Small Form Factor Barebones PCs

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12 Jul 2003, 01:31 AM
burgundy

Small Form Factor Barebones PCs

Shuttle SB61G2 (reviewed here)
http://www.ajump.com/ajump/assets/pr...00-7340122.jpg

For the uninformed, Small Form Factor (SFF) PCs are much smaller than typical desktop or tower units, yet sacrifice little power. Barebones PCs come without a CPU, memory, drives, or an OS.

I'm curious whether anyone has gone this route. I'm wondering how difficult these units are to assemble, whether they're worth the trouble, how well they keep cool, and what kind of specs I need for a fast, efficient machine that won't see a lot of time gaming.
12 Jul 2003, 01:38 AM
stormy

while i have never used one myself, i have heard nothing but great things about them. I am going to consider one for my next system.
12 Jul 2003, 01:46 AM
Lhadatt

I've seen these up-close at Fry's. One of my future computers will be in this form factor for hooking up to my TV.

They typically have a good cooling system. There are vents that force the heated air away from the processor and out of the box. Some of them even have a radiator-like water cooling system.

As far as expansion goes, you will only have room for 1 5.25" drive (CD/DVD), two 3.5" drives (hard drive and floppy/zip/whatever), a moderate-size AGP (graphics) card and/or a normal-size PCI card. The PCI card could be shut out due to the AGP port's position on some models (i.e. only one slot, it's either PCI or AGP). Most of these cases have boards that come with AGP video on-board, but quality may vary.

The Shuttles are acknowledged to be the best of the bunch because they've been out longer and are built better. Most of the other brands should be good though.
12 Jul 2003, 01:50 AM
Hero

They're pretty nice and great space-savers. I'm the kind of guy who wants mutiple hard drives/optical drives/etc etc. but if you just need the basics, and are hurting for the free space - go for it.
12 Jul 2003, 02:35 AM
Shine

How much do these things run?
12 Jul 2003, 02:51 AM
burgundy

I use my PC primarily for Internet access, documents, and making clever pics to own you guys, occasionally to play movies and play and burn music and vary rarely to play games. Think one of these is a good fit? I can't imagine needing more than a hard drive, a DVD drive and a floppy drive.

I don't even think I need a top of the line barebones, but that Shuttle is so pretty.

What should I be looking for in terms of CPU, memory and drives?
12 Jul 2003, 02:56 AM
Shine

Quote:

Originally posted by burgundy
I use my PC primarily...making clever pics to own you guys...

Heh, I used to have that dream too.
12 Jul 2003, 04:55 PM
JMET

These are great units, if you dont do allot of gaming they only make sense...

They dont take up much room and run much less loudly then a full tower..
14 Jul 2003, 01:21 AM
burgundy

Here's what I'm thinking:

Shuttle XPC SK41G with on-board video and sound - $200
AMB Athlon XP 2400+ CPU - $70
2 * Kingston 256MB DDR PC2100 RAM - $50
Western Digital 80GB HD with 8MB Cache - $60
Mad Dog CD-RW 52x24x52 - $20
Random floppy drive - $10
Wireless keyboard - $50
Logitech Cordless Optical Trackman - $50
14 Jul 2003, 02:13 AM
Dyne

that things ot a 200w power supply.....you need at least a 300 these days.
14 Jul 2003, 02:39 AM
burgundy

Even the top of the line Shuttle has a 200w power supply. Keep in mind that I don't care about high-end stuff.
14 Jul 2003, 09:21 AM
haohmaru

I like the product - I'm a little disappointed that the website doesn't offer "pre-built" models without having to build it from the ground up.

Lazy, I guess. :P
14 Jul 2003, 09:46 AM
Wolffen

Haoh, you might want to try http://www.ibuypower.com/product-pc/pocket-epc.htm for a SFF PC you can have built to your spec (more or less), if you don't want to put it together yourself. I haven't had any dealings with them personally, but I've heard some good things about Ibuypower.com
15 Jul 2003, 06:21 AM
GohanX

After reading up on it a bit, this is kinda neat. I'm not the power user I once was, and one of these tiny little things would be perfect to replace my dying laptop. (I only use the laptop in my living room.) One of these+ cheap LCD monitor would make me happy.

