5 ms·

I've been looking for a good SFF home server system but every one I find has an external PSU. It's surprising to me. I'd love an Intel NUC but I don't want a po

I've been looking for a good SFF home server system but every one I find has an external PSU. It's surprising to me. I'd love an Intel NUC but I don't want a power brick the size of the computer itself.

hollerith 7y ago
In case you don't already know, the Mac mini has an internal PSU. I'm like you; I want one box / lump, not two (mainly because I move the box around a lot). Consequently, I have a Mac mini. The price cheapest non-used Mac mini however has risen from $500 to $800 in about 3 years.
- com2kid 7y ago
  It also overheats if you use it for too long (e.g. keep the Simulator open for most of a work day), causing the machine to slow down to a barely usable speed. I'd prefer an external PSU.
  - p1necone 7y ago
    This seems to be a common thing with apple devices - supposedly powerful hardware with woefully inadequate cooling. iirc one of the i9 macbook models actually performed worse than the corresponding i7 model because the cooling was so bad.
    - p1necone 7y ago
      Seeing as I'm being downvoted - look! I found a source: https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-MacBook-Pro-15-Core-i9-slower-than-Core-i7.396971.0.html https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-MacBook-Pro-15-Core-i9-s... I'm at work so I don't have time to do many more googles.
walterbell 7y ago
See https://www.sfflab.com https://www.sfflab.com and https://www.mini-itx.com/store/category?type=case&volume=over-0&psu-internal=1&drive-bays=over-0&sortby=volume&page=1 https://www.mini-itx.com/store/category?type=case&volume=ove.... Most cases with an internal PSU are over 4L in volume. This mini-STX case requires an external power brick: https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Technology-Mini-STX-Computer-VT01B/dp/B01LY4RTMH https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Technology-Mini-STX-Compu...
dragonshed 7y ago
There are options for building a brickless SFF system, but they all have tradeoffs or limitations. There isn't a good one-size-fits-all internal psu until you get to the SFX size psus. I myself have been building out a brickless skyreach s4 mini system inspired by this [0] (same author as this A300 unboxing) [0] https://smallformfactor.net/articles/feature/community-feature-kmpkts-orangulan https://smallformfactor.net/articles/feature/community-featu...
pkaye 7y ago
This Intel NUC compatible power supply is not that big. Plugs into the wall and barely noticble. https://www.amazon.com/FSP-Barebones-Replacement-FSP065-10AABA-FSP065-10AADA/dp/B01KVZAX7S https://www.amazon.com/FSP-Barebones-Replacement-FSP065-10AA...
emanuensis 7y ago
Never could figure out people who actually wanted an internal PSU ... i thought big tech forced them on us for reasons of their bottom line: Ie as planned obsolescence. Eg one could easily make a svelte "phone" with a 30 second capacitor and Qi power transfer... Such would not wear out, letting one choose, swap, power backs/cases. Bigger things might standardize on wired connections like USB-C to cheap 18650 packs.
beatgammit 7y ago
Honestly, if there was a way to attach them together (say, a clip), I'd be fine with a brick. Make the clip provide a small gap and airflow should be good enough to prevent thermal issues. If I do run into problems, I can always separate them...
- justinclift 7y ago
  Isn't that the kind of thing you could make?
cwilkes 7y ago
Would an internal PSU somehow be smaller than an external one?

hollerith 7y ago

In case you don't already know, the Mac mini has an internal PSU. I'm like you; I want one box / lump, not two (mainly because I move the box around a lot). Consequently, I have a Mac mini. The price cheapest non-used Mac mini however has risen from $500 to $800 in about 3 years.

com2kid 7y ago
It also overheats if you use it for too long (e.g. keep the Simulator open for most of a work day), causing the machine to slow down to a barely usable speed. I'd prefer an external PSU.
- p1necone 7y ago
  This seems to be a common thing with apple devices - supposedly powerful hardware with woefully inadequate cooling. iirc one of the i9 macbook models actually performed worse than the corresponding i7 model because the cooling was so bad.
  - p1necone 7y ago
    Seeing as I'm being downvoted - look! I found a source: https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-MacBook-Pro-15-Core-i9-slower-than-Core-i7.396971.0.html https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-MacBook-Pro-15-Core-i9-s... I'm at work so I don't have time to do many more googles.

walterbell 7y ago

See https://www.sfflab.com https://www.sfflab.com and https://www.mini-itx.com/store/category?type=case&volume=over-0&psu-internal=1&drive-bays=over-0&sortby=volume&page=1 https://www.mini-itx.com/store/category?type=case&volume=ove.... Most cases with an internal PSU are over 4L in volume. This mini-STX case requires an external power brick: https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Technology-Mini-STX-Computer-VT01B/dp/B01LY4RTMH https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Technology-Mini-STX-Compu...

dragonshed 7y ago

There are options for building a brickless SFF system, but they all have tradeoffs or limitations. There isn't a good one-size-fits-all internal psu until you get to the SFX size psus. I myself have been building out a brickless skyreach s4 mini system inspired by this [0] (same author as this A300 unboxing) [0] https://smallformfactor.net/articles/feature/community-feature-kmpkts-orangulan https://smallformfactor.net/articles/feature/community-featu...

pkaye 7y ago

This Intel NUC compatible power supply is not that big. Plugs into the wall and barely noticble. https://www.amazon.com/FSP-Barebones-Replacement-FSP065-10AABA-FSP065-10AADA/dp/B01KVZAX7S https://www.amazon.com/FSP-Barebones-Replacement-FSP065-10AA...

emanuensis 7y ago

Never could figure out people who actually wanted an internal PSU ... i thought big tech forced them on us for reasons of their bottom line: Ie as planned obsolescence. Eg one could easily make a svelte "phone" with a 30 second capacitor and Qi power transfer... Such would not wear out, letting one choose, swap, power backs/cases. Bigger things might standardize on wired connections like USB-C to cheap 18650 packs.

beatgammit 7y ago

Honestly, if there was a way to attach them together (say, a clip), I'd be fine with a brick. Make the clip provide a small gap and airflow should be good enough to prevent thermal issues. If I do run into problems, I can always separate them...

justinclift 7y ago
Isn't that the kind of thing you could make?

cwilkes 7y ago

Would an internal PSU somehow be smaller than an external one?