Tuesday, September 8, 2009

How to Build an SFF Computer - C

The term SFF means "small form factor," which is graded in liters and used to define the spatial volume occupied by a computer. There are different types of SFF computers named according on their size: cubical (also called bare-bones), mini (also called bookshelf), nettop, mini tower and home theater box. The aim of all these models is to minimize the space occupied. Also, sometimes minimal power consumption is considered as one of the aspects in determining SFF.

A complete study of market-available miniaturized computer components is essential to build the smallest possible SFF computer. Due to the nature of "smaller in size," the price will tend to be slightly higher to that of the normal-size components, but it's worth trying for the compactness achieved.

The following steps illustrate the technical aspects to be considered while building the SFF computer parts, along with the links to the vendor sites. These recommended links need not be your only source; you can always use other vendors to find features that are nearly compatible to those listed here.


Instructions Difficulty: Challenging
Things You'll Need:
  • Compact/mini motherboard Hard disk Slimline DVD burner Internal power supply SMPS cabinet OS home premium brand Keyboard, mouse Mini screen CRT/LCD (15 inches or higher)
Step 1

Select a motherboard that has all features included as on-board functions, like a sound card, graphics card, USB root, LAN ports and only one or two expansion slots (more expansion slots will increase the size of motherboard). The motherboard should have the option for plugging the processor with a socket. This helps for future upgrades of the processor to fit the motherboard. The MS-9818 motherboard has all these features and is also compact in size.

Links where specification and size of the motherboard can be obtained are as follows: Alibaba and Mini-itx (see Resources).

Step 2

Finalize the cabinet once you choose the motherboard, which gives the appropriate size of the cabinet to choose. Select a cabinet that has a sliding tray to hold the motherboard. This type of sliding tray helps in rigging the accessories and wiring to the motherboard externally. Once completed, just slide the tray inside to fit into the cabinet. The cabinet should also have port openings for a parallel port, two USB ports, a LAN port, a keyboard port, a mouse port, audio jacks and power/reset buttons. The Silverstone SUGO SG05B Mini-itx chassis is a great fit for the type of motherboard selected in Step 1.

Links for purchasing the mini computer cases are listed as follows: Amtrade and Mini-itx.

Step 3

Select a power supply that is either external or internal to the cabinet, depending to the size and options of the selected cabinet. Preferably opt for an internal power supply (SMPS). The Silverstone model has an internal power supply.

Step 4

Select a hard disk that is higher in capacity in the present-day market. Additional capacity can be always added through memory sticks that plug into USB ports. Also purchase a combined ATA data and power cable, which is bunched together. This will cost less comparatively to data and power cables bought separately.

Step 5

Look for a mini DVD writer called a slimline drive, which must be accompanied by an adapter that converts the optical to SATA format. Vendors who provide slimline optical drives also provide this adapter with minimal additional cost.

Step 6

Select the components from the vendors depending on your trade-off between cost, size and features. All motherboards are accompanied by a manual; use this manual for identifying the ports on the motherboard and appropriately connect the cables from and to the cabinet ports. Connect the power supply cables from the SMPS to the motherboards and the drives. Connect data cables from drives to motherboards.

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