MSI has come out with a new-and-improved version of their MegaPC:
ehomeupgrade.com/archives/article150.php
which uses an AMD CPU instead of Int*l. Has anyone seen these in Taiwan yet, or am I gonna have to bring one over if I want it??
(U.S. cost should be around US$300. If it’s significantly more in TW, it might be cost-effective to bring one anyway, but I’d rather not have to drag everything-plus-kitchen-sink through the airport. My bags are already overweight. . . .)
Strongly recommend against getting an MSI. Go with Shuttle… they’ve got lots of AMD models.
I have no experience with any of these types of systems but perhaps you could explain why not to buy MSI. A simple suggestion doesn’t have any validty behind it, give him/us a reason to which we might base a purchase on. Thanks
Here’s a review of a Shuttle SN45G XPC (nForce2, AMD-compatible) on Hexus:
hexus.co.uk/content/reviews/ … 9JRD01ODI=
No IGP and good overclocking tools.
Also, check their forums for what the readers are saying.
If that’s not convincing, try reading the reviews on SFFtech.com as well as their forums which are the most complete vis-a-vis small form factor, mini-PC, etc systems.
Also, check out schroet.de (Schroet Kommando – the world’s No 1 Counter Strike team) – see what they’re using.
Or, check out Team 3D – world’s No 3 team.
Or, check out Team 9 – another top ten team.
Lastly, you’re probably wondering how I know all of this – I do marketing for Shuttle.
Thereupon, please be as cynical and jaded as you like – the reviews and ultimately the products say it all. Links for reviews are above and you can get a Shuttle at any Nova (Train Station, Guanghua, etc) location islandwide.
And, yes, Nova has stores in Gaoxiung.
Roc, Shuttle is ok, but I seem to recall that MSI has consistently been rated higher by AnandTech.com, whom I have been reading for six years now and whom I trust.
Moreover, does Shuttle make anything similar? If so, I haven’t seen it. I know you folks make a SFF PC, but it doesn’t include the stereo-tuner stuff.
seeing as how all these companies are taiwanese, i think it’s a safe bet that anything they have would be available there before they’re available anywhere else. 
msi used to be known for their very stable motherboards. boring, but stable. as for their new sff pc’s, they look very nice, but maybe a little too gimicky? the new biostars got a great review on anandtech.
shuttle pioneered the sff pc, but it seems like they’ve been cruising for the last year or so while the other companies are consistently putting out sff pc’s with more features. there’s a huge article on sfftech.com on all the new models being previewed.
i just threw together a nice little shuttle for my parents and i’m going to start looking for a kick ass htpc for myself soon.
You’d think so, but it’s actually easier to find new models in the US a lot of times than it is here. I can’t count the number of times I’ve found something already shipping in the US and it doesn’t show up in shops here until 2-3 months later. The only explanation I’ve gotten is that most of the time, export orders have priority over domestic.
MSI – If you turn on the computer, all of that front panel garbage turns off. Also, it’s not integrated into the computer. So, for example, if you want to record a tune off the radio, you can’t.
Also, movie playback isn’t integrated either – turn on the computer and all of the slick looking front panel crap doesn’t work.
Can you buy one? Why? Reread the above…
You shouldn’t rely on a single review or source of reviews for information about computers. Anand isn’t god and they make mistakes.
He told me exactly that over lunch the last time he was in Taiwan in August…
Shuttle is shipping models now – including Athlon 64, Canterwood, Springdale, etc-based units. Whatever you’re looking for, we can either match you dead on or come very, very close.
Lastly, we just shipped P-BIOS for our Intel 865-based XPCs (SB61G2, SB62G2, SB65G2) which provides the same performance boost as Intel’s “PAT”. For you overclockers, the SB65G2 offers great built-in tools and it’s not unusual to get 30 percent (depending on the parts, mileage may vary).
Also, the SB65G2 ships with 802.11b wireless built-in… Really tasty stuff…
i’m waiting for the shuttles with stealthed optical drive that’s based on athlon xp’s and not 64’s. $400 for a cpu is out of my range. i’m glad you guys have started moving the spdif_out to the back, though. was one of my pet peeves about a lot of sff makers.
Where can I see one of these Shuttle models in Taipei. Do you have any approximate price information?
Go to Kwanghwa, the computer shopping area around Pateh Road and Hsinsheng South Road. Many shops have them, but there’s one in the basement below the TVBS building that seems to specialize in them.
Prices range from about US$160 (SS51G; P4, 4X AGP) to US$400+ (SN85G4; Athlon 64).
A really tasty, low-cost XPC set up is an SS51G or SK41G (also about $$160) with Mandrake 9.2 plus a Celeron – smooth performance and low-maintenance (not to mention no viruses).
Roc,
I was out looking at SFF cases tonight (my roommate wants one now ), and saw the heatsink system that Shuttle sells with these cases – solid bar stock clamped to the CPU, with four rods coming out and connecting to a bunch of fins. Very neat; I hadn’t ever seen a “heat pipe” cooler before. Are the rods solid, or filled with some sort of liquid? How fast (and hot) of a CPU can they handle? Also, have you folks changed the layout or cooling airflow in the newer cases? (Tom’s Hardware’s review, dated 20030722, mentions “outages” because of hard drive overheating.)
The tubes are filled with pure distilled water and it works on the basis of convection (steam up, water down).
Tom’s Hardware isn’t to be trusted. They just changed review editors, so we’ll have to wait and see over the coming months. But, the guy who wrote the review I believe you’re referring to doesn’t write reviews any more.
Of all the brands, we’ve got the best reliability and features overall. Yes, there are nits that can be picked, but that’ll always be the case… We don’t have 80 percent of the SFF market for no reason.
What model are you looking at?