ barton or less if you can find one, and 256 of generic RAM. There is a really cheap (and cool looking) biostar called the 210M I think. Look over at aria.co.uk, because it's only £100 for the barebones and I'm sure it has graphics and sound. The silenX PSU is pretty quiet but the only way to make it very quiet is an 80mm fan mod which can be tricky to do. Basically, with a budget that tight you're not going to get a shuttle as the lowest prices ones tend to be around the £130 mark brand new. The second hand market is what you should be aiming at though as you can get a right bargin if you know where to look. Scotty
I have the Shuttle SN45G v2 and have to say under normal operation its almost silent bar the graphics card fan. But if the ICE cooling fan goes to full speed (which can happen under load, temp sensor) it is quite noisy. A very good shuttle for the Athlon, the v3 is the same except it has SATA ports.
since you say you won't do any gaming go for the sn41g it has a onboard vga as well; i believe it's gf4mx something; put a nice 2500+ (mobile is best); 2x256mb ddr333; hd and dvd of your pick and you'll have a good performing; nice and quiet little shuttle for basic use for a fair price; got myself the sn45h (basicly the same thing; but without the onboard vga and i'm very happt with it)
I've got a 45Gv2 but on a budget a shuttle is simply out of range. Biostars are very good but have more limited capabilities. As this is pretty much what you're aiming for go for it. Arias are good, but as you said largely require both a CPU and system fan so are noisy. No SFF system will be quieter than a tower but it's more satisfying to work with especially when modded
I just got my Shuttle Zen and I'm loving it. Shuttle has a $100 rebate on it right now, so it was only $149 after the rebate. Dropped in a 3ghz P4 and 512 ram and its speedy plus being quiet. Most noisey part is the hard drive. Came out to $400. I already had the hard drive and CDROM. I don't think I'm going to miss the AGP card becasue I don't play PC games anymore, just consoles.
Thank you all for the replies. The Biostar 210V was on sale at a computer show today for £105 so might get that. The vendor had already done a bit of modding (I think) by cutting the system fan grill at the back. Now if only I could get my posts to 75 in a day or two (without breaking any rules) I could have a look at the for sale forums.
i'll save you looking, i dont think there are any shuttles in there for under £150 at the moment. Infact i think ive only ever seen a total of 2 for sale.
Budget SFF isn't really worth it. It's difficult to build a PC around one for a cheap price, doing it with a normal case (Cases on Ebuyer for just £20) can cost a lot, lot less. But then, that would be hypocritical of me. I boguht my whole lot on a paperboys budget. I fell in love with Shuttles. I don't think there is really an alternative, they are the originals and un-deniably the best. To sum up, the SK43G is your best bet. An SK41 (same but only 266FSB so best processor you cna sue = 2600XP) second hand is about £50-80. Good luck.
thank you ChristopherGreen and aghastpumpkin At the moment the Biostar works out at around £50 more than a cheap base unit so will offer the option to my relative Now if I had thanked every person indvidually I would be well on my way to the 75 posts
No problem. If Biostar looks good to you, go for it. But just rememebr that so many people on here have Shuttles, and they are so well known, that there is a huge archive of articles, tips, problems etc on the web. Whereas Biostar are less known so when encountering a problem you may find a smaller resource of help and info on the web. Its up to you, and at the end of the day, there are a lot of forums like this where people are always happy to help you if you encounter problems or need help.
