SFF Comparison Matrix

[Giggles_of_Doom]

While shopping around for a SFF barebones PC of my own, I found it to be quite a pain to comppre them all, as I couldn't find a nice grid with all the main models on it, listing all the features side by side so I could get the most bang for my buck. So, out of frustration, I wnet made my own. I found it to be very helpful when it came time to buy my machine, so I thought I'd stick it up on the web for everyone else too. So, with minimal fanfare, I give you the Small Form Factor Comparison Matrix:

<A HREF="http://sff.redlightning.net/" target="_new">http://sff.redlightning.net/</A>

Feel free to stop by, use it, and send me comments on it. I hope you find it useful! I'll be trying to keep it in some sort of up to date state as time goes on.

--Giggles of Doom
"Isn't it amazing how you can make anything sound omnious just by adding 'of Doom' to the end?"

 

[Crashman]

SFF sux, buy mATX. Every SFF barebones you buy drives a nail in the coffin of full sized PC's. Besides, mATX desktops are usually shorter in height, and mATX thin towers are narrower in width, so "space savings" in SFF is a lie. And I know you'll lie about it.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Giggles_of_Doom]

Full sized PCs aren't going anywhere. There will always be a need and a market for boxes that can hold more then 3 drives and can use 5 PCI cards, so get off your high horse. And compared to ATX cases, the SFF cases do offer a lot of space savings. Perhaps not in footprint, but more in volume. I know any one of these things takes up far less volume then my ATX beast.

--Giggles of Doom
"Isn't it amazing how you can make anything sound omnious just by adding 'of Doom' to the end?"

 

[Crashman]

I said mATX meaning Micro ATX. Although the boards are around 1.5 inches longer, the thinner cases take up less space. They offer 4 slots instead of 2. Which means 3 PCI slots instead of 1. And yes, ALL good things disappear from the market when people find substitutes: Muscle cars, most sports cars, and station wagons have been replaced with minivans and SUV's. Full and midsized PC's will disappear eventually, but buying SFF hastens the process.

You don't compare SFF to full ATX, compare it to Micro ATX and see how it COST you space. Micro ATX horizontal desktops are shorter than SFF, so even with their added width they take up less space in an entertainment center. Micro ATX towers are usually narrower than SFF, so even with their increased height they take up less space on your desk.

Portability? Put a handle on a thin Micro ATX case and notice you can more easily carry it's thinner profile as you would a briefcase. Weight? The boards only weigh a few ounces more.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Giggles_of_Doom]

Well, seeing as the entire point of the site was to compare SFF "cube" PCs to each other, getting into an arguement over if they are better then mATX, FlexATX, full ATX, the future BTX, AT, Macs, etc is pointless. Thay all have their place and its up to the individual to choose which one to get. If you don't like them fine, don't buy one.


--Giggles of Doom
"Isn't it amazing how you can make anything sound omnious just by adding 'of Doom' to the end?"

 

[Coyote]

Well, good work. I used to compile similar matrix (can't remember how to spell the plural?) for office machines. I always found when compared feature-by-feature there wasn't more than 2% difference in price. Have'nt done the math on your results; wonder if it w/b about the same.

XP 2000+
MSI KT3 ULTRA-2 KT333
Maxtor 60GB ATA 133 7200RPM
512MB PC2700
ABIT G4 Ti4200 OTES 64MB
Win98SE

 

[Giggles_of_Doom]

It seems that, for the most part, ones based off a simular chipset and offering simular features are pretty close in price. It almost comes down to brand preferance, apperanace, etc once you nail what features you want. Once you declare that you are going to go with a P4 at 800Mhz FSB, for example, the number of choices drops considerably.

--Giggles of Doom
"Isn't it amazing how you can make anything sound omnious just by adding 'of Doom' to the end?"

 

[Crashman]

SFF is Flex ATX.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Giggles_of_Doom]

The matrix has been updated! There are now about 30 units in the table, clicking on each will bring up a detailed spec page with pictures and review links. It is also now possible to sort the table by up for 4 fields, as well as limit the results returned to things like "Under $200 Only" or "Pentium 4 Only."

--Giggles of Doom
"Isn't it amazing how you can make anything sound omnious just by adding 'of Doom' to the end?"

 

[Crashman]

I should say that SFF uses a Flex ATX board and mounts the power supply over the board, instead of beside it. So SFF is nothing more than a specific case layout for Flex ATX systems. I've had several Gateway Flex ATX systems come through my shop.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Spitfire_x86]

<A HREF="http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20031209/images/img_3818.jpg" target="_new">Check this picture</A>

SFF (aka Flex-ATX) is of course "fatter" than µATX, but it's way short than µATX. It's surely more space saving than µATX. I had an µATX system (PSU mounted over mobo). It wasn't much easier to carry than a ATX midtower system. But SFFs are much easier to carry.

If I really care about space saving and better movability, then I'll choose SFF over µATX. If upgradability is important, then I'll choose ATX midtower over µATX. µATX for people who wants some upgradability and somewhat space saving PC.

----------------
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<b><A HREF="http://geocities.com/spitfire_x86/myrig.html" target="_new">My Rig & 3DMark score</A></b>

 

[Crashman]

That picture shows a fairly tall desktop design compared to SFF. And even that tall desktop is shorter than the cube. So it will take up LESS space in a home theater rack, because height is what matters there. But there are shorter desktops available.

As for Micro ATX towers, they are narrower than the cubes, so they take up less horizontal space on your desktop. Which means that your desk has more room.

So either way, making the case less rectangular has the affect of taking up more space in the 1 dimension that matters, verticle in a home theater, horizontal on your desk.

Which is bigger, a silver dollar or a paper dollar? The paper dollar looks bigger but has less volume. Still, if you need to display those dollars, the paper dollar takes up more space in your display case, because you're only dealing with 2 dimensions.

A tower could be 4 feet high and 4 inches wide, and it would take up less room on your desk that a case 8 inches high by 8 inches wide, because surface area is what matters on desk. Conversely, home theater racks are 18"-19" wide, so a case 18" wide and 6 inches tall takes up less space than an case 8" wide and 8" tall.

Anyway, there are thin towers, I think they're perfect for carrying because they are narrow. Use a handle, carry them like a briefcase. Some of these are so thin, the CD-ROM has to be mounted sideways. Now look how much space is on each side of the cube.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Actually it's a matter of personal prefernence. Most people prefer SFF over µATX for space saving and better movable PC

----------------
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<b><A HREF="http://geocities.com/spitfire_x86/myrig.html" target="_new">My Rig & 3DMark score</A></b>

 

[Crashman]

Actually it's a matter of personal prefernence.

Math doesn't work that way, 6 is always less than 8, there's some rule about that. SFF=less volume but more lost space in either the horizontal or verticle direction.

Not to forget standard FlexATX mini desktops like the old Gateway Essentials, which took up even less volume than the SFF cases, and still had 2 slots. Or the book-sized PC's that were even smaller and had 0-11 slot.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Crashman]

Most people prefer SFF because it looks techy. These people would buy just about anything based on looks alone.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>