Make my own sff?

[Rev. Night]

for my next computer upgrade (12 months down the line), i want to have a sff computer. However, to cut down on the prices and whatnot, i want to build my own. Would building my own high performace sff be any different then the buidling of my current desktop (albiet with different parts)? Or do i have to buy them premade from shuttle, aka like laptops?

And yes, i know i have to aim at the top tier minus one cards/cpu for the low heating/power i want.

 

[IceWindus]

Your pretty much limited to....

A. Buying cases with existing PSU and mobo from shuttle.. These can be anywhere from $250 all the way to $400 depending on model.

B. Buy a small case like the Antec Aria and then find microATX boards that will fit it. Fewer options in this area as mobo manufacturers arn't doing much microATX. MSI, ASUS, among many others are also making their own premade SFF systems.

Check out this site for all the information you'll need

SFFtech

 

[MrE]

There are several pre-built barebones units besides the Shuttle boxes, but the Shuttle's have the fit and finish that many of the clone manufacturers lack.I've owned two Shuttles and the construction of the units are top notch. Course, they'd better be at a cost of upto $375.

The Antec Aria is another solution and is one I've opted for coming from a Shuttle SN85G4. I also own an SN45G that my oldest daughter uses, while my youngest has another Aria / Nforce2 setup. The Aria's are quite versatile boxes but they have their own set of drawbacks. As mentioned, m-ATX motherboards are a bit on the scarse side of things, and heat is a bit of an issue on hot days.

Most likely if you decide to go this route, be prepared for a few tradeoffs that you wouldn't give a second thought to with a tower based system.

-E

 

[Rev. Night]

whenever i see barebones i think of crappy quality. Is this true for barebone sff?


Right now, i have an amdxp 2800+, 9800xt, 120gb hdd, abit nf7. Basically, what i want is a top of the line computer in an sff form. Now i realize to make it cool, small, and QUIET, there is going to have to be some tradeoff, aka getting a geforce 6800 gt with the single molex and not a 6800 UE and going with the cooler 3.2 ghz cpu instead of the 3.6ee prescott. BUt other then that, i don't want to make much more tradeoffs. I want this to be a high performance rig, not a 'value' one.

Ideally, this is what I envision in my next sff rig (about 12 months down the line):

AMD64 3700+ or dualcore variant.
Nice M-ATX board
NV50 pci-e 512mg, single molex one to save on heat/power
(2) 120 GB HDD
2 gig of Crucial PCxxxx ram (fast ram, zoom zoom)
Creative Audigy 2 soundcard
LG DVD-Burner 12x/ 2.4 DL


Will a sff be able to do all of that, and possible more?

 

[IceWindus]

Shuttles cost alot because they are built well, as many people will attest to. There case quailty is up par if not better then the likes of CoolerMaster and Lian Lii, no joke, there that good.

There is currently no AMD shuttle model that will do PCI-E or DDR2 at this point in time, though they will release a model sometime in 2005 I imagine. Keep in mind, with SFF, they must litterly build a new system for the new technology that keeps coming out. Unlike ATX board manufactuers who simply just design an new board within the ATX specs, SFF manufactuers must design whole new power supplies, motherboards and cases as new technoogy approaches. With that in mind, SFF take much longer to release new models and they cost much more in comparison to simply upgrading ATX motherboards, so if your planning on keeping contantly upgrading your gonna be waiting longer and paying premimum prices for the SFF market.

Case in point, due to the massive heat output of the Prescott CPu series, Shuttle was forced to create an entirel new way of cooling the system as well as increase the size of the case to accomidate the larger PSU and cooling system. The newest one is the SB81P which has PCI-E, DDR2 and 775 T-socket. You can read about it here

http://www.sfftech.com/showdocs.cfm?aid=563

Currently the only AMD 64 939 pin model is the new SN95G which is currently about $350. Due to its new launch, there are new reviews on it yet and few people have them, so I cannot comment on their reliablity and stability. It is also AGP and regular DDR only.

Due to the small space in shuttles, these units run much hotter then regular ATX cases with the same hardare and the PSU's are much more limited so if your expecting radical overclocks and stable temps, your barking up the wrong tree. Running dual HDD's is also not recommend as many people have killed HDD's due to the heat running them so close in such a tight space.

Honestly it sounds like for your needs, buy a small aluminum ATX case like the Lan Boy and throw in the latest and greatest as you see fit.