Trying to build a cheap shuttle rig - Suggestions ?

Looking for a cheap shuttle system. DOesn't have to be a speed demon since I have my intel performance system for that, but would like a little bit of kick.

it'd be used for:

download/file server
Light gaming, very light.


I don't want to leave my laptop on 24/7 or i'd just use that.

Look for a barebones shuttle XPC system - you can find info on them at http://www.shuttle.com/. My advice would be to keep a few pages open at once and try and browse special offers and find out what combo you can come up with cheapest. If you want an Athlon Socket A I'd go for the SK43G. When I was looking I was able to find one for under £100, and that came with all your cooling requirements,PSU and motherboard and a few other little bit's and bobs.

I went for the MSI mega 180 in the end though, as I liked the look of having my pc as a stereo when it was off, and I love it. I think the shuttle's have a better cooling system though from what I have heard, but I can't say that for certain.

Details on the SK43G here: http://eu.shuttle.com/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-72/170_read-4105/

Oh, and there is a dedicated small form factor pc subforum on overclockers: http://www.ocforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=141

Doesn't seem to be too active though, but you might find some info by browsing past threads. Just to bear in mind that heat is a significant factor with these kind of systems, and overclocking as a result is pretty much not possible.

I have an SN85G4, which is socket 754. It seems to be quite a bit more than you are asking for but its very quiet and mine runs cool. An Athlon64 2800+ would make it very comparable to your main rig in games(with the same video card) or you could get a lower end socket 754 sempron, but I think the A64 is worth the extra cash.

I was thinking about the 2800+ 64 now that you mention it, so i could use it to play with windows2003 -64 or XP64 on it -- what did you spend on the full box minus video card and hard drives and optical drives ?

This was quite a while ago. I suggest you price it, you can find the shuttle on newegg.

Looks like i can squeeze it for $200 with the 2800+ chip