Shuttle XPC or Dell XPS?

[NeRve]

Wondering which is better in terms of price and everything. Budget's about $1300+. Plus I have to get a monitor!

[PerfectCr]

Well of course I'd say build your own and get a Shuttle. Bear in mind a Shuttle does not come pre-built, it's a barebone. Unless of course you find a vendor that will build it for you

[FlippedGazelle]

Well of course I'd say build your own and get a Shuttle. Bear in mind a Shuttle does not come pre-built, it's a barebone. Unless of course you find a vendor that will build it for you

au contraire

http://sys.us.shuttle.com/

Dell sucks. I freely admit my bias against them.

[PerfectCr]

Well of course I'd say build your own and get a Shuttle. Bear in mind a Shuttle does not come pre-built, it's a barebone. Unless of course you find a vendor that will build it for you

au contraire

http://sys.us.shuttle.com/

Dell sucks. I freely admit my bias against them.

Oh yeah forgot about that.

Then it's no contest. Shuttle all the way!

[Usacomp2k3]

i assume you don't want to build one yourself?

[NeRve]

i assume you don't want to build one yourself?

Yeah that's true.

[LicketySplit]

The dell xps are a pretty decent machine...but for what you pay you can have someone put one together for you...all a matter of preference...still sucks that dell or other oem's dont include a true OS with their systems...

[sativa]

one benefit of shuttles to dell's is that you get a TON more features in the bios. you can't overclock dells or change the voltages or any of that fun stuff, but you can do that with the shuttles. plus having a shuttle box is much cooler. people are like 'oo where did you get that.'

a second benefit of shuttles is that you can get an amd64 system, which performs much better in gaming.

but you can get those dell systems so cheap if you follow 'deal' sites like gotapex.com

[sativa]

for the uninitiated:

Shuttle's Intel SFF Systems &
Shuttle's AMD SFF Systems

This will help when you're browsing the http://sys.us.shuttle.com/ site

[Crayon Shin Chan]

I don't get a difference between this and a Dell system. Well, this Shuttle thing comes with the motherboard, CPU and stuff right? Why is this called a barebones instead of a pre-built computer like Dell?

[sativa]

I don't get a difference between this and a Dell system. Well, this Shuttle thing comes with the motherboard, CPU and stuff right? Why is this called a barebones instead of a pre-built computer like Dell?

Shuttle sells both barebones systems and completely pre-built systems.

The barebones versions come with a case, powersupply, motherboard, heatsink, and accessories. You supply the processor, RAM, 5.25" drive, 3.5" drive, hard drive, etc... These barebone units come relatively pre-assembled, as the motherboard and cables are already inside the case in a nice tidy fashion.

The prebuilt systems come with processor/ram/hard drive/etc preinstalled, just like dell systems.

[A_Pickle]

I'm going to break the line here and say...

Dell rules. I've never tried Shuttle, so I won't dis them at all, but I never have nor will I ever regret my experience with Dell PC's. I have had the distinct pleasure of owning and using two Dell Dimension PC's, and I can tell you right now they are very stable, very dependable machines.

Now, for the realism to set in... if you are going to pit a standard Shuttle PC against Dell's flagship XPS, the Shuttle is quite probably going to come out on top. The XPS is about $500 worth of name alone, so it would be best to stick with one of the "lower" end Dimension PC's. The 3000 series Dimensions and below do NOT have any onboard GPU slots, so for a gaming PC the minimum model is the Dimension 4700.

Personally, the newer Dimension 5100's have captivated a small spot in me heart, they're pretty low priced machines with pretty dismal expansion room, but they support PCIe and the faster SATA standards, as well as 64-bit Pentium 4 5x1 series processors. The cases themselves lack the tradition Dell design, rejecting in favor of the neo-modern adoration for brushed aluminum, which, to be quite honest, I like as well. The 9100, without TOO many upgrades, follows a similar principle, though you can get a Pentium 4 6xx or even the new Pentium D 8xx series processors, much more expansion room, SATA300 support and more PCIe options in a BTX form factor. Once again, brushed aluminum aside from Dell's traditional black/grey color scheme.

As far as purchasing/configuring goes, you'll want to do your price checking when configuring any Dell system, as sometimes they'll nip you in the arse for certain components, commonly RAM. Usually you can get overall cheaper components by going Dell, but once you start adding the spiffy, nice components, it's best to buy them from third parties and add them yourself.

