| Shuttle SG33G5M - Is it a silent PC? |
 |
 |
|
March 30, 2008
About my Shuttle SG33G5M I am used to configuring and building my PC but this time I decided to buy a preconfigured, ready to go computer: Shuttle XPC SG33G5M
Why this one? It has all the speed (Intel Core2 Duo E6750) I need for my standard programs (Email, Internet, Wordprocessing, Photographic editing, occasional video editing and rendering Fractals). Twice as much as my old computer. Enough USB-ports to connect my keyboard and mouse, printer, USB-stick, camera and more. The onboard graphics are sufficient. It looks great, it's small, and basically 'silent'. The components are excellent and there is room for adding a graphics card.
My original configuration:
Using this computer is a nice experience. It's fast thanks to the Intel Core2 Duo E6750, and it has a lot of options both for work and pleasure... With the onboard graphics this computer is not suited for playing games, but that's allright for me because I never play games.
Is this a silent PC? No...
Solutions to make a silent PC I contacted my Shuttle manufacturer about the PSU-noise. No solution, the PSU I have is a 'silent PSU' (PC40). So, I had to find another way to reduce the noise.
The best solution: an external power supply. Searching the internet I found several 'fanless' and 'semi-fanless' PSU's but they are all meant to build into a computer case.
There is only one PSU suited for the power needs of this computer (+ some reserve) and specially designed for external use:
The specifications seem adequate for the Shuttle PC. I bought the NesteQ NV600 and connected it to my Shuttle and turned the computer on: Vista could not start and after about 20 seconds the system started to reboot!!! After many hours I discovered that a BIOS-option 'C1E' had to be disabled!!! Now Vista started without problems... But C1E is about power saving and I want this to function properly! Click here to read more about C1E. After many tests and discussion with my supplier it was clear: the NesteQ NV600 is not compatible with the (Shuttle) hardware. Exit NesteQ. Quite a pitty because it looks great and it worked SILENT.
Now that the NesteQ was gone I had to find another solution for the noisy shuttle PSU. In one of my tests I used an 'ordinary' PSU: a Nexus NX5000. I connected it, turned on the computer and everything worked fine! I lowered the fanspeed and this made it a very low noise power supply. For the moment this PSU is acceptable. Maybe I'll buy a (semi-) fanless PSU in the near future but they all have the same problem: they are meant to build into a computer case. This means there will be an enormous set of cables hanging outside the Shuttle... Shuttle used to have a real silent external PSU. I hope they make a new one, suited for all Home Theater PC's. If computers are to be used as a mediacenter then noise reduction should be a priority.
For the moment I am happy with my Shuttle SG33G5M + external Nexus NX5000 PSU. For questions or comments you can use a contactform: english - dutch
I wish to thank:
LATEST NEWS from Shuttle PC62, 0 db Real Silent PSU introduced at CEBIT 2008
Click here and read more about this great product! It is a fanless, 90+ efficiency design and delivers 220 Watt which is suitable for high-performance Shuttle system configurations. Expected in Shuttleshops in may/june 2008.
update april 2008: PC62 is available at Shuttleshops!!! https://www.shuttleshop.nl/accessoires.php?cat=46
update may 2008: PC62 installed I installed the PC62 PSU and it works fantastic! Now it's really a low-noise Home Theater PC. You can read here that I added a graphic card, an Asus EN8500GT/HTP/256 Silent. This graphic card has a low power consumption (about 40 Watts) which makes it an ideal component for the Shuttle combined with the PC62. My Shuttle system is very silent now! I hardly notice the PCU-fan which runs at about 1100 rpm (Ultra Low mode). The harddisc makes more noise occasionally. When playing a DVD it's the Pioneer drive which makes most of the noise (but not disturbing the video experience). Note: The Pioneer BDR-202 bd-drive is NOT the best choice... There is no software (like Nero Drivespeed or AnyDVD) for adjusting the drive-speed during playback. It seems when playing 'typical' BD's (those using VC-1 video compression) the Pioneer is SILENT. But other BD's with different video compression techniques (mpeg-2 and mpeg-4) cause the Pioneer to make noise which in soms situations can be annoying. Noisy examples: Planet Earth, Australia, Antartica, Alaska, Ice Age 2, Nature's Journey.
Conclusion:
YES, now this Shuttle is a silent PC!
|
NesteQ Nova 600.
Shuttleshop.nl
Alternate
