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Hardware Technology

Massive Small Form Factor Preview From Computex 139

Posted by timothy from the now-wipe-chin dept.
Ultim8pc points to this "huge article covering almost every Small Form Factor offering that was on show at Computex. Includes, details of each manufacturers history in SFF." I especially like IWill's oscilloscope-looking Athlon 64 case.
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Massive Small Form Factor Preview From Computex More

Massive Small Form Factor Preview From Computex

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  • Here's (Score:3, Informative)

    by Pingular ( 670773 ) on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @06:06PM (#7341830)
    an alterntive article [theinquirer.net] if you can't get your hands on the (large, and soon to be slashdotted) article above.
  • Like 8 years ago, when i actually went to Lan party's!

  • In style (Score:2, Insightful)

    by neirboj ( 567806 )

    As technology advances, fitting more and more into smaller and smaller spaces... Why do cars keep getting bigger and bigger?

    • At least cars are something to look at. What I don't understand about these small form factors is they still fancy them up as if a box filled with electronics is something exciting to look at.

      Frankly, I think an LCD monitor, featureless keyboard and mouse are more than enough for my desktop. I'd like to see someone design a computer that can hang next to my suits in the closet so I don't have to look at it anymore.

    • Re:In style (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      >Why do cars keep getting bigger and bigger?

      Because ppl are getting fatter and fatter ;)

    • They don't. It all goes in cycles. Cars were in a large cycle in the '50s and '60s, went into a downsize in the '70s, and are slowing coming back up.

      SUVs are more popular now, but if you look closely you will discover they have existed for a long time.

    • Re:In style (Score:1, Insightful)

      by stratjakt ( 596332 )
      Cars bigger and bigger?

      After the hippie bum rush against detroit, compact and economy cars were all the rage. They got smaller and smaller. To drive a full sized sedan, after all, was to spit in mother natures face.

      Now, people are realizing that the gas mileage between a compact and a full sized car is negligible (it's also negligible compared to an SUV), and all the tiny cars do for you is increase your chances of dying exponentially. The safest passenger vehicle on the road is a full sized car. So t
      • "In short, people dont want small cars. People want to seat four or more comfortably, and have enough trunk space for their luggage."

        And 390 horsepower!

      • Re:In style (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Waffle Iron ( 339739 )
        Now, people are realizing that the gas mileage between a compact and a full sized car is negligible (it's also negligible compared to an SUV)

        The 2.5X difference in MPG between a large SUV and a compact car is negligible? If they were to propose raising your taxes by 150%, would you consider that to be negligible as well?

        • If you had READ what he said you would have noticed he was comparing cars, not trucks/suvs.
          • Uhhh...

            (it's also negligible compared to an SUV)

            Right.

            • Try using your fucking brain. The difference in MPG between compacts & full-sized is negligible compared to the MPG an SUV gets. Is that put plainly enough for your simpleton mind?
          • from the gpp: it's also negligible compared to an SUV
          • If you had READ what he said you would have noticed he was comparing cars, not trucks/suvs.

            Hmmm... since the original post wasn't exactly grammatically correct, I suppose you could parse it to mean that SUVs particularly suck compared to both large and small cars. However, to me it seems more likely that he's bundling all three together in the 'similar' category.

          • Re:In style (Score:3, Insightful)

            by ccp ( 127147 )
            (it's also negligible compared to an SUV)

            What part of this you didn't understand?
    • To carry more and more small things, of course.

      (Says the guy who has no car.)
    • Because you are american???

  • Massive Small Form Factor? (Score:4, Funny)

    by StefanJ ( 88986 ) on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @06:10PM (#7341863) Homepage Journal
    Good news: Doesn't take up a lot of desk space. Bad news: Desk must be extra heavy duty to support all that massiveness. Worst case scenario: Someone clusters together a bunch of massive small form factor machines; they collapse into a speck of neutronium and fall to the center of the Earth. Stefan
    • You're putting gravity too much into the equation. Since we are dealing with the small, you have to focus more on electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces.

      So, I would be more worried about someone dropping it, which might release the strong nuclear force, and well, we get another Hiroshima.

    • Don't joke, I once propped up a Sun Fire F15K with a piece of 2x4 to stop it falling through the raised floor at the lab I used to work in because the floor couldn't cope with the weight!
    • Just like everybody's basements being full of old copies of national geographic, these things will someday sink the continent...

  • photography (Score:4, Insightful)

    by andih8u ( 639841 ) on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @06:11PM (#7341872)
    I kinda wish they'd zoomed out a bit so you could get a perspective of how big the computers are. Or at least had something next to them so you could judge their size.

    • Re:photography (Score:2, Informative)

      by GeRM_007 ( 627791 )
      True. But you can see the CD/DVD drive in almost every picture, and they don't really change between models, so you can use that for size reference.
      • Looks like silver is the new beige.
        (Or is that the new black? Beige was never cool, but silver may still be cool for a little longer.)

        And howzcome these all look like shoeboxes? Why isn't anyone doing something in a format similar to by reciever / tape deck / VCR / DVD?

