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Why do people buy SFFs?

Zebo

Zebo

Elite Member
Thier price seems high for basically not very good stuff. No enermax/antec PSU and no bleading edge mobo for just the size and more money?
 
I've been looking at getting a Epia MIIE6000 myself.

Ability (abiet extremely limited) to hook up laptop-style LCDs, low power usage, quietness, convenience.

Sure it has then horse power of a 300-400mhz Pentium, but so what? I can get firewire, USB 2.0, 1gig of ram, any harddrive of choice. It has a onboard mpeg2 decoder for smooth playback, it can handle divx file fine, it can surf the internet fine. It can support cardbus and flash cards...

So what more do I need? If I want horsepower I just turn on my 2400+, but normally I don't need the annoyance of hearing it's fans blow and the sucking sound on my wallet from the electrical bill from leaving it on all the time.

For 80% of what I do, I'd be happy with a low power desktop with all the niceties of a modern machine just without the annoyances. Plus I can hook it up to a nicad battery pack and carry it around with me if I feel like it. 9000mah 12v battery pack of Nimh cells will run that thing for at least 6 hours, costs only 90-110 bucks and would weigh only couple pounds.

Or I could hook it up to a lead acid sealed battery that I can get for 50 bucks and have it run for 10 hours, take it out on the boat or whatever, or hook it to my car and have it run for weeks.
 
size. if it doesn't matter to you then don't buy one. why do people buy macs? why do people listen to rap or country?
 
Why do people buy SFFs?
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Size, Size,Size.. Heck, I could probably fit four Shuttle boxes in the space my mid-tower takes.
No enermax/antec PSU
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Not needed..The ones in them are perfectly capable of doing the job fine.
no bleading edge mobo for just the size and more money?
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Shuttle just came out with one for the Athlon64, And there is i875 based Shuttles available. What more do you need?
 
I have been mighty impressed with the shuttles and their piped heatsinks. As stated eloquently above size is the main reason people want them but now I can get the fastest systems going. In the planning stages for a computer for my parents RV trailer. I want a PVR and a reasonable gaming machine but have a very small amount of space for a computer. By the time I am done I will have created more space by getting rid of a large CPU and a VCR. If only I could afford a killer LCD display than there would be some extra cupboards for mom.
 
There are plenty of answers to this. But I'm not sure if that was a serious question.

"Bleeding edge" is named that for a reason. A lot of people don't want to have to worry about some obscure bug popping up on their systems. Not that there won't be bugs popping up on SFF motherboards, but bleeding edge is typically a bad idea if you need stability.

Why would I want a mid or full tower if something much much smaller can suffice? I think SFF systems would be great for at home DIY WAPs, firewalls, and possibly even storage space. Can't beat the size and power usage for simple things like that 😉

Now, if you want something that gives you upgrade room, and you'll be playing the latest games, and blah blah blah; then SFF probably isn't for you. I wouldn't want to have only SFF machines. That would be nuts.
 
I bought a SN45G last year because it had the Ultra400 chipset, Soundstorm, a small footprint, and very sophisticated styling. For me the value added by Soundstorm , the I.C.E. cooling system, and full blown overclocking settings compensated for the price difference between it and building a mATX system at the time, particularly since there were no overclocking mATX nF2 boards with the ultra400 and Soundstorm. It's a nice conversation piece too, since everyone who sees it has to comment/ask questions about it. It certainly isn't the most economical system to build but it possessed distinct features I was after that no other platform offered me at the time.



 
Originally posted by: Zebo
Thier price seems high
Click to expand...

You're only spending around $50 more on a Shuttle XPC over a good quality midtower and mobo.

Originally posted by: Zebo
for basically not very good stuff.
Click to expand...

Which SFF PC are you looking at? You will find better quality on the average SFF than the average desktop/tower system.

Originally posted by: Zebo
No enermax/antec PSU
Click to expand...

What's wrong with the included PSU on a SFF PC. Since you can only install CPU, AGP, 1 PCI, 3 drives, the included 200-250W PSU is all that is needed.

Originally posted by: Zebo
no bleading edge mobo
Click to expand...

There are many different Shuttle models which have the latest Intel/AMD based mobo. There are also in the works a Shuttle BTX based system.

I bought a Shuttle XPC because it suits my needs. It's small and portable. It looks nice when used as a HTPC. It has all the bells and whistles that a regular beige box has. The only reason I see to buy a full tower now is if you need to have more than 4 HD/CD/DVD drives.
 
