i'd go with the shuttle!

these actually arn't new on the market, shuttles have been around for about 8 years i've built many many many shuttles and as long as you are happy with what you build the 1st time and arn't looking to keep upgrading and adding hardware..you are stuck with that space so that is the only downside to the smaller computers.

what processor are you looking at running?

the mac minis and imacs are just running a core 2 duo (lame) apple thinks if you wanna go fast you have to buy a mac pro and you have to live with the processor they deem to be (fast)

that shuttle with a core i7 on the x58 chip set will FLY!

another suguestion i have for you, instead of doing 2 raided drives is to do your OS drive as an SSD and your data drive as a standard.

new

Those specific models are.

Core i7 with 6 or 8 GB of RAM.

SSD - I learned that there are two types of which one is "slow" and other fast. The fast one is quite expensive and of limited choice, small in capacity as well.

Thanks

also keep in mind that you are going to be able to run tri-channel memory and that board ONLY has 4 slots. So only do 3 sticks of tri-chan

I have an iMac with a 24" monitor and love it. Everything is contained in one piece including the monitor. The footprint on my desk is like a pizza box turned on its side.

One of these days I'm going to treat myself to a wall mounting bracket.

i'd take a shuttle form factor over something that is all encased inside the monitor.

easier to upgrade
ABLE to upgrade period (besides just ram)
much easier to work on
cheaper replacement parts

small is good, but too small isn't good. you get stuck in a place where what you purchased is the end of the road and if you want anything better you gota buy a WHOLE new one. Which i guess is good for the hardware companies that sell you these nice small shiney things but they arn't good for the consumers wallet.

Upgrade is not a problem for me as the machine that I would buy or build now would last just as long as the one I'm using now - 5-ish years old P4 @ 1.9 GHz with 1GB of RAM and Seagate 36GB 10k SCSI as its primary drive.

I hopped more WW end users would "show up" here with their comments about "silent" cubes (like buckworks about his iMac).

I'll have to make a cut about that cube some of these days... or figure something about this 19" monitor so I can put the latest 24" iMac onto my desk and run VMware on it.

:)

Thanks

the shuttle form factor is the best for silent and SOME upgrade ablity.

best of both worlds.

Time for a dumb question: what's "shuttle form factor"?

I'm used to Macs that do everything I want straight out of the box. Discussion about upgrade ability is foreign territory for me; it's not something I even think about.

But I'm curious about "shuttle form factor".

they have their own "form factor"

must like ATX, micro-ATX etc

shuttle case, shuttle form factor board.

Form factor refers to the size of the motherboard.

Shuttle is just a brand which has its own proprietary stuff when about motherboards and maybe power supplies. You pick the processor and cards like video, hard drives, etc.

The smallest size that supports powerful Intel processors today is µATX Form Factor (usually spelled as uATX or microATX - notice the "micro" character).

the motherboard is the flat bit with all the metallic tracks where all the "doohickeys" , "widgets" and connectors are soldered to ..looks like the underside of the mothership in close encounters ( or any sci fi movie featuring big space ships up close 'cept those done by Giger ) ..

the choice of "case" usually determines the choice of mother board "mobo" ..unless its apple where the badge decides the hardware

best of both worlds

Somebody complained about power when they put ASUS NVIDIA 250 GTS with 2 Western Digital hard drives and Pioneer BlueRay Drive.

Any known case that hardware could not be supported by its power supply?

in the past yes, they always put power supplies in with JUST ENOUGH to run a basic HW setup. The power supply would run for a year or 2 then die...then you go out and buy a higher wattage and its fine. I've done this myself.

the model you picked out has a 500 watt so i'd say you are safe and wouldn't worry about it. (but i also wouldn't put anymore HW then that inside)

I'm used to Macs that do everything I want straight out of the box. Discussion about upgrade ability is foreign territory for me

thats probably because you've been a long time mac user and by design they really don't want you upgrading your computer, and as you can see they design their computers around this as well.... where as PC people have always been keen to say hmm its running a little sluggish time for a ram upgrade and tune up. MAYBE even a processor upgrade if it would fit their MB and they'd have a NICE performance bump and keep using the computer for a few more years with MORE speed. same with video cards, feel your computer lagging behind with the current games? well lets pick you out a nice new video card or maybe even an SLI/xfire setup and keep you in the game a little longer before you gota rebuild! MAC just wants you to barf up some cash every few years when they say you need a new computer. So its not really a question of what your computer do straight outa the box today sure any computer can do what you need straight outa the box...im talking about can it keep pace 3 years from now?

go find out what kinda ram your mac takes and double it (if your mother board allows) and i think you'll see why its important.

maybe its just me but i feel no matter how much the person pays I always want them to have room to grow so they can keep that computer they invested the money in the longest. I don't like seeing people blow 1000 bux every 2 years just cause.

I see all the big box HW guys and what they throw on the market and I don't like it a bit, its not right for dell or HP to sell you a just went obsolete computer TODAY when you could have paid the same amount and got something faster and better with head room. uh and you didn't get ripped off!

You're right that I'm a long-time Mac user. Since 1989.

cash every few years

For me it's a lot more productive to take that approach than to use up time trying to tweak hardware. It lets me stay focused on the activities that put money in my pocket.

I don't play games, although checking my earnings stats feels that way sometimes.

I don't tinker with my car, either, FWIW.

find out what kinda ram your mac takes and double it (if your mother board allows) and i think you'll see why its important

I always max out the RAM when i order the computer in the first place. Then I don't think about it after that.

no im not saying you should be the one that has to worry about your hardware.. you are just the end user.

BTW what is the current max of your apple?