im looking at getting a SFF case. but b4 i do i want to know how many hard drives i can store in the case and the amount of pci slots u can find in them. it would also help if someone could tell me wat sort of stuff u can put in pci slots. i know they r for different cards and stuff i just want to know if i'd b missing out on anything if i bought a SFF with less pci slots than a regular case. thx =). plz dont flame me...
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kind of a n00b question...
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agentzero9
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Usually 2 hard drives (though it can be hot)
I would recommend 1 internal hard drive, and if you need an extra, an external USB2.0/firewire drive.
Or, you could put your optical drive in a firewire/usb2 enclosure and put both hdds in the system with plenty of room.
The most common thing people use PCI cards for in SFF systems are for TV tuners and sound cards.
Most other things pci cards are used for... are already built into SFF systems.
I would recommend 1 internal hard drive, and if you need an extra, an external USB2.0/firewire drive.
Or, you could put your optical drive in a firewire/usb2 enclosure and put both hdds in the system with plenty of room.
The most common thing people use PCI cards for in SFF systems are for TV tuners and sound cards.
Most other things pci cards are used for... are already built into SFF systems.
agentzero9
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new processor depends on the processor you get when you first start
but taking into account we are in the transition to a new socket, it's safe to say that any upgrade you'll want in the future will be to a different socket.. thus a different motherboard
it doesn't matter whether or not you get a shuttle, basically ANY motherboard/CPU you get now will not be upgradeable unless you replace both at the same time
as for swapping out a motherboard and cpu when the time comes, its unlikely you'll be able to do with shuttles as the motherboard is a proprietary size
the good thing about SFF boxes as small as the XPC is, when the time comes to upgrade you can keep the old XPC as music/video/file server or just as a backup because it's so small and non-intrusive
but taking into account we are in the transition to a new socket, it's safe to say that any upgrade you'll want in the future will be to a different socket.. thus a different motherboard
it doesn't matter whether or not you get a shuttle, basically ANY motherboard/CPU you get now will not be upgradeable unless you replace both at the same time
as for swapping out a motherboard and cpu when the time comes, its unlikely you'll be able to do with shuttles as the motherboard is a proprietary size
the good thing about SFF boxes as small as the XPC is, when the time comes to upgrade you can keep the old XPC as music/video/file server or just as a backup because it's so small and non-intrusive
the@ntipop
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The thing about the upgrades is that no company (that I know of) other than Shuttle sells ANY mobos. Shuttle sells about 90% of their line in a standalone motherboard form. The problem even with this is that the front panel connectors don't always line up with the case you might put it in. This is where it gets complicated. With the constant transition to newer chassis styles, it's far from a sure thing that a given mobo will fit into a different case.
To answer your last question, I leave mine on 24/7/365 without any issues.
And lastly about the HD you can fit in; while agentzero9 may have a point with the heat, I have seen about half of the XPC users putting 2 HD inside the Shuttle without any issue other than a couple degree temp difference.
Hope this helps!
To answer your last question, I leave mine on 24/7/365 without any issues.
And lastly about the HD you can fit in; while agentzero9 may have a point with the heat, I have seen about half of the XPC users putting 2 HD inside the Shuttle without any issue other than a couple degree temp difference.
Hope this helps!