·:[ Jason On A Shtick ]:·
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About three years ago, I put together a Shuttle XPC and we’ve loved it ever since.  It is small and very quiet, allowing it to sit on the desk and not clutter the floor.  I affectionately named it “Blackbird” after the little stealth BSG ship.   Over the holiday break, I decided it was time for an upgrade, so I ordered parts for yet another XPC.

With just a couple of exceptions (like the famous “BSR door” computer – but that is a story for another time…), I’ve built every PC that I’ve owned.  I was always picky about the case, the video card, the disk controller, etc.  Now days, almost everything is built on the motherboard, so there’s not much choice in that regard unless you are a hard core gamer; it is simply a hobby for me.  So, let’s get started!

The whole point of an XPC is the small form factor (here’s a shot of my hand on the open chassis for comparison) but they are actually quite easy to assemble.  A Shuttle “bare bones” package comes with the motherboard already mounted in the case.

The XPC uses a unique cooling engine that acts like a radiator to carry heat away from the CPU.  Here is the ICE assembly removed so that the processor can be installed, followed by a shot of the case with the assembly back in place.

For this machine, I installed an Intel Core2 Duo 3.0GHz processor.  I just love looking at these chips – no pins, just surface contacts.  Be sure to lather on plenty of heat sink compound!

Getting the processor installed is the bulk of the job.  I use a two screwdriver technique to secure the ICE assembly, pushing down on one corner while screwing in the opposite one.  The Shuttle chassis is well thought out, as demonstrated by having access from both sides to easily snap down the memory modules with your thumbs.

The case also contains very nice cable management.  For this machine, both the hard disk and optical drive are SATA, so I removed the ribbon cables completely.  And while the form factor is super small, there’s still room for a PCI Express video card.  I chose an Asus EN8400GS Silent model that has a large heat sink instead of a fan.  I am an occasional gamer and do appreciate something better than the standard Intel onboard graphics, but there’s no point in having a quiet PC if you are going to ram a video card with two fans into it.

Here’s the final product along with the unused Intel heat sink and fan that come with the processor.  Pretty amazing what you can pack into that small chassis!

And for those of you that live for the particulars…

• Shuttle SG31G2 black with Intel G31 chipset
• Intel Core2 Duo e8400 3.0GHz
• Crucial 4GB DDR2 (2 x 2GB)
• LG GGW-H20L 6X Blu-Ray writer, HD-DVD reader
• Seagate 500GB ST3500320AS SATA300
• Asus EN8400GS Silent (GeForce 8400 GS) 512M GDDR2 PCI Express x16

The old XPC that I am replacing is for sale… any takers?

Dear Abby,

My daughter is a pre-K student and loves to do artwork.  While I want to encourage her excitement about art, I have a problem: glitter.  I hate glitter!  It gets on and in everything and sticks around way too long!  My loathing of the stuff is such that I’ve had to develop a vacuuming routine for her book bag, folders and the back seat of my car for whenever she brings glitter-laden stuff home.

To make matters worse, I tried joking about glitter with her teachers one morning in order to get the point across, but I am afraid that I’ve actually insulted them!  Lately, my daughter’s folder is packed with glitter as if someone dumped a load of it in there on purpose!  Help!

Glitterless in Lexington

Dear Glitterless,

Nothing says “I’m sorry” like yummy baked goods.  Make a cake for your daughter’s teachers and take it in.  Be sure to decorate the cake with plenty of glitter sprinkled right on top.  If they don’t complain, then you shouldn’t, either.

Abby