Custom SFF PCs?

SilverPaw750

SilverPaw750

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Sometime over the next year I'm going to buy a new desktop. I'm curious if any builders of custom PC's will build one into a small form factor case, so I can have the least trouble possible transporting it.

Anyone know any sites that do this?
 
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Marking this thread. I need to make a new PC within a few months, and I'm definitely going SFF. I can deal with the loss in power because I don't give a crap about PC gaming.

If I end up making one, I'll keep ya posted. The breaker for me is going to be when I finally tally up a cost - if it ends up being too much to build a small, quiet machine, I'll just go after a normal tower.
 
Well I know Falcon Northwest makes the Fragbox, but FNW is very expensive. I'd rather find a site that builds custom PCs instead of a 'brand'.
 
I'm sure you'll get tons of replies like this, but I'll say it anyway: Build it yourself!

If you've never built a PC, ask some friends or people from work/school and see if someone can help you out. If there's no one you know that can help, there are tons of resources online that'll give a step-by-step of the actual construction.

tomshardware.com has guides that'll help you pick out parts and assemble the whole thing.

newegg.com is a great place to look for components and they have user reviews that are incredibly helpful.
 
shuttle.com still has two sites I believe. One that is just SFF cases for parts listings, drivers, etc. The other is a build-to-order web site for folks just like you that want nice small systems without building it yourself.

Shuttle has a pretty good selection, whether your looking for an Intel or AMD based computer. I'd give them a try.
 
I also recommend building it yourself but only if you can get a copy of whatever OS you want for cheap- that's the only problem with building it yourself, paying for the OS.

You probably won't save very much (or any) money by building it yourself these days but that's because most companies like Dell and HP use shit for parts.
 
[quote name='merkman']shuttle.com still has two sites I believe. One that is just SFF cases for parts listings, drivers, etc. The other is a build-to-order web site for folks just like you that want nice small systems without building it yourself.

Shuttle has a pretty good selection, whether your looking for an Intel or AMD based computer. I'd give them a try.[/QUOTE]

I agree. Shuttle makes some cool stuff. Definitely give their website a look.
 
I am considering a bare bones, as I have basic knowledge of the insides of a PC, but building one completely isn't an option.

Bare bones includes Case, Powersupply, Motherboard, and Processor, right? Besides that, I know how to install everything else in a computer.

Shuttle.com is also really great - thanks for the tip!
 
[quote name='Strell']Marking this thread. I need to make a new PC within a few months, and I'm definitely going SFF. I can deal with the loss in power because I don't give a crap about PC gaming.

If I end up making one, I'll keep ya posted. The breaker for me is going to be when I finally tally up a cost - if it ends up being too much to build a small, quiet machine, I'll just go after a normal tower.[/quote]

There really isnt a "loss" in power at all. Not unless you're pitting high end desktop vs high end sff.

The primary problem with sff lies in its inability to dissapate heat effectively. SFF also cannot house some of the best CPU coolers we've seen in recent memory, as well as holding those foot long graphics cards (8800, R600).

IMO, I say just build a SFF case yourself. Pick up like 8 pieces of sheet metal at your local home depot, grab a dremel or whatever you like cutting metal with, and just hack away. By building your own SFF case, you get to decide how tall or long the case is, and if you want to use a regular psu (some have proprietary psu, which cant hold enough power to run high end stuff).
 
[quote name='Strell']I'd probably take a Mac Mini if I thought I could successfully run Windows on it.

Or can I?[/QUOTE]

not sure if you're joking or not but you can as long as its one of the new x86 based minis.

the biggest advantage would be that there are no fans to fail and its quieter than your average SFF pc box. Dying fans have been the bane of my existence for the last 6 months.
 
I think Cyber Power still makes a couple SFF PCs with lan gaming in mind in the $600-700 range. they used to have one with an AMD configuration and one with an Intel one. Their website is www.cyberpowerpc.com. I'd check there if you perfer not to build it yourself (as building a SFF on a first build can be tricky sometimes).
 
[quote name='Strell']I'd probably take a Mac Mini if I thought I could successfully run Windows on it.

Or can I?[/QUOTE]

The final version Boot Camp is supposedly shipping with OSX Leopard, so if you can wait until that hits it may actually be a real good choice if you don't care about gaming. The final version is even supposed to be able to run Vista and even if you don't wait for Leopard you can pick it up separtely for a charge (for like $30 IIRC).
 
Hmmm.

Basic options are: Mac Mini, Building it myself with that case (possibly), or CyberpowerPC.

Only real problem with Cyberpower is that the SFF I like only uses Athlons, where I'd rather have Intel Core 2 Duos. But I do like having a three year warranty.

Bleh.

Any more opinions on the case I have up there?
 
If you have a CompUSA nearby, check and see if they have the Antec Aria case. It's clearanced to like $59.99, comes with PS and fan. I've had mine sitting in the box for a while with the intentions of making a living room HT/emulation PC, but haven't broken down and bought the parts. Comes with fan, 300W PS, built in media card reader, etc. Here's the link to Antec's product page:

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=15130

I've been thinking about throwing in an old Intel 478 socket board into it, but it doesn't have an AGP slot. From what I've seen, building a 775 socket would probably be cheaper with all the deals that float around. Personally, from the SFF case prices that I've seen... they seem to be a bit overpriced at times.

Strell, I agree on the case building thing.. I've seen some really cool case-making/molding walkthroughs out there, but there's no way in hell I'd go to that much trouble. Plus, we all remember the infamous TechTV NES PC thing.. if I gave that a shot, I'd probably end up with a grey, red, and black molten pile.

Oh yeah.. one more thing. I wish I had a link, but I've seen a custom PC company out there that uses wooden cases. Personally, I think it'd be cool to have an oak/cherry PC case.. but something about mixing electrical components and wood is kinda wonky and risky. Still... pretty classy looking nonetheless.
 
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