SFF PC?

[orangpelupa]

anyone have sff pc? wanna make one? They seems so cute! tiny, console size! full blown pc!

for me, im planning to assemble one, but got confused between mini itx, micro itx, itx hahaha. still need to research more.

although it seems all of them only have 2 memory slots so i still need to sell 2 memory sticks as i got 4

 

[cheapchips]

I won't be making a new PC for a couple more years but would love to go SFF. I had a toaster sized Shuttle case back in the day, which I loved. I've just not managed to go that small since.

I don't need a small case, but I find larger case somewhat offensive. Hope we see a few more XSX copycats by the time I'm ready to build.

 

[orangpelupa]

Xsx clone would be sweet! Although probably limited to mini sized gpu cards

 

[cheapchips]

I'm half hoping that AMD will release XSX level+ SOCs eventually. It's really only a node shrink away if there's a market for that. Gaming laptops might drive it?

If not, think like the NZXT H1 are already quite nice, if a bit bigger than the XSX.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

anyone have sff pc? wanna make one? They seems so cute! tiny, console size! full blown pc!

for me, im planning to assemble one, but got confused between mini itx, micro itx, itx hahaha. still need to research more.

although it seems all of them only have 2 memory slots so i still need to sell 2 memory sticks as i got 4

Yeah, I have one that fits into a backpack. Makes it easy to take as carry on luggage on airplane flights, like when I go to Japan.

The last time I went to Japan, I had a GTX 1070 installed in it. And it had 13 TB of storage. Basically could do all my work and game on it. And since I don't overclock anymore, then it's basically as fast as my desktop PC. Although the 2.5" HDDs don't have nearly the transfer speed as my 3.5" HDDs. But those were there for mass storage anyway. The 1 TB SSD was there for anything that needed to be run.

Since COVID hit, it's basically been an HTPC in one of the rooms.

Regards,
SB

 

[cheapchips]

Yeah, I have one that fits into a backpack

What case are you using?

 

[Silent_Buddha]

What case are you using?

The one I currently have is the Silverstone SG13. It's a small bit larger than previous Silverstone SFFs that I've built, but I specifically chose it because it allows the use of standard size ATX PSUs.

It's pretty flexible WRT build options, but space inside is obviously at a premium, especially if you use an ATX PSU.

Selling points for me and why I opted for this slightly larger SFF.

• ATX PSU option.
• 3x2.5" drive or 1x3.5" drive + 1x2.5" drive
  • Needed a case where I could have a lot of storage.
• 120 mm or 140 mm fan. But 140 mm fan will limit build choices.
  • Much prefer the noise profile of 120 mm fans compared to 80 mm fans.

The case also supports liquid cooling if someone wanted to go that direction. I prefer the air cooling since I don't O/C and a liquid cooling loop is another point of failure I don't want to have to deal with, especially when my use case for it meant it was going to be moving around a lot.

I did have to get a larger backpack for it, but it also fits just fine in my rolling carry on luggage. I've started doing that instead of a backpack when flying since security at the airport always has me take it out so they can test it to make sure it isn't a bomb. And taking it out of a rolling carry on is much more convenient than taking it out of a backpack.

While it's not silent, it is pretty quiet. I went with Noctua fans, a Noctua CPU cooler, and a Seasonic ATX PSU in mine. Other than the GTX 1070 spinning up during gaming, the noise profile was pleasantly quiet. It's quieter than the ambient noise floor during the afternoon, but slightly higher than the ambient noise floor at night. Still quiet enough that I can sleep in the same room with it when it's powered on.

I plan to throw in a Ryzen-G CPU with integrated graphics at some point. The i5 2500k that I have in there is so old now that I have to disable GPU acceleration of some video content because it's actually slower than just using the CPU. Since it's just being used mainly as an HTPC, it's just using the integrated Intel graphics at the moment.

Regards,
SB

 

[orangpelupa]

btw why there's so few SFF casing where they stack things on top of each other in vertical orientation? any recommendation for lowest budget?

stacked like this
GPU
Mainboard
PSU

usually SFF casing have this stack
Mainboard | GPU
PSU

or
PSU
Maiboard | GPU

or
Mainboard
GPU | PSU

 

[Silent_Buddha]

btw why there's so few SFF casing where they stack things on top of each other in vertical orientation? any recommendation for lowest budget?

stacked like this
GPU
Mainboard
PSU

usually SFF casing have this stack
Mainboard | GPU
PSU

or
PSU
Maiboard | GPU

or
Mainboard
GPU | PSU

This is a fair bit larger than the SG13 I use, so it wouldn't be suitable to taking in carry on luggage. However, if I was building a mini-ITX based system just for home use, I'd seriously consider this.

SilverStone LD03 INTRODUCTION (silverstonetek.com)

It uses a vertical MB orientation (MB backplate is at the top) with intake at the bottom. So convection helps with cooling allowing for potential for silent or semi-silent builds depending on components used.

If you don't need to install a GPU, this one is similar and smaller. Again with MB backplate at the top and air intake at the bottom.

SilverStone CS01-HS INTRODUCTION (silverstonetek.com)

It's also pretty good if you want a SFF storage server since it has 2x2.5" internal drive bays combined with 6x2.5" hot swappable drive bays for 8x2.5" drives in total.

Both of those come with air filters for the PSU intake as well as the bottom air intake. Both of them are also limited to SFX or SFX-L PSUs. There's other nice SFFs you can find from other makers, but I've been building SilverStone SFFs for years now and so I usually go to them first when looking at a new SFF build.

After looking at the CS01-HS, I'm seriously considering building an SFF HTPC/NAS with that case. I'd be using a Ryzen-G for it, so the fact that it only has an expansion slot for a single slot half height card wouldn't be a drawback.

Regards,
SB

 

[orangpelupa]

I'm more looking for something like this http://zaber.com.pl/sentry/

That casing unfortunately is not being sold in my country >_<

Anyway hopefully by the time I got a gpu at MSRP, there will be more smaller sff casing choices.

Although more usual shaped sff cases like that Silverstone sg13 also nice.

 

[cheapchips]

I'm more looking for something like this http://zaber.com.pl/sentry/

That massively floats my boat. What a tidy little case.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

I'm more looking for something like this http://zaber.com.pl/sentry/

That casing unfortunately is not being sold in my country >_<

Anyway hopefully by the time I got a gpu at MSRP, there will be more smaller sff casing choices.

Although more usual shaped sff cases like that Silverstone sg13 also nice.

This is similar, but slightly larger. Which means it also supports larger video cards.

SilverStone INTRODUCTION：RVZ02 (silverstonetek.com)

The GPU is also in a separate compartment which could help with cooling. There's a few others that Silverstone make that are a little thicker 100mm+ thick instead of 87mm thick.

Not as compact as the one you linked, but they also support more and larger components.

Since it's a larger case maker, there's a chance they are available in your area.

A page with all of their SFF cases.

SilverStone - Computer Chassis (silverstonetek.com)

They also make TFF (Tiny Form Factor) cases, but those aren't really suited to gaming.

Regards,
SB

 

[cheapchips]

Fractal's Node 202 is that style of case, with a more minimal design. I've liked the three compartment design of these 'VCR' cases ever since Valve showed off their Steam Machines test unit.

https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/node/node-202/black/

 

[pcchen]

I have a small computer used as a server for development purpose, using this case:

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/cases/mini-itx/elite130/

It's probably not very "small" by SFF standard, but it has space for several 2.5" SSD + one 3.5" HDD, and even space for a reasonable sized GPU (I once put a GeForce 1080 Ti in it).