[mythtv-users] Asus Pundit vs. Shuttle XPC SK41G

[Chris Petersen]

I own a pundit, and have built and debugged many a shuttle, so I'll try
to give them as equal credit as I can.

My guess is that you'd be happy with either system.  The shuttle is a
little large and it's easier to get at the PCI slots.  It's also
probably a little better for heat distribution around the drives (though
the heat from the drives then blows over the CPU heatsink).  Linux
support for the shuttles is excellent.  Haven't tested the TV out, but
I'm sure it's fine.

The pundit is probably the quietest PC case on the market at the
moment.  When idle, the fans spin at 50-60 rpm's - slow enough that you
can almost read the text on the stickers.  The CPU fan draws air in
straight from the outside, so it's going to get better cooling than the
shuttle.  However, it blows this air straight into where the drives are,
so it's a tradeoff.  The pundit also only has one IDE channel, so unless
you put in an ATA-66 optical drive (or ATA-100 if you can even find
one), your hard drive will be stuck at ATA-33.  Linux support isn't so
great for the pundit, but then again, they have more features. 
Basically, you have to compile your own ethernet driver (they include
linux code on the CD), and the flash card reader does not work (it *may*
work, but no one has been able to figure out how so far).  Video out is
great, especially when using the latest vid drivers from
http://www.winischhofer.net/linuxsis630.shtml (which you'd probably also
want for the SiS-based shuttles)

All in all, I like both systems.  I personally prefer the pundit for a
myth box (mainly becuase it's quieter, and looks really nice next to my
sony tv - they match), but I wouldn't hesitate to choose a shuttle as my
next desktop machine (especially the new Intel 875 chipset one).

-Chris