Once you go SFF you never look back...

Your thoughts on SFF systems as main (most time spent on) machines...

  • I do not use my SFF system as my main machine.

    Votes: 31 24.0%

  • I keep both full-size and SFF systems around at all times.

    Votes: 46 35.7%

  • SFF systems will always be my main machines.

    Votes: 40 31.0%

  • I currently use a SFF as my main machine but will be switching to something larger down the line.

    Votes: 12 9.3%
  • Total voters
    129
T

TESLA

Gawd
Joined
Aug 4, 2005
Messages
936
I am curious as to how many people that use SFF systems as their main machines plan on switching back to a full-size machine in the future.

I am building my second SFF machine and I doubt I will be going back to full-size as a main machine.

Although, I will always keep one or two full-size towers around to “experiment” with.

How do the rest of you feel?
 
I MIGHT someday go back to full tower, but...with specs in my sig...i think im ok for now :).
 
Scroatdog said:
That's because you created a POLL :rolleyes:
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My post was just an excuse to bump the thread, and I am far too lazy to compile a list so I made a poll. ;)
 
both for me, i usually have too many expansion cards for a sff alone
 
pstang said:
both for me, i usually have too many expansion cards for a sff alone
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I am curious what you fill a tower's PCI slots up with, haha.
 
TESLA said:
I am curious as to how many people that use SFF systems as their main machines plan on switching back to a full-size machine in the future.

I am building my second SFF machine and I doubt I will be going back to full-size as a main machine.

Although, I will always keep one or two full-size towers around to “experiment” with.

How do the rest of you feel?
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why would someone go back? o_O
 
I had a SFF and didnt like it...

I sold it and went back to a full tower.
 
TESLA said:
I am curious what you fill a tower's PCI slots up with, haha.
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i have a sound card, wireless network, tv tuner, videocard in my tower, while i know i could fit all of this in my current sff system, it would require a lot of work to get them all in,

although i use onboard sound an video on my current sff system, onboard video just doesnt cut it
 
I had a SFF but went back to full towers. I just realized I need more room and expansion capabilities to work with.

TESLA said:
I am curious what you fill a tower's PCI slots up with, haha.
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Sound card
SCSI controller
Network card
TV tuner

This stuff would cramp or just not work in a most SFF's :p
 
i had a nice shuttle system, but it was maxed out and i went back to full size PCs for better cooling, more space, more upgradibilty and more options for modding
 
I had many problems with the shuttle systems I ran.

My new Silverstone case, however, appears to offer me the best of both worlds.

The size is large for a SFF, but it allows for four cards and larger drives.
 
I've got a big ass acrylic full tower as my main machine, right now. I've got a watercooled x-qpack project in the works, as we speak. I may be hooked shortly.
 
Now that I've gotten used to Shuttles I don't think I can go back.

I tried to build a mid tower via an Antec Super Lanboy. What a waste of time and effort. There's just so much wasted space and the thing takes up and unecessary amout of room.

A good SFF holds all you'll ever need, bigger towers are obscene and waste space.
 
Well, I had a Shuttle XPC as my secondary PC for awhile, then my primary, then back to secondary, now my friend is borrowing it... when he builds himself a system I'm putting in my car as a carputer
 
Full sized tower for my main and use my Aria for my HTPC. I'm in and out of my main machine adding items and upgrading too often to have to mess in that cramped a space.
 
tdg said:
I had a SFF but went back to full towers. I just realized I need more room and expansion capabilities to work with.



Sound card
SCSI controller
Network card
TV tuner

This stuff would cramp or just not work in a most SFF's :p
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Why would you need an external NIC? As long as you use a 1-slot PCI-Ex card you would be good to go. :cool:
 
how about an option in the poll for "I used to have SFF, but i've already gone back to a full tower and i'm never looking back"?
 
How does one go about having [H]uge arrays of [H]ard|Drives in a SFF? I still keep full sized ATX systems. For some of my boxes, I need all the expansions slots and room for more drives. SFF is the only way to fly for transportable systems though.
 
getzlate said:
how about an option in the poll for "I used to have SFF, but i've already gone back to a full tower and i'm never looking back"?
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This is the SFF forum... what are you doing here... :p

I wanted to know from current users.
 
Looking at the specs in my sig, it's obvious why I'm not running a shuttle any more.


however...looking at the specs in my sig, it's obvious why my next system can be a shuttle. The file / VMware server is built, all I'll have to do in the future is pull the high-end videocard out(and Soundblaster X-Fi Fatality..whenever it arrives), drop in an X300 or something, go to onboard audio, and set up a fast dual-core SFF. I'll probably add another large RAID 5 when it becomes merely a file server/VMWare server


That SN26 is really tempting me right now....an SLI 7800GTX w/ 4800+ CPU and 2gb of XMS would be really really nice. Just exhorbanantly expensive.

I spend most of my time on my laptop...and right now it's powerful enough to do my gaming when I'm at LANs.

my only SFF (Compaq iPAQ Celeron 800 w/ 384mb RAM and 40gb hdd) is my downloading/AV server system...w/o an optical drive it's rather limited in its capabilities...but it's something I can toss under the bed if I want.
 
I've got an SFF as an HTPC and an SFF as my main rig.