Honestly, it's rather funny to see kids *try* to chide a Dell user at a LAN party, only to find that it does in fact perform very well. A computer is, ultimately a computer, and rarely will you ever find any significant difference between the operation of a Shuttle and/or the operation of a Dell. Only when Apples are brought into the equation does that change, and those aren't really computers, they're just nodes of waste material. You won't get the highest FPS at the LAN party, but anyone who wants a processor for gaming and would make their purchase based on it's performance in that field alone needs to have their head examined. In mine, and no less than millions of other people's cases, Dell is the home of the best PC's in the world, bar none.

[paco]

what the heck, why did you dig up such and old article!!!!

(i replyed thinking this was a newer one )

[SpotTheCat]

Well, Considering that Dells only use Intel processors, saying that there is little difference between shuttle and dell is stupid. If you get a venice based shuttle box you can get a faster, smaller, quieter, and maybe cheaper than a dell box. Dell is the way to go if you don't want to deal with anything, they send you a box, and it works. Shuttle is IMO a better computer for most people, but often doesn't fit realistically into their lives with assembly, configuration, no-brain support, etc.

[JediNinjaWizards]

With the exception of their PowerEdge Servers, Dell sucks. Hard. Just about every dell I've ever touched has had some weird problem. Leaky caps, **** hardware, bad wiring INCORRECT wiring in two cases, cheap power supplies, laptops that fall apart (I've dealt with about four Inspirons, they all fell apart/stopped working, and now my cousin's just plain stopped working last month...no POST no nothing. If you look inside most dell's youll find **** components. Why do you think they can afford to make like $300 PC's. They are just like emachines, cheap and ****. Do yourself a favor, get the Shuttle.

[A_Pickle]

what the heck, why did you dig up such and old article!!!

I don't routinely check the dates of topics... it was on the list... sorry...

Well, Considering that Dells only use Intel processors, saying that there is little difference between shuttle and dell is stupid.

No. They are both Windows, x86-based PC's. They can be configured identically. A computer. Is. A computer.

[supraman]

If you look inside most dell's youll find sh*tty components. Why do you think they can afford to make like $300 PC's.

The cheap ones probably use cheap components but what he is looking at is much more expensive.

I have a Dimension 4500 which was rather expensive when it was new (£1500), it has an Intel motherboard, Samsung ram, Seagate HDD and a Voyetra Sound card i.e. not sh*tty components.

It has served me perfectly for the past three years and I have no plans to replace it. Plus the thing is almost completely silent, which is not how I would describe any of the Shuttles I have had contact with. It also came with a full XP re-installation disk which even had repair functionality (not included with other OEM copies).

[A_Pickle]

Dell's don't use ub3r components, for sure. But they do use quality components. Your Dell will last you long, very, very long.

I've never seen a bad Dell. Ever.

[zgirl]

No. They are both Windows, x86-based PC's. They can be configured identically. A computer. Is. A computer.

But Shuttle allows you to get an AMD processor that is vastly superior to Intel. And a computer is a computer is irrelevent.

And Dell isn't the greatest PC maker in the world. I know I used to do system integration for them over the last 10 years.

They ain't bad but I would get the XPC in a heartbeat.

I've never seen a bad Dell. Ever.

Then you haven't seen enough Dells.

[LicketySplit]

Then you haven't seen enough Dells.

The man speaketh the truth

[A_Pickle]

But Shuttle allows you to get an AMD processor that is vastly superior to Intel.

Oh, so... AMD's are factually superior to Intels? I think not. Intel single-cores win plenty of benchmarks, and the Pentium M simply trounces all in the laptop arena.

I won't get into it in depth, but I feel that the Pentium 4 is a far more friendly "Average PC User" CPU. Multitasking is what people do, and it's what the P4 is designed for. It's stable, it runs smoothly, and it runs quickly. 'Nuff said.

And a computer is a computer is irrelevent.

Hardly. My point there is, if you can fix one x86, Windows run machine, you can fix any of them. I've worked with custom builds to Dells and eMachines, never have I had any problem working with them. Even in cases where disfunctional hardware is the source of all problems, x86 machines are easily repairable.

Of course, the everyday hardware problem will pose itself - to any custom build as it would with any Dell. With Dell, you have the option of tech support, which is pretty good, in my experience.

Then you haven't seen enough Dells.

Maybe not. I've been hands-on with eight of them, three of them being laptops. Only one of all of them had any problems, and those were problems I fixed given the replacement parts. Given their current market value, I would venture a guess that the vast majority of all Dell computers sold are units that function in all proper order. There are always a few bad eggs that roll off the factory line -- but... that's as true with Shuttle as it will be with Dell.

