Hi,

Thanks for any help on this - the last PC I built was a shuttle zen over 3 years ago (which I've been very happy with) and I haven't looked at anything pc related since so am completely out of the loop!

Basically I'd like something like the shuttle zen (i.e. a quiet SFF PC) for my living room, but it must have enough graphics power to play 1080 files on my big LCD TV. Does anybody have any good suggestions? Am I going to be able to find something quiet with good enough onboard graphics? or should I just buy another zen and put a decent graphics card in it? Do they even still sell the zen, i couldn't find it on shuttle's website? Are there any other big players in the SFF market these days I should look at?

Thanks for any help,

Steve

For best results you need to use hdmi or dvi to connect to tv.

Modern onboard graphics coupled with just about any dual-core CPU should be enough for 1080P video duties. You want to look for something with an AMD 780G, nVidia 8200, or Intel G45 chipset. Or, if you use a barebones kit (like Shuttle) that allows for video cards, adding an AMD HD3450 would also do the trick. The combination of an older model barebones and the HD3450 might be the least expensive option. You may want to clarify if you are looking for a barebones (motherboard + case bundled together) or a total DIY solution. With mini-ITX boards and cases starting to become more common you can actually build something that is maybe smaller and certainly quieter than a barebones SFF.

Not quite,

I was reading some people who did some tests on this (I can't find it right now).

It suggested that the 8200 and 780G may struggle unless you put in a CPU faster than 2.3GHz dual core.

This would appear to do it:
http://www.very-pc.co.uk/?section=home- ... system=318

£668 with a blu ray drive in is a bit steep, but I suppose its a slim-line drive.

Are any of the modern Shuttles actually quiet? It seems they all use high velocity 40mm turbofans for the power supply.

Well, keep in mind they are clearly talking about AMD dual-core, as that is all that is supported with 780G and 8200. For the currently available Athalon X2s, 2.3GHz is pretty much the lowest speed available! For the currently available Intel, the lowest end non-Celeron is the E2180. While it is only 2 GHz, it is generally faster than a 2.3GHz Athalon X2. So, I stand by my statement -- Modern onboard graphics coupled with just about any dual-core CPU should be enough for 1080P video duties.

SPCR has also done extensive tests with the 780G and 8200G chipsets.



SPCR's 8300 article also confirms the results. 780G/8300 + Any dual core chip can play back 1080p.