Seems to me you're spending signifigantly more for less.

antec SLK3700AMB w/350w quiet smart power- is $60
DFI nForce2 Ultra 400 "NFII ULTRA INFINITY" is $95

or with video Shuttle MN31 $85

So $145-$155 TOTAL


VS

Shuttle SN45G for $225
or
with video Shuttle SN41G2V2B for $265


I understand the size issue could mitgate costs entirely but w/o that it's a bad deal. Just Like me buying a silverstone tj-03 case was a bad deal but asthetics nixed any cost concerns.🙂 I guess all I'm doing is bitching about the inflated price cause I've been looking a them.😀

Just a couple q's.

How loud are these SSF's with thier small fans?
Can you put decent cooling like thermaltake SP-94 on them?
Is the Mobo's as good as their desktop counterparts like I mentioned above?
 
Just a couple q's.

How loud are these SSF's with thier small fans?
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No different from a normal tower. The only reason they may seem louder is that most SFF PCs are placed on your desk while towers are generally on the floor. In my case, the loudest fan is on my video card.

Can you put decent cooling like thermaltake SP-94 on them?
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On the Shuttles, without any major modding, you will not be able to use other types of HSF. You need to use the included I.C.E. heatpipe to cool the CPU. But not to worry, the I.C.E. heatpipe works great. The only thing you might want to do is replace the stock 80mm Sunon exhaust fan with a more efficient and less noisy fan.

Is the Mobo's as good as their desktop counterparts like I mentioned above?
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Yes, they are no different from their full sized couterparts. Regular ZIF socket. 2 memory sockets. 2 PATA and 2 SATA ports. 1 AGP. 1 PCI. Intergrated NIC and 6.1 audio. 6 USB2.0 ports. 2 1394 Firewire ports.

 
I really don't care about the latest "improvements" to motherboards, power supplies, or cooling. My IDeq 200v works fine for the games I play, burning dvds, work, and surfing the web. Plus, it's small, quiet and looks good.
 
Originally posted by: Zebo
Seems to me you're spending signifigantly more for less.

antec SLK3700AMB w/350w quiet smart power- is $60
DFI nForce2 Ultra 400 "NFII ULTRA INFINITY" is $95

or with video Shuttle MN31 $85

So $145-$155 TOTAL


VS

Shuttle SN45G for $225
or
with video Shuttle SN41G2V2B for $265


I understand the size issue could mitgate costs entirely but w/o that it's a bad deal. Just Like me buying a silverstone tj-03 case was a bad deal but asthetics nixed any cost concerns.🙂 I guess all I'm doing is bitching about the inflated price cause I've been looking a them.😀

Just a couple q's.

How loud are these SSF's with thier small fans?
Can you put decent cooling like thermaltake SP-94 on them?
Is the Mobo's as good as their desktop counterparts like I mentioned above?
Click to expand...

You've forgotten to add a cooling solution into that equation.

Anyway, size is the biggest factor. My Shuttles are significantly quieter than my 6 fan Lian Li towers. They run warmer, but cost about the same (or less) when you add in a Lian Li case, Enermax PSU, SP-94 (as well as assorted case fans) and motherboard. Not to mention, they look cool and are portable. Worth a small premium, in my opinion.
 
I think size will be the great factor. For someone who is willing to pay to get the best of the best and utlize it until it's agonizingly painful, SFF are champion. I do not need to update every two seconds. As long as you can swap RAM, add external drives or other peripherals, and update minor components, a SFF is the best of both worlds. I would love to trash my mid-tower for a SFF and a 17" monitor. You can get pretty much all the bar necessities in a small casing.
 
In the past week I put together 3 SFF's (One IDEQ for my dad, one Shuttle AMD for me, and one Shuttle P4 for a friend of ours) and I have to say that I don't think I can go back to a regular tower. The only reason I'm still using my Lian Li PC65 is because I have two optical drives 3 HDD's. But once I step up to a bigger capacity HDD (the ones in my tower are 80GB's each I think), I might just ditch the tower completely and go all SFF's for my PCs.
 
well, to add myself to those baited by this post's title:

because some people like smaller PCs.

I've always looked for smaller PC cases, and used to really wonder why mini- and micro-atx was the only solution available in that direction (they really don't save all that much space, in my opinion)

I got a shuttle SB51G, then an Abit DigiDice, and a Shuttle sv24.

I don't really understand how people can spend $150 on a mid-tower case without a PS. The whole 'SFF costing more' issue isn't a valid argument.
(not that I'd complain if the prices come down on these things...)
 
I recently put together an SN45G.

2 major problems :
Increasing VDIMM voltages causes mainboard to crash and die. Shuttle havent adressed this in BIOS yet.
Working inside one is expectedly very nasty. That isnt so bad , as its not likely that an SFF user will be poking around regularly.

On the other hand, it is very very nice and compact, the heatpipe unit works well. I like how the blue power LED lights up the whole face. On the whole its a great useable system. Major problem 2 is just natural, but if they could sort out #1 , I may purchase one for myself.
 
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