        • And howzcome these all look like shoeboxes? Why isn't anyone doing something in a format similar to by reciever / tape deck / VCR / DVD?

          Recievers, tape decks, vcr's and dvd players are designed the way they are (short, wide and flat) so that you can stack the various components on top of one another. Since most people only have 1 computer, a stackable design is not a high priority. There are however, rackmount computers cases which are designed for this type of thing, and do bear a resemblance in shape
        • Divine [ahanix.com], it's not cheap but it sure looks nice.
    • Most have CD-R drives, that's enough scale for me.
  • I know that having smaller computers is nice for some people, but what really is the point? The smallest computer I own is 24" tall. Have you ever tried to cram 5 3.5" hdd's into a micro ATX case without losing a couple fingers in the process? I have, and it isn't fun.

    • Re:what's the point? (Score:4, Funny)

      by RatBastard ( 949 ) on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @06:39PM (#7342120) Homepage
      Well, most of us aren't trying toi get by by stuffing 5 20GB drives in our systems. The point is that they are small and get out of your way. With almost everything built right into the motherboard you don't really need much else in there, do you?

    • Re:what's the point? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by egomaniac ( 105476 ) on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @06:57PM (#7342257) Homepage
      I'm building a small form factor computer to use in my entertainment center as a DVD player / MP3 player / web browser / game system (especially old emulated games).

      My TV has a VGA in, and many of these PCs have digital audio out -- so why the hell not? A small PC is perfect for this sort of thing.

    • Re:what's the point? Portability, Space, ... (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I used my shuttle as a personal computer at work, taking it to/from work every day. It's small enough to make that practical. I added a KVM switch at work to make pluging it in a breeze! My box had a 200 & 80 Gig drive and a Nvidia GForce 4 Ti4200 128M card. Totally blew away my tower system at work :) Great for demos of celestia and for playing months of music, ... Not to mention being able to use Source Navigator to cruise my code library...

      If you want a no compromise portable computer then SFF is th
    • For me the point is that it's possible to carry it onto a plane and much less expensive than the equivalent laptop.
      If you want to install many HDs and cards, then obviously you will want a regular size PC.
  • What does the phrase Small Form Factor mean - or is it a proper noun?

  • I used to like big computers that flash and beep.. (Score:3, Funny)

    by c77m ( 690488 ) on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @06:16PM (#7341914)
    ...but now I keep losing computers.
  • Yes the site is already /. So anyway what I would like is a nice small PC, size of a small hug,with solid state storage, USB connection and can play DivX movies over WiFi. Just sits under the TV and allows you to stream

    Rus
  • Thats what she said. :-(

  • Why not USB? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Hecubas ( 21451 ) on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @06:22PM (#7341965)
    The first thing I noticed on the alternate story link is the two PS/2 cables sticking out the front.
    Can anyone explain to me why there are still boxes shipping with the old PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports? Doesn't every OS worth installing on x86 hardware support USB now? Futhermore, why can't I find a decent keyboard with extra USB slots in it and with out all the redundant "multimedia" buttons (ala iMac) so I can hide the box under the table?

    --
    hecubas

    • Re:Why not USB? (Score:3, Informative)

      by fiddlesticks ( 457600 )
      > why can't I find a decent keyboard with extra USB slots in it and with out all the redundant "multimedia" buttons (ala iMac)

      you'll want a happy hacking keyboard [yahoo.com] then

      2 extra USB ports built in, *no* redundant buttons, tiny form factor, full sized, proper 'clicky' keys - it's great.

      • the HHK is a membrane keyboard, little collapsing rubber domes rather than a a mechanical-switch design. It's better than many such keyboards are, and is definitely a high-quality device. I'd buy one, if not for the keyfeel, which to me is anything but clicky. Without a jillion little springs, 8lbs of steel and an eye of newt, it will always be a membrane keyboard.

        Clicky? Model M :)

        timothy

      • Since when is tiny form factor a good thing for a keyboard? That thing will kill my wrists in two days.

        I just need these "ergonomic" keyboards, Microsoft Natural Elite, etc... can't stand to type on a normal one anymore.

        Otherwise it looks great. Just split it into a left and a right part with a bulge in the middle.

    • Good luck getting into the BIOS with a USB keyboard.

      Nathan
      • The Award BIOS on my MSI KT333 lets me use my USB keyboard. It even has options to emulate PS2 ports for USB ignorant OS's. The only software on my computer that doesn't talk USB is LILO and I don't care enough to see if there is a patch or change it.
        • Try enabling USB Keyboard support in the BIOS. I know it's an option on Award systems, and that should allow you to use your USB keyboard with LILO. Course, I use GRUB, so my YMMV
    • Well, what if someone runs a BIOS that doesn't have USB support to change its settings. Or some BIOS support USB keyboard, but for some keyboards you have to change a setting "use legacy USB support" before it will see certain keyboards, and to do that you need a PS/2 keyboard. Kind of funny, no?
      • Well, what if someone runs a BIOS that doesn't have USB support to change its settings.

        The whole point is that these are new systems; the BIOS will support USB keyboards out of the box.

