Tips to choose MiniATX cabinets
MiniATX are wide choices of environment where you lack ample of space. Compared to a standard design Mini-ATX offers you more compatible setup. You can hook up tiny hardware inside it and place it anywhere you want. Suitable for teaching institution, offices, etc this offers you a simple storage support. At ample of places where work in taken more seriously people would not prefer to spend additional amount in buying a high end systems. They prefer to stick with the one that can offer performance and movability. Compared to the miniATX system the regular are bigger and no comfortable move. There are ample of universal cases on the web that can simply tied up behind your monitor. MiniATX are ultra-portables of desktop. The best example I can give you is of Dell Hybrid desktop.
Check the image below. There are most cutest desktop I had seen with performance support. You can order them online and customize the same as per your need. This are the hybrid system that comprises of power and performance both. I made this thread to put a bit more highlight on options to buy a small tiny miniATX cabinets. There are number of thing you have to check before getting one. Do not simply expect to get the latest high end processor with multiple gpus in the same. They are very low on space and offer you standard support only.
One of the common example I can give you is M350 Universal Mini-ITX enclosure. This enclosure supports a number of mini motherboards and offers simple mobility. You can carry the same wherever you want. I found this one of the easiest way to configure a simple cabinet for working. The image below can give you a short glimpse of what features it provides you actually. There is ample of airflow with easy movable options. So follow the simple tips below if you are willing to mini ATX cabinets.
Hardware : It is necessary to choose the right hardware for your miniatx cabinet. The important elements is motherboard, cpu and connectivity options. Ample of miniATX system does not comes with wifi connectivity and ample of usb ports. You have to either use a external dongle or a usb hub. As the default connection mostly used by the keyboard and mouse. For gpu stuff you need to ensure one thing. There are mobile version of gpu cards available, but you have to ensure that it must not occupy more space. Another important thing that mostly a miniATX cabinet lacks