I may get one the next time I need a CPU upgrade, unless I can find one for a 1.3 gig athlon with SDram.
15 Jul 2003, 06:24 AM
cka

Hopefully those things aren't as awful as the "Book PC" line of computers were. A buddy of mine got one, and the modem got fried in a lighting storm, and because everything was integrated it basically turned his PC into a doorstop...
15 Jul 2003, 07:16 AM
burgundy

I'm also thinking about moving up to the SN41G2. It has a better video card, a prettier case and can support a faster CPU.
15 Jul 2003, 04:56 PM
Calliander

www.googlegear.com

www.alienware.com

Build your own, or get a pretty case. Both are good.
15 Jul 2003, 05:13 PM
Rhydant

so.... they dont come with anything but a motherboard (without a printer port), power source, and case...

for $350? uhm... i dont get it.

i dont see anything great about this setup. sure, it "saves space" but a mid-tower case isnt exactly big.

/me doesnt think this is a good deal.

Quote:

Originally posted by Dragonmaster Dyne
that things ot a 200w power supply.....you need at least a 300 these days.

keep in mind that its not powering multiple drives, fans, cards, or ram slots.
15 Jul 2003, 10:22 PM
Wildkat

http://www.falcon-nw.com/fragbox.asp

I usualy build my own, but $995 for that spread is a pretty good deal..
16 Jul 2003, 03:51 PM
Lhadatt

Quote:

Originally posted by Rhydant
so.... they dont come with anything but a motherboard (without a printer port), power source, and case...

for $350? uhm... i dont get it.

i dont see anything great about this setup. sure, it "saves space" but a mid-tower case isnt exactly big.

* Rhydant doesnt think this is a good deal.

It's small, portable and makes for a good media control center. Load one of these things with one of those open source Tivo-like OS projects and you get a video recorder and DVD player. Hook it up to your entertainment system and watch movies, play games, web browse, etc. on your TV.

This is one of those things where the "cool" factor overrides the price factor.

Quote:

Originally posted by Calliander
www.googlegear.com

www.alienware.com

Build your own, or get a pretty case. Both are good.

Yeah, but they're not the kind burg's interested in.

Alienware's overpriced anyway. :p
16 Jul 2003, 04:44 PM
JMET

Quote:

Originally posted by cka
Hopefully those things aren't as awful as the "Book PC" line of computers were. A buddy of mine got one, and the modem got fried in a lighting storm, and because everything was integrated it basically turned his PC into a doorstop...

The ISP I worked at like 5 years ago sold those things and while they werent great the modem was nothing more then a "riser" connector and EASILY replaced..
16 Jul 2003, 10:32 PM
Tones

If you are a fan of the cordless mouse, you can get wireless keyboard/mouse combination, such as this one, which is $80. This way you can save a usb port, since both use the same base station.
16 Jul 2003, 10:46 PM
Rhydant

Quote:

Originally posted by Lhadatt
It's small, portable and makes for a good media control center. Load one of these things with one of those open source Tivo-like OS projects and you get a video recorder and DVD player. Hook it up to your entertainment system and watch movies, play games, web browse, etc. on your TV.

hrm... didnt think of it that way.

still, not exactly what im looking for/need.
17 Jul 2003, 09:21 AM
burgundy

Quote:

Originally posted by Rhydant
so.... they dont come with anything but a motherboard (without a printer port), power source, and case...

for $350? uhm... i dont get it.

i dont see anything great about this setup. sure, it "saves space" but a mid-tower case isnt exactly big.

* Rhydant doesnt think this is a good deal.

The model I liked up top is the newest, most expensive one. I'm paying about $420 for mine with a 2600+ installed, tested and shipped.

Quote:

Originally posted by Lhadatt
It's small, portable and makes for a good media control center. Load one of these things with one of those open source Tivo-like OS projects and you get a video recorder and DVD player. Hook it up to your entertainment system and watch movies, play games, web browse, etc. on your TV.

Can I record video straight to the HD if I get a tuner card? I'm not throwing down for a DVD burner yet.

Quote:

Originally posted by Tones
If you are a fan of the cordless mouse, you can get wireless keyboard/mouse combination, such as this one, which is $80. This way you can save a usb port, since both use the same base station.

I really want a trackball, but finding a good cordless trackball is like the needle in the haystack. Do all cordless inputs use USB instead of PS/2? That combo looks good if I decide to settle for a mouse.

---

Anyway, I caved and ordered a SN41g2 with Athlon XP 2600+. The video card was worth the upgrade alone. I ordered black Samsung floppy and DVD/CD-RW drives, and I picked up a 160GB WD HD and two sticks of 512MB PC2700.
17 Jul 2003, 02:32 PM
Lhadatt

Quote:

Originally posted by burgundy
Can I record video straight to the HD if I get a tuner card? I'm not throwing down for a DVD burner yet.

You should be able to. Just look for some software with Tivo-like functionality.

Geforce4 MX? That's an OK card -- on par with the Geforce2, so you may want to upgrade if you get into Doom3/HL2.