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SFF (re)build recommendations

Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 12:51 pm
by b-man1
I'm looking for a small form factor case/mobo to transplant a i7-7700 (socket 1151) and Crucial (8GBx2) DDR4 2400 (PC4-19200) SODIMMs into. Separate or barebones is fine, but was hoping someone has experience with a reliable option. I was using a ASRock DeskMini 110 (micro-STX...5" x 5" case...tiny) but it's becoming more an more unstable w/ hard freezes. Seems to be a common issue and it's ~3 years old, so no warranty.

Only requirements are dual monitor (hdmi and/or displayport is fine) and preferably M.2 slot + 2 x sata drives (2.5")

Thanks for any suggestions!

Re: SFF (re)build recommendations

Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 11:01 pm
by normalicy
I'm interested too. For me, I want to know a nice SFF case that uses standard ATX power supplies.

Re: SFF (re)build recommendations

Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2020 7:23 am
by psypher
normalicy wrote:I'm interested too. For me, I want to know a nice SFF case that uses standard ATX power supplies.
ATX is the standard that refers to both the Motherboard and PSU. The physical dimensions are related to the enclosure they will fit in. So no, it's unlikely to find an SFF case that's big enough to support an ATX PSU, if it did, it probably wouldn't be an SFF case. There are small form factor PSUs that get up to like 650W and are modular. Look for SFX PSU's. Or some prefix their series with SF.

Re: SFF (re)build recommendations

Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2020 12:32 am
by normalicy
I actually own one that is SFF, but with an ATX PSU. Unfortunately, it was designed with a DVD drive in mind and thus killed what could have been a great design. The reason I want the ATX PSU is mainly due to cost. The SFX ones are like 2x for the same capacity.

Re: SFF (re)build recommendations

Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2020 11:10 am
by psypher
normalicy wrote:I actually own one that is SFF, but with an ATX PSU. Unfortunately, it was designed with a DVD drive in mind and thus killed what could have been a great design. The reason I want the ATX PSU is mainly due to cost. The SFX ones are like 2x for the same capacity.
Is it actually SFF or just small?

Re: SFF (re)build recommendations

Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2020 11:25 am
by FlyingPenguin
I've never seen an SFF case that could fit a standard ATX PSU. A normal SFF case is too narrow.

I have several Dell SFFs and USFFs I use for my Media Centers, and an old one I use as a Spinrite station. It's a PITA finding a PSU for them when they fail. Dell likes to use proprietary power cables on the USFFs.

Re: SFF (re)build recommendations

Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 2:01 am
by normalicy
If everything I owned wasn't in boxes currently, I'd take a pic. The power supply does take up about 50% of the case. It uses a Mini ITX motherboard. Yeah, there are smaller cases out there, but shoebox is about the right size for me.

It's a lot like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-RC ... B00DJ6A88G

Re: SFF (re)build recommendations

Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 11:04 am
by psypher
normalicy wrote:If everything I owned wasn't in boxes currently, I'd take a pic. The power supply does take up about 50% of the case. It uses a Mini ITX motherboard. Yeah, there are smaller cases out there, but shoebox is about the right size for me.

It's a lot like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-RC ... B00DJ6A88G
So yea, that's just a small case (microATX form factor would be the technical description), not actually classified as an SFF which is a different form factor. Actual SFF cases only use the smaller SFX or TFX power supplies. So when trying to look for a small case that supports a standard ATX power supply, searching using SFF can make things difficult.

Re: SFF (re)build recommendations

Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 4:02 pm
by b-man1
The m-stx case I have now uses an external power brick, like a laptop would have. I don't need it to be that small, so I'll check out the micro or mini itx/atx options.

Re: SFF (re)build recommendations

Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2020 2:41 am
by normalicy
A Micro-ATX board wouldn't fit in there, ITX only. SFF isn't technically a standard. But I know what you're looking for. The SFX power supplies aren't much smaller in my opinion.
psypher wrote:
normalicy wrote:If everything I owned wasn't in boxes currently, I'd take a pic. The power supply does take up about 50% of the case. It uses a Mini ITX motherboard. Yeah, there are smaller cases out there, but shoebox is about the right size for me.

It's a lot like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-RC ... B00DJ6A88G
So yea, that's just a small case (microATX form factor would be the technical description), not actually classified as an SFF which is a different form factor. Actual SFF cases only use the smaller SFX or TFX power supplies. So when trying to look for a small case that supports a standard ATX power supply, searching using SFF can make things difficult.

Re: SFF (re)build recommendations

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2020 5:06 pm
by Nuby1Canuby
The DAN A4-SFX cases are really popular:
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/dan-a4-sfx/

Here's a Silverstone SUGO 14 Mini-ITX case review:
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/silv ... -sff-cube/

Re: SFF (re)build recommendations

Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2020 2:08 am
by Nuby1Canuby
TechSpot article Everything you need to know about small form factor PCs:
https://www.techspot.com/article/2119-e ... factor-pc/