Dell has cultivated a reputation of quality customer satisfaction. In one instance, the Taiwanese motherboard maker for Dell decided to implement a new material in their capacitors, unexpectedly causing them to expand and "burst." Dell recalled each of the affected OptiPlex series desktops and replaced them all.

The man speaketh the truth

Until I've seen it, I will continue partaking in and recommending what I consider to be the best computers in the world.

[bhtooefr]

Dells just seem a bit... flaky to me.

Granted, if my school were throwing out their L866cx's, I'd get one - they've got Seagate HDDs (good, IMO) and Intel CA810E mobos (could be a better chipset, and could have AGP, but not a BAD mobo, that's for sure). There's BIOS support for Tuallys (A14 is the current rev, IIRC, and the changelog specifically mentions that either that or the previous rev added support or fixed some Tualatin bug) - so you just need a cheap socket adaptor to upgrade.

I'd probably keep the case, too.

As for the PSU, I'd find out the pinout, and replace it with a MicroATX PSU and (if the pinout were the Dell-proprietary) a Dell to ATX convertor. (They've got something like 70W PSUs now, so they DEFINITELY need new ones...)

That said, I'd go for the Shuttle. Considering that the guy is also looking at an XPS (a gaming rig), I'm going to assume that he's a gamer. It's been proven again and again that AMD CPUs give more bang for the buck in gaming.

[JustAnEngineer]

Why did we dig up this zombie thread?

Here's a place to custom-configure a decent PC to your specification:
MonarchComputer
Here's another:
CyberPowerSystem

My #1 complaint against Dell PCs is that they do not offer AMD processors. For gaming, Intel has not had anything competive to offer since Athlon64 arrived.

[LicketySplit]

Its too bad more cant be as objective JAE...indeed

[A_Pickle]

Hmm. Monarch I've really never tried, though, yes, CyberPower does make a solid PC. I like CyberPower.

As far as gaming goes, I wouldn't recommend a Dell to someone who wants the ULTIMATE gaming experience... AMD is quite clearly superior in that field. But, to make an honest observation, I'd say the majority of people can't tell the difference between 60 and 90 frames per second, and the honest truth of it all, the GPU is the workhorse in gaming anyhow.

In all honesty, I'm pleased with my Dell Dimension. I can play HL2 on pretty damn high settings, and I can still upgrade to the X800 XL which I'm waiting for. Also, while I've got an extra gig of slower RAM, my system did manage to beat the Athlon64 3800+ in TechReport's "A Preview of Half-Life 2 Performance" benchmark. Needless to say, I was quite surprised.

I'll be honest. I like Dell... and... for that matter, most OEM's. They don't really bother me. I can upgrade... and customer service is quite nice to have.

[zgirl]

Oh, so... AMD's are factually superior to Intels? I think not. Intel single-cores win plenty of benchmarks, and the Pentium M simply trounces all in the laptop arena.

WTF are you taking about, Intel's fastest processors get hosed by AMD's

Look at the benchmarks on this site alone. AMD's slowest dual core, @ 2GHz outruns Intel's 3.7Ghz P4 EE. Costs less too. And that is running single threaded benchmarks. Not hard to do the math there.

Along with the fact that AMD run noticeably cooler too. You don't need a hurricane to cool it.

Wake up and smell the coffee, Intel current offering are getting their asses handed to it by slower clocked processors.

Over the years I have used both brands of CPU a lot. I go with the fastest at the time in my price range. Sometimes its Intel, sometimes its AMD.

Right now it ain't Intel and hasn't been recently. Sorry Fanboy.

[LicketySplit]

Damn...guy sounds like a carbon copy of Porkster doesnt he

[zgirl]

Wow I forgot about that guy, makes me wonder, hmmmm.....

[A_Pickle]

Eh, I suppose. I like Dells, and I like P4's, but credit is due when it is deserved and in that respect, yes, AMD has smot Intel in the desktop arena.

...for now.

Regardless, I still think the P4 is an excellent desktop processor, particularly for the multitasking, typical computer user. From experience, I will also say that the P4 doesn't get the highest FPS, but... I can't tell... and most other people can't.

That being said... I'd still recommend Dell.

[LicketySplit]

Dell machines are fine for joe and his family..they do what they are supposed to and for the price they cant be beat. But this is kind of an enthusiasts forum where a lot here have been that route only to have their eyes opened. Most here wouldnt even think of running one of those for a main box..and thats not saying they cant compete..they can..they just dont have the Juice when you want it