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I understand making small machines is fun, and I did it once myself. I regretted it every day I used that machine, though and have gone back to "normal" sized

I understand making small machines is fun, and I did it once myself. I regretted it every day I used that machine, though and have gone back to "normal" sized cases.

fokinsean 7y ago
Can you elaborate? I'm actually looking into building my first PC and the small form factor of this case looks really appealing. Here's some builds that use it: https://pcpartpicker.com/builds/by_part/wBw7YJ https://pcpartpicker.com/builds/by_part/wBw7YJ
- illegalsmile 7y ago
  Do it. I just did a budget build around a SilverStone SG13 case for my htpc, see the image of case size comparison in the article. This was to replace an old full tower Antec case that was unsightly at this point.
- jankotek 7y ago
  It is much easier to find spare parts. PC can last 10 years, and it may be difficult to find some obscure motherboard or power supply. Airflow is bad in small cases. And it is harder to build it for newbie correctly. Bigger cases are usually quieter (fans are bigger and spin less). I would recommend MicroATX format and case. Still fairly small but without any compromises.
kevstev 7y ago
Was this a relatively recent thing? or ages ago? I ask as its interesting to me how much less stuff goes into a PC these days. When I built my first box around 2000, it had so many components inside: Motherboard/CPU/RAM Graphics Card Sound Card Network Card TV Tuner Card Floppy Drive CD Burner drive DVD Drive (this prob came after initial build 2 3.5" HDs That second portion of the list is effectively gone now, integrated into the motherboard, and M2 drives are the size of ram sticks and don't take up any significant space. Coolers have gotten bigger, as have high end graphics cards, but PC cases seem to generally be about the same size, when they are holding much less. What did you regret about a small case?
- PeterStuer 7y ago
  A "normal" build for the last 10 years (and much longer) has been a Case/MB/CPU/Cooler/Ram/SSD/PSU/GPU(if required) affair. The problem with SFF is airflow. If everything is crammed together you are going to have to pump it through with high pressure and small fans which means noise, lots of it, if you want to have a high performance rig. If you don't need performance, just get an all-in-1 or remodel a laptop build into the back of your monitor.
fomine3 7y ago
Small PCs are cute but finally I realized that there's no reason to choose smaller chassis when I have enough room.

I understand making small machines is fun, and I did it once myself. I regretted it every day I used that machine, though and have gone back to "normal" sized cases.

fokinsean 7y ago

Can you elaborate? I'm actually looking into building my first PC and the small form factor of this case looks really appealing. Here's some builds that use it: https://pcpartpicker.com/builds/by_part/wBw7YJ https://pcpartpicker.com/builds/by_part/wBw7YJ

illegalsmile 7y ago
Do it. I just did a budget build around a SilverStone SG13 case for my htpc, see the image of case size comparison in the article. This was to replace an old full tower Antec case that was unsightly at this point.
jankotek 7y ago
It is much easier to find spare parts. PC can last 10 years, and it may be difficult to find some obscure motherboard or power supply. Airflow is bad in small cases. And it is harder to build it for newbie correctly. Bigger cases are usually quieter (fans are bigger and spin less). I would recommend MicroATX format and case. Still fairly small but without any compromises.

kevstev 7y ago

Was this a relatively recent thing? or ages ago? I ask as its interesting to me how much less stuff goes into a PC these days. When I built my first box around 2000, it had so many components inside: Motherboard/CPU/RAM Graphics Card Sound Card Network Card TV Tuner Card Floppy Drive CD Burner drive DVD Drive (this prob came after initial build 2 3.5" HDs That second portion of the list is effectively gone now, integrated into the motherboard, and M2 drives are the size of ram sticks and don't take up any significant space. Coolers have gotten bigger, as have high end graphics cards, but PC cases seem to generally be about the same size, when they are holding much less. What did you regret about a small case?

PeterStuer 7y ago
A "normal" build for the last 10 years (and much longer) has been a Case/MB/CPU/Cooler/Ram/SSD/PSU/GPU(if required) affair. The problem with SFF is airflow. If everything is crammed together you are going to have to pump it through with high pressure and small fans which means noise, lots of it, if you want to have a high performance rig. If you don't need performance, just get an all-in-1 or remodel a laptop build into the back of your monitor.

fomine3 7y ago

Small PCs are cute but finally I realized that there's no reason to choose smaller chassis when I have enough room.