Holiday 2012 Small Form Factor Buyer's Guide
by Zach Throckmorton on December 5, 2012 1:55 AM ESTConclusions
It never ceases to impress me how rapidly PC hardware advances. Compared to the SFF systems we recommended in 2011, today's small computers either cost less, are substantially more capable, or both. I am particularly pleased with the continued innovation in the ITX case market. That said, I remain disappointed in the lack of diversity of FM2 ITX boards, and I hope that motherboard manufacturers address this sooner than later, as AMD's Trinity APUs lend themselves particularly well to SFF systems.
Intel's side of the equation is served reasonably well in the budget market with Sandy Bride based Celeron chips, but we're still waiting for Ivy Bridge based Celeron offerings. The trade off with Intel right now remains one of generally better CPU performance with worse graphics performance - substantially worse when we're looking at Celeron G540 vs. a Trinity APU. If you don't care about graphics and have reasonably mainstream media habits, the Celeron chips are a good option, but as we see additional emphasis on heterogeneous compute that could change.
As I've alluded to throughout the guide, it's especially important to keep your eyes on prices as we approach 2013. Retailers, both locally and online, change prices frequently and sometimes by large amounts. Identifying specific components and watching their prices will help you acquire them for as little as possible. AnandTech's Hot Deals Forum is a great place to find out about great prices. Finally, you can ask questions of fellow enthusiasts, and share your expertise in AnandTech's General Hardware and SFF Forums.
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pirspilane - Wednesday, December 5, 2012 - link
Does anyone know if you can store an Outlook profile on this file server so you could use the same profile with any computer that is connected?vectorm12 - Wednesday, December 5, 2012 - link
In theory yes. You could hardlink the directory to the directory on the server using a NTFS hard link. Although I haven't tried anything like that before(other than the mobile archive feature of Exchange Server which works in a similar matter) it should again in theory work as any outlook related services will launch well after the network stack and thus prevent the risk of invalidating the hard link.beisat - Wednesday, December 5, 2012 - link
Building a relatively small and quiet system today is much easier than a few years ago, and I perfectly see the evolution on all the parts you mentioned. As well I see much quieter and more efficient PSU these days - but will there be a point in time where their size decreases as well? So far ATX PSU still seem the norm in the online shops of my country, and at that all are 350W+, pointsless for one CPU without a dedicated GPU and an SSD.bobbozzo - Friday, December 7, 2012 - link
There are smaller power supplies, and some cases require them, but the current problem is there is no standard form factor for them; every case manufacturer has a different size or mount.Cyleo - Wednesday, December 5, 2012 - link
I really like the file server systems. Maybe a real guide (install, WHS etc) is an idea? I for one would be excited to read about it.SeanFL - Wednesday, December 5, 2012 - link
I've built this case 5 or 6 times for a really tiny build. In Win did a nice job with it. Initially put in an i3 2120t, but their new design also allows for the i3-2120 or any i3 or i5 you would want to put in. The samsung 830 really made it fly.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
jhoff80 - Wednesday, December 5, 2012 - link
It's probably just me, but I would absolutely love to see a super-slim mini-ITX case, designed for gaming, that has zero drive bays (why bother, when many boards have mSATA), a full-sized ATX PSU, and a PCIE x16 riser board and then two slots out the back of the case in order to use a gaming GPU.Most of these gaming cases have like 4 drive bays and a full sized 5.25" too, but that's really overkill these days, as far as I'm concerned.
Ananke - Wednesday, December 5, 2012 - link
Lian Li Q-series. Check them, They have several of the type you look for.jhoff80 - Thursday, December 6, 2012 - link
Really? All of the Lian Li Q models that I've seen have a bunch of drive bays (too large) or have 0 or 1 expansion slots, and/or a SFX 300W PSU, making them not conducive to gaming.Maybe I missed one though.
bobbozzo - Friday, December 7, 2012 - link
How slim can it be with a full ATX PSU?