Hello - First Post
Shuttle is really good at making SFF computers that have something wrong with them. Its pretty frustrating. The SN25P was largely considered perfect except it didnt have a 32 bit PCI slot and some people thought it looked like a$$. The SN21G5 looks really good and has that elusive 32 bit PCI slot but its missing decent onboard sound, S/PDIF input and DVI. SB86i would have been really decent if it wasnt huge and didnt have ridiculous heat problems (I RMA'ed mine after my hard drive slow cooked itself to death over the PSU).
Normally you will have to find a compromise if you want one. I decided to get an SN21G5 because I have an X1600XT with DVI so its exclusion in this barebone doesnt concern me. I am also unconcerned by the AC97 audio codec and the lack of an S/PDIF input because I have an ADAT rack and a Delta 1010 with all the digital and analogue ins/outs I need for my music project.
Similarly, some people have managed to live with the SN25P using a firewire audio interface. Often fairly expensive but to be fair, soundcards never belonged in a PC case anyway, with their noisy DC power supplies and likelihood of interference caused by other nearby electrical sources.
You can bet your last buck though that if shuttle gets it right and puts all the good stuff into a G5 chasis - it will cost a fortune. The closest they came was that gorgeous pentium M shuttle. Shame it shipped in silver instead of the white review copies and shame about the massive price tag
oh well...
