Close Encounters of the Small Kind
by Jarred Walton on December 8, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Final Thoughts
I've been using computers for over twenty years now, and I've been building my own systems since the glory days of the 386 and AT/Baby AT cases. After the nightmares of getting older baby AT systems working, ATX was a breath of fresh air. Many of the compatibility issues disappeared. Things have now matured to the point where pretty much anyone with a decent head on their shoulders could figure out how to build a computer from scratch. (If your VCR or stereo is blinking "12:00" at you, this probably doesn't apply.)After a lifetime of using boring beige cases, I moved on to black. (Yeah, I'm a "rebel" like that.) Now, I'm to the point where I'm furnishing my own apartment and I'm starting to worry about making things look nice. (When I say "I", I'm really talking about my wife as well as myself.) I think a nice SFF or two (or four?) looks a lot better sitting in a room than the bulky tower cases. You may or may not agree with that sentiment, but if you're willing to spend the extra $50 price premium for a SFF case, I think that you will be pleased with the change. There are a few caveats, of course.
While benchmarks were not a part of this article, there are some areas in which SFFs still can't match ATX configurations. For starters, all the high-end performance options become difficult, if not impossible, to incorporate into a SFF box. Two hard drives in RAID 0 is still possible for a small performance boost, but you'll have to sacrifice either a floppy bay or 5.25" bay for one of the drives. Larger 2-slot graphics cards are not going to fit well (if at all) in these diminutive cases, and features such as SLI are simply not possible without a major redesign of the case internals - someone out there is probably already working on such a design, of course. The limited expansion options extend to other areas as well. Most, if not all, SFF motherboards only include two RAM slots, limiting you to 2 GB for DDR and 4 GB if you can manage to find 2 GB DDR2 DIMMs. SCSI drives are also out unless you really want to push the limits of the design. None of these things are a deal breaker, however. Discounting SLI graphics, a properly built SFF can offer very close to the same performance as a typical ATX system. If you really need more performance than that, you're probably already running a dual processor workstation or server.
The other area in which SFF systems tend to fall short of their big brothers is in enthusiast options such as overclocking. Some of the systems include overclocking settings in the BIOS while others entirely eliminate it. Even when they include the options, though, a larger case provides for better cooling, which can lead to better overclocking - a Thermalright XP-120 HSF is not going to fit into any of these cases, if you hadn't noticed. Extreme overclocking devices including water cooling and peltier coolers are also out - unless you want to heavily modify the case. As before, none of these shortcomings are really deal breakers.
As for the two units that I've been using, how do they stack up? If it were me, which one would I want? In terms of features, the ASUS clearly wins out, but the Shuttle system is roughly half the size of the ASUS. To keep things in perspective, the Antec SLK3700-BQE case that was replaced is still about twice the size of the ASUS box. If you won't use many of the extras like the radio tuner and wireless networking, there's little point in having them. Conversely, if you want wireless networking, a flash card reader, and a floppy drive along with the standard DVD and HDD, the shuttle would be unable to fit your needs. Since my printer basically requires an LPT port, the Shuttle wouldn't be able to qualify on its own, unfortunately. (Add-in LPT cards are available, but I prefer a system that includes native support over an add-in card.) There is also a punchout location for an LPT port on the rear of the Shuttle, and you can purchase an adapter that should fit for $9 from Shuttle, but we would like to see the cable included by default considering the cost of the case.
That is the crux of the problem in searching for an ideal SFF case: there are very few SFFs that allow you to have everything that you could possibly want. ATX cases can accommodate a virtually limitless number of upgrades and extras, but SFF designs always make some compromises for the sake of size. Fitting in a large graphics card like a 6800 Ultra is simply not possible on most of the models, and even where it can physically fit, you still may not have enough power to run it stably. The sanity of using such a card in a confined space is up for debate as well - the heat output may exceed the case's ability to dissipate that heat, or at the very least, it would lead to higher noise levels.
If you can live with the above limitations, small form factor designs are really great. They tend to show much better design goals than ATX cases, with aesthetically pleasing looks and less noise pollution. They do cost a bit more and offer fewer expansion options, but when you consider how much money is often spent on non-essentials in the home - like furniture that matches the décor better - the cost is really a pretty minor factor. Laptops are another alternative to ATX cases that many consider, but unlike SFFs, the performance of even the best laptops still trails behind that of a similarly priced desktop by a large margin.
We're working on a large roundup of SFF cases that should be finished some time later this month, so if this initial look into the SFF world - from my biased perspective - has piqued your interest, stay tuned!
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archcommus87 - Friday, December 10, 2004 - link
Sounds good to me, looking forward to the review!My main issue is two expansion slots, does not allow for sound card and TV tuner.
