Article

Dennis Asks

Heard your show a few weeks ago and someone was talking about an incredibly cheap new computer - in the vicinity of 300+ bucks, I think. What brand was that and where does one get it?

Dedi's Response

Well, I guess that would be me. Recently, I bought a Shuttle barebones system (although it doesn't seem so bare when you check the specs) small form factor system. It's cute, tiny and plays a mean game of Battlefield 1942. They come in two flavors, P4 (Intel) or AMD with NVIDIA GeForce4 MX onboard, 5.1 channel audio onboard, Ethernet, FireWire, USB 2.0, front side ports, dual monitor setup and 2 expansion slots (one AGP, one PCI). So all I had to do was drop in the chip (I had one from a previous machine that I never used), memory (same), hard drive (I did buy a new bigger one), my old CD burner and I was good to go.

Here are some links:

The AMD/nForce2 version.

The Pentium4 version.

Chart comparison of all models.

I recommend www.newegg.com. They have quality service, fast delivery and a high approval rating. There are also some customer reviews of the products onsite.

I hope all this information helps.

- dedi

Sean Adds Information

Dedi is correct. The computer is an AMD Athlon XP processor-based computer manufactured by Shuttle. It uses the NVIDIA nForce 2 chipset and includes full support for both USB 2.0 and FireWire. In fact, this Shuttle computer has connectors for both technologies on the front and back of the box. As Dedi mentions above, it has onboard graphics (NVIDIA GeForce4 MX) with dual monitor support built standard in the box! Keep in mind that the GeForce4 MX graphic chipset only supports Microsoft's DirectX 8.1 gaming technology, meaning it may not support special effects and features from the latest games. Gaming performance will also be a bit crippled since the graphics chip shares memory with the system. But there is an updside: a full AGP 8x graphics port is also included so that graphics can be upgraded to even the most enthusiast level video cards at any time. If you consider it also has full support for Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, this small footprint computer becomes a very good investment for the money.

This article is fairly ironic since I just purchased one of these Shuttle boxes yesterday from Santa Cruz Electronics (Show: Storm Tech). I also purchased a 16x DVD drive, 80GB hard drive (w/8MB cache), floppy drive, and 256MB of 266MHz DDR memory for $693.00. I already had an AMD Athlon XP 1700+ processor although I noticed that you can buy an AMD Athlon XP 2000+ processor for $89.00, which means you can easily build a cutting-edge computer now for just under $700 (sans monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers).

I agree that I could have saved upwards of $100 by purchasing the hardware online, but my number one goal was to keep the money inside Santa Cruz. Also, I purchased these parts for my neighbor's personal business and wanted to make sure they could be exchanged quickly and easily without shipping hassles and delays. My experience with SC Electronics is they will refund and exchange parts without question for up to 30 days. This is a great policy.

Oh, the system parts were easy to assemble and I had the machine running inside half an hour. Installation of Windows XP Professional was quick and painless.

Here is feedback that I received from my neighbor today: "Sean: I am loving the shuttle system. NOW I have a computer that actually works like it is supposed to. I have been exploring several times and have no difficulties at all. You will have to show me how to get my personal money account and our business account out of the computer, but other than that IT IS GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. We have a winner here. Even when my old computer was new, it never worked anywhere near this one."

My Boy Scout requirements have been met for this week. :)

- Sean "Eagle Scout" Cleveland