smallest pc with DVD/CDRW possible?

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theplanb

Golden Member
Jan 12, 2001
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well, i'm looking for an affordable solution to get a really small PC that has DVD/CDRW combo drive and get it connected to possible 17" LCD monitor.

I've looked at the shuttle and MSI mini PCs which are.. not small as I hoped them to be..
Is there anything that's smaller and umm..neat..er?
 
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vetteguy

Diamond Member
Sep 12, 2001
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Shuttles are not small? Hum...ok...well, there are those little BookPC things which take slim CD drives. You may be able to get a recorder in that size, but I'm not sure. May I ask where you're putting this machine that a Shuttle is too big? You might also look at microATX cases.
 
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Steve Guilliot

Senior member
Dec 8, 1999
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The shuttle is as small as it gets with drive bays. I haven't seen a SFF pc that takes slim profile drives yet. 1U and 2U server chassis have had them for some time, but those chassis aren't exactly small.

Why don't you take advantage of a $700-800 Dell Inspiron laptop with combo drive? Those deals appear now and then. Hook up an extrenal monitor, and that's not a bad solution for those who think the shuttles are too big.
 
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bluemax

Diamond Member
Apr 28, 2000
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Yep. BookPC is about the only thing much smaller, and it's not MUCH smaller.
The sacrifice of losing 2 standard expansion cards is too much for me, I went with Shuttle.

This unit may be right up your alley....
CF-S668
And you still get ONE low-profile PCI slot which could house an MX-440 variant if you like some games on the side.
170x220mm vs. 200x300mm Shuttle. Impressively small. If I didn't need a full-height expansion slot for a pro-audio card *I*'d have gone for this lil' puppy.

SFFTech has a review of it too.
 
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Czar

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
28,510
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Toms Hardware reviewed one realy tiny few months ago, upgraded model from those I saw at cebit once :)
 
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bluemax

Diamond Member
Apr 28, 2000
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Originally posted by: vetteguy
Here you go http://www.iwillusa.com/products/ProductDetail.asp?vID=179
Click to expand...

Yours takes a slim drive... a little bit smaller than my suggestion but has no low-profile PCI slot and requires that blasted slim drive. :frown:
I don't think you'll find a DVD-R in slim for a little while....
DVD+CDRW you can, but not cheap.

If cost is a concern, the suggestion I made might be a better option. They come in AMD and Intel P4 flavours. :)

EDIT: Whoa... the Iwill isn't as small as I thought, either!
[184mm x 54mm x 263mm] Iwill vs. 170x220mm x ? height CF-668.

The Chyang-Fun (also known as a bunch of other companies including AMS) has got a pretty significantly smaller footprint! It's a little higher to accomodate a regular 5.25" drive but also leaves room for a LP PCI! Daaang, that's efficient! If I could live with a single LP slot I'd have gone for one!
 
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Jeriko

Senior member
Apr 3, 2001
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If all you need is a small PC with a CDRW/DVD drive, the smallest is the:

Travla C134

I advise against it if you need serious horsepower, though. That Eden chip will run Windows XP and all fine, but even at 1GHz its only the equivalent of a Duron 600MHz.

That said, I have a thread in the SFF forum about slimline optical drives. Believe me, I've been researching the smallest / most flexible options over the last few days for an ITX-based PC and I have decided that the best size / ability ratio thus far is this case:

Travla C137

This one allows for two full sized PCI cards (mounted horizontally) in a single PCI slot using a riser. It has two slimline bays, including one for an optical drive.

My current pick for an optical drive is:

Panasonic UJ-815-B DVD-RAM/DVD-R/DVD-RW/CD-R/CD-RW

This is the "Superdrive" as Apple calls it in their Powerbooks.

And lastly, to run it all, get the:

Commel P4-based ITX board.

It'll give you a hell of a lot more juice than that VIA chip in most ITX systems. It's said you can buy one from Megatron International in the US for about $200, but you have to call.

Edit: Oh - you're in Australia. Maybe someone else can point you to an Aussie reseller who has ther Commell. It was hard enough for me to find in the US - I don't even want to try Australia. :D

-J
 
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vetteguy

Diamond Member
Sep 12, 2001
3,183
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Originally posted by: bluemax
Originally posted by: vetteguy
Here you go http://www.iwillusa.com/products/ProductDetail.asp?vID=179
Click to expand...

Yours takes a slim drive... a little bit smaller than my suggestion but has no low-profile PCI slot and requires that blasted slim drive. :frown:
I don't think you'll find a DVD-R in slim for a little while....
DVD+CDRW you can, but not cheap.

If cost is a concern, the suggestion I made might be a better option. They come in AMD and Intel P4 flavours. :)

EDIT: Whoa... the Iwill isn't as small as I thought, either!
[184mm x 54mm x 263mm] Iwill vs. 170x220mm x ? height CF-668.

The Chyang-Fun (also known as a bunch of other companies including AMS) has got a pretty significantly smaller footprint! It's a little higher to accomodate a regular 5.25" drive but also leaves room for a LP PCI! Daaang, that's efficient! If I could live with a single LP slot I'd have gone for one!
Click to expand...
Well, he asked for something smaller than a Shuttle...and this fits the bill. It would probably help if he jumped back into this thread to comment on any of these suggestions to give a better idea of what he wants.
 
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bluemax

Diamond Member
Apr 28, 2000
7,182
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That lil' guy's dimensions are only measured in inches... a bit of a pain, but if my math was right it had a footprint of about...
155mm * 195mm * 60mm

A little bit smaller than the 170x220mm footprint of my suggestion.
Mine'll still cost the least by a wide margin, as it's the smallest to take a PLAIN old 5.25" drive which'll cost you way less than a hundred bucks for a CDRW+DVD ROM combo drive. :)

And you still gots'a low-profile PCI slot to throw somthing in... PCI vid... extra NIC, video capture (if you can find a short one).
Still not many LP sound cards out there...
 
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