        Most new systems in the past two years (and probably more) have supported USB keyboards in the BIOS without requiring the user to change any options.

        The only issue that you might run across is using a USB keyboard to power up the system... I haven't had a chance to test this functionality.
    • Just a word of note: The only "media" keys that are on the Apple Pro Keyboard (ships with all new macs) are volume up/down, mute, and eject. I actually really like my keyboard from apple. It has 2 USB ports and is nice and clickey. I think it even works on windows machines if you plug it in and don't mind some of the odd button placement (control,alt)
    • Not every BIOS supports USB keyboards.
      • Presumably a motherboard that didn't have PS/2 ports would have a USB-aware BIOS? It's not like people are installing aftermarket BIOSes (sp?), they pretty much stick with what came on the board.
    • USB is still not 100% reliable, but I've never seen PS/2 (or ADB for that matter) fail. I mean, it might fail completely, like anything can, but it doesn't 'forget' a device is attached. My favorite story, from Mac OS X on a G4: keyboard is plugged into Mac. Mouse is plugged into KB. Mouse works, KB doesn't. Unplug, plug back in, KB works. Keyboards do not need high bandwidth (how fast do you type?) and I'd rather have 100% reliability and a $5 more expensive motherboard.
    • Here's one example. I recently purchased an expensive KVM switch for use at home. The product FAQ, literature and manual all promised "USB Support!" so I didn't give it much though, thinking much the same as you.

      Turns out that the console connection is not USB, but PS/2. The USB ports that are provided, however, are useful only in the event that the PCs connected to the KVM lack PS/2 connections. Go figure.

      My guess there's lots of KVMs in the field lacking USB support. Also, it's possible that the len
    • If I wanted to sell replacement or upgrade mainboards to a company, I'd give them the option to reuse part of the horde of PS/2 Keyboards and Mice they all invariably have lying around.
    • I'll give you a reason, although it might be a lame one.

      The best keyboards, the truly great ones, the ones that those of us who type super duper fast love, the ones you can whack the moles with and go right back to work - these are still not available as USB keyboards.

      So to hardcore typists, it is still necessary to have PS/2 for the keyboard.

      It might be a lame excuse, though, since you can get a perfectly good USB-PS/2 adapter for $12 at RadioShack, and I bet that would be extremely cheap at the OEM lev
    • 2 USB ports, many multimedia buttons. And of course natural way of typing.

      Along with Microsoft Optical Trackball, both are the only good products from Microsoft. And the only two Microsoft products I use at home :)

  • I modded a broken GameCube (Score:4, Interesting)

    by mao che minh ( 611166 ) on Wednesday October 29, 2003 @06:25PM (#7341987) Journal
    I took a broken GameCube, gutted it, and put in some SFF components. The controller ports made great PS2 ports, and I carved out slots where the memory cards went for USB. The only problem was the power supply, which is sticking a bit out of the rear of the 'Cube. I keep it next to my working GameCube just to throw people off.
  • so that's like, what, the regular ol' beige box I have next to my desk right now?
  • You leave my small form factor out of this. I promise it's not *that* small.
  • Massive Small Form Factor Preview From Computex

    So what is a massively small form factor? A minitower or a full tower?

  • It seems odd to me, these small computers are all the rage now . . . yet Apple closed out the G4 Cube after not being able to sell enough of them. What gives?
  • I'm mostly a Mac guy myself, but I've been looking at various x86 boxen to work as a media hub for my living room because of the various form factors they're available in. (I particularly like the Asus DiGiMatrix).

    But I wonder what OS or GUI I should run? Windows is out. Linux seems more than capable (though the lack of the Sorensen codec is a bummer) and I'm familiar with it from developing.

    But here's my catch: I don't want a windowed GUI. I want an interface like TiVo. Something that can be controlled e

  • These computers mostly seem to be built under the assumption that you actually need a HDD, FDD, and CDRW/DVD on every desk.

  • These computers all look nice, but I'm dissappointed that every one of them has legacy ports on them.

    They can get rid of serial, ps/2, and parallel at the very least. I like how some of them are using slimline cd/dvd drives. Anything to make them smaller.

    The smller machines usually have 1 pci slot. I wish they dumped that and dropped in an agp slot instead. Everything I used pci for in the past is now being done with usb. I can live without it now.

  • I would like to see some company morph this technology into a portable desktop PC. With a real USB keybaord and mouse and an easily setup 17" moniter (or even better portable head gear) I have a laptop, but because it's keyboard is too small and touch pad too clunky, I end up bringing my mouse and keyboard with me and if I have access to on, pluging into a real moniter. As far as I'm concerned, I think "Laptops" should be made into a backpack or carry on which hold the periferials.

    JFMILLER
  • Read it from this link [sfftech.com] and avoid the one paragraph per page "interruption-based advertising" version.

    The whole article is basically an ad, anyway.

  • Well I'd love to have read that article but unfortunately the myriad flashing gifs blink tags and huge animated flash ads right at top centre of each page made me feel dizzy. Hell, it even made my browser sick. I've left the page already and my browser still hasn't recovered. What kind of idiot thinks that sort of page design is OK?

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