JarredWalton - Friday, December 10, 2004 - link
You'll have to pardon a few errors and omissions on my part. As I stated in the article, this is my first time using such a system. Combo floppy/flash drives are a possibility, as are external devices. There are *numerous* add-on parts available for the Shuttle XPC line, including WiFi and LPT. The main point that you simply can't fit as much stuff in a SFF case as you can in an ATX case still stands, but you have to take that point with the general tone of my article: you don't *NEED* to have that much stuff inside your case - at least, most of us don't.The upcoming SFF roundup will try to address such concerns as the integrated audio solutions, heat output, noise output (measured with an actual dB SPL device), case temperatures, upgradeability and optional components, etc.; and of course, price will also play a role. This was a first look/first encounter article and not a formal review. This is more of a "why should *anyone* consider an SFF in the first place" article. In two words: noise, size.
Comments in this thread are certainly noted and I will do my best to take them into account in the formal reviews. Thanks!
darkrequiem - Friday, December 10, 2004 - link
Contrary to the author's statement, you CAN have a flash card reader, floppy, LPT, wireless, etc. in the Shuttle system. I have an SN45GV2, and I bought Shuttle's 802.11G module, which uses a USB header on the motherboard, and I got a Mitsumi floppy drive, flash card reader combo drive that uses the external 3.5" bay, and the card reader connects to the motherboard's other USB header. The motherboard has a header for an LPT port, and Shuttle sells a ribbon cable to connect it to a punch-out on the back of the case. This leaves me room for my NEC 2510A DVD burner, a 120GB ATA133 Maxtor drive, a Radeon 9800Pro 256MB AGP card, and a currently free PCI slot that will eventually be home to an ATI HDTV Wonder. For the curious, I'm running an Athlon XP 3200+ and 1GB of Corsair TwinX DDR400 with 2-2-2-5 timings.Phantronius - Friday, December 10, 2004 - link
#31Depends on peoples need. In my case, I use my Audigy 2 as onboard sound for the Shuttles still takes up to many CPU cycles.
You cannot use any other PSU except Shuttles mini PSU and no other party makes PSU's that will fit inside shuttles case. You COULD hook up an ATX PSU to the outside, but then its gonna look like hell. Shuttles do not need large PSU's as you can only put in so much into them.
Floppies are only really needed for BIOS flashing , RAID installations and other applications, again, it boils down to users needs.
If you need pics of the inside of the SN95G go here and look at the pictures to the left
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?desc...
archcommus87 - Friday, December 10, 2004 - link
Thing is with Shuttles, since there are only two slots in the back, and since we'd all have AGP or PCI-E video cards, we can only have one PCI card. Many of us have a TV tuner. So...what to do with sound? Must you use an onboard solution?How cramped is it inside exactly? I'm sure some pics will help with that when the review comes around.
Can you use any PSU? Of course not. Can you buy ones individually that are the right size?
And, back to the floppy drive issue, you can use a jump drive for transferring small files from place to place, and a bootable CD for Memtest. What about flashing BIOSes? Can that be done without a floppy? And, if so, do we need our floppies at all?
nostriluu - Friday, December 10, 2004 - link
Jarred, thanks for your comment. Anandtech is a pretty influential site, perhaps they could pick up a serious green edge before we are drowning in all the hardware you made us buy. ;) Lessee.. performance in games, databases, heat, noise, and company environmental committment, yes I think that works. Difficult at first but leading edge.
JarredWalton - Thursday, December 9, 2004 - link
My personal take is that most people that buy a SFF are going to get rid of the entire system when they're ready to upgrade rather than just replacing components. In fact, I think a lot more people do that with ATX systems than most frequent upgraders think. About the only time I swap motherboards within a case is when a motherboard dies an early death; otherwise, I'm more likely to just buy a new case and sell the existing system. Granted, SFF cases cost a lot more than an ATX case, but when you really look at what's included it isn't such a terrible price to pay.As far as heat is concerned, we will be attempting to address that in our SFF roundup by including a more modern graphics card and running some system stress tests. I've played quite a few games and have not noticed any heat issues yet, but when paired with a 6800 GT or X800 Pro (or faster) graphics card, it may cause the fans to run at a higher RPM.
Nostriluu, the environment certainly can use some protection. I can assure you, however, that my introduction had nothing to do with clearing a guilty conscience. It was just an itroductory paragraph - when you're experiencing writer's block and trying to get an article written, you never know what will come out. :)
Andyvan - Thursday, December 9, 2004 - link
Note that micro-ATX based SFF have 1 AGP and 3 PCI slots.-- Andyvan
archcommus87 - Thursday, December 9, 2004 - link
Also, with an SFF, how likely are you to be able to buy a new mainboard but keep the current case if you ever want to upgrade?And how much of an issue is heat really when gaming?
archcommus87 - Thursday, December 9, 2004 - link
Bootable ISO CD images. Sounds good, but is it as convenient as a floppy? What about flashing a BIOS?Who here doesn't have one?