Benefit of a SFF?

[EcoLogic]

Hi all, I have read a bit about shuttle pc's and I have been reading this forum a lot lately because I am planning on buying a laptop within the next 6 months.

I am just wondering what the benefits are to a SFF other than size? Are they a lot quieter as well? I am planning on building a HTPC this summer and I am thinking about going this route. Any info or advice would be great. Thanks in advance.

 

[ericboo]

They are nowhere near as quiet as a Dell but they are small and fun to build and mod. I am on my 3rd.

I personally have not seen the true benefit of using it for HTPC as it is not worth the effort, but check go check out www.forums.sudhian.com and you can find plenty of help for any questions you have.

There are also alternative micro-atx cases that are nice since they look like a piece of HT equipment and you can build it with any micro-atx board.

 

[kursplat]

I personally have not seen the true benefit of using it for HTPC as it is not worth the effort,

for an HTPC , the benefit derives from losing the stacks of gear you can replace with it. getting rid of the cd player\dvd player\amp_tuner is well worth it. as soon as i get done ripping all my analog stuff (cassettes and LP's) , i can lose those devices too.
also , i just picked up a remote wonder for it and that really adds to it.
good luck

 

[suklee]

Quieter than laptop? Definitely not.. especially for Shuttles. ootb they are not as quiet as you'd expect. but with a little bit of work they could be made less noisy (replace stock case fan, cut rear grille, etc.

For a HTPC the SN45G would fit the bill... it has great sound in Soundstorm for all your 5.1 DVD needs. It's not exactly a slouch either 😉

Let me quote Odie from this thread

Desktop technology typically runs quite a few generations in front of notebook technology. That includes displays, video chipsets, processors, memory, optical drives, etc. Due to the power and space contraints of notebooks, this is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. For example, the Mobility Radeon 9700 in the Sager (which is actually a Radeon 9600XT), is less than half the speed of the 9800XT that has available in desktops for months.

Until someone finds a way to defy the law of physics, desktops will always be a lot faster and cheaper than notebooks.

 

[Jeraden]

I just got my first SFF a couple months ago. I'd say the main benefit is that they are small and light. Really not much more benefit other than that. In fact, the disadvantages probably far outweigh the advantages. But I got tired of a clunky case sitting on the floor and waiting to get something small to put up on the desk.

Pros:
Small - can fit on the desk
Light - easy to move around making them fairly portable
Looks - they look cool
Convenience - its easier than building a new pc completely from scratch as its the motherboard is pre-installed and its easy to add everything else in.

Cons:
Limited expansion - only 1 agp and 1 pci slot usually. 1 cd/dvd drive and 2 HDs.
Heat - mine was getting fairly hot until I modded it by adding a blowhole/case fan
Upgradability - for the most part you can't just swap out the motherboard to upgrade the system
Price - its pricier than just building your own from scratch. You are probably paying a $100 premium for the SFF.

Neutral:
Noise - isn't all that bad. It's quieter than some of my computers in the past but its noisier than others. You have limited abilities to make it quieter though, so it will never be absolutely silent. Some models might be quieter than others though.
Builtins - Mine has built in sound (not using it though, I got an audigy 2), built in firewire, usb 2.0, and universal card reader. You can get these on some desktops too though so its not a specific advantage, just makes up for the lack of expandability.

So for my situation I'm happy with it. However, if you have no specific need for a small case, I think a normal mini-tower or something would be a better overall way to go.

 

[psteng19]

Pretty much just size and aesthetics, maybe coolness factor.
Another could be power consumption.
200W PSU plus a bunch of built in components don't require as much power.


They are not as quiet as you would think.
My SN41G2 on the top of my desk is quiet loud when the fan spins.

 

[Hoplon]

My jetway SFF was too loud for my tastes. A new psu and case fan made it pretty quiet though. Unfortunatly the motherboard went out on it but i THINK jetway is going to replace it for me. *crosses fingers*.

The good about Sff's:
They take up less space
They look cool.
They are light/great for lan parties

The bad:
They are louder than normal pcs.
They are harder to work on.
They are less upgradable.
Replacement parts are hard to find and more expensive than normal pc parts (i payed $90 for my 250w power supply).
They cost about $150 more than normal pcs.
They get hot.
Most of them have poor layouts(Example: not allowing for a full sized expansion cards or having the AGP card fan too close to the side of the case).

I'm not going to buy another one. This one is going to be used as a media server when it gets put back togeather.

 

[Heinrich]

Currently I'm not flying - I'm driving 1.5 hours to work and staying in a hotel for 3 nights. The SFF is great, for a few months until I fly again - but by then for the same $2500 I was going to invest will buy me a better notebook. And, for now, converting my second PC into a carryable SFF PC cost me $229 as opposed to a new $2500 laptop. I was already using a 17" Planar LCD as my 2nd monitor on my main PC - I just dug my 19" Sony CRT out of the closet for my second monitor.

SFFs are upgradeable. Slowly, and gradually.

They are NOT however quiet and would not be useful to me as a HTPC. There is a model with an external power supply but it has bad integrated graphics. But then there's this interesting device that could quiet my wonderful SN45G2 already mentioned in this thread:

Water Cooling Kit for SFF