My next build will be in a mid or full tower, though, as I'm probably going to do something stupid like SLI, and I want a rig with lots of internal room for BIG---(read: slow and quiet)---fans.
 
I've gone between SFF & 'full sized' many times, though I like SFF in principle an annoying issue or two always seem to bring me back to my Chieftec towers.
 
eastvillager said:
I've got an SFF as an HTPC and an SFF as my main rig.

My next build will be in a mid or full tower, though, as I'm probably going to do something stupid like SLI, and I want a rig with lots of internal room for BIG---(read: slow and quiet)---fans.
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I would agree that sometimes it is fun to mess with a full tower.

Whenever I do this, however, it is never used as much as my SFF.

My SFF does not heat up my room like my full towers do.
 
I had been using a full-size machine as my main rig, but now I am switching to an SN25P-based rig to build. My guess is that I will not be going back to a full-sized tower (or anything but SFF) for a long time to come unless something requires it. This is going to be my first SFF.
 
I am pretty much done moving all my systems over to SFF's. When my P4 2.6 ES died and I was forced to move my P-M 745, 855GME combo over to my main box I was aprehensive about the limits of expandability but I am loving it. My main box is moving into an SGI O2 similar to Mashie's O2 mod (I have wanted to copy it since I first was it). For my HTPC I am using an Ahanix MCE302 which is one of the smallest AV style cases available for HTPC use. And to the comment that you cannot have a big RAID array in an SFF I bring up my file server. The system is an Intel Shelton ITX in a Sun IPX case and then four drives are stored in a Sun 911 case sitting under the IPX. Its pretty small and can take up to four of the largest SATA drives you can get. I voted gone SFF and never going back if it wasnt evident enough.
 
Scar1.8T said:
I am pretty much done moving all my systems over to SFF's. When my P4 2.6 ES died and I was forced to move my P-M 745, 855GME combo over to my main box I was aprehensive about the limits of expandability but I am loving it. My main box is moving into an SGI O2 similar to Mashie's O2 mod (I have wanted to copy it since I first was it). For my HTPC I am using an Ahanix MCE302 which is one of the smallest AV style cases available for HTPC use. And to the comment that you cannot have a big RAID array in an SFF I bring up my file server. The system is an Intel Shelton ITX in a Sun IPX case and then four drives are stored in a Sun 911 case sitting under the IPX. Its pretty small and can take up to four of the largest SATA drives you can get. I voted gone SFF and never going back if it wasnt evident enough.
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You do not know DougLite very well, do you? :p

He has more drives than the rest of us in this thread combined.
 
I'll stick with my SFF and get a dedicated full tower server since I'm aquiring more hard drives.
 
I had 2 shuttles in the past SB75G2, and an SN95G5 v2, moved to a full tower after finding out I needed more space. Then I started hitting the SFF forums here again and saw the X-qpack, mine should be here tomorrow.
 
I currently have a SB75G2 - It's gotta 250W power supply in it. I'm wondering how strong of a video card I can get in that guy without moding the case? The card I'm looking at is the X800 Pro from Sapphire (I dont mind being a bit behind the times...) Should there be any problems there? Can I go larger if I wanted to without bogging down the power supply?
 
Freemason115 said:
I had 2 shuttles in the past SB75G2, and an SN95G5 v2, moved to a full tower after finding out I needed more space. Then I started hitting the SFF forums here again and saw the X-qpack, mine should be here tomorrow.
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ha ha ha ha, awesome.

I've had two store bought mid towers and my first (and current build from 2 years ago) was a full tower. I can't wait till I this computer is more out of date so I can get to build my first SFF :)

Peace
 
I think when I finnaly get a new SFF, I will probably keep my s939 around. Why?

I have a tv tuner card in it, one wireless networking card, my Geforce 6600GT in it.

I can dump the 6600gt and shove that in a SFF, but I really need a few more expansion slots to fit in a couple more wireless nic's.

I might get a SFF gaming-only machine, and then a work PC to do video/burn cds/server tasks...
 
After lusting over SFF's for a while, I ended up tossing my Sony Vaio for a Monarch Hornet Pro with an Athlon 64 3200+. I've had it for a year, and now that I am thinking of upgrading, I've had to struggle with the decision of either sticking with SFF or going back to full/mid tower. After weighing noise, heat, upgradability issues, I've come to a decision:

I will indeed be staying SFF. Why? Because, after all is said and done, I simply cannot go back to having a huge tower on my desk (or under it.)

SFF's are just...cool. Not inside of them, mind you, but I love the form factor. Having a powerful system that can keep up with a tower, but only takes up a fraction of space. I love that.

So, for me, it is true. Now that I've gone SFF, I can't go back!
 
Yeah. SFFs are cool. And if my brothers computer with the stock A64 cooler doesnt SHUT UP... OMG.... Its 50 degrees outside and over there it sounds like a leafblower.

Ehm... Anyways. I would like having a little iToaster SFF on my desk. Im using a P133 (O/ced to 166 so far) packard. Its 'ok' for posting and using the hardforum. Id rather have a shuttle with a cpu made in this century.
 
When someone figures out how to fit a compressor based cooling system in a SFF, I'll switch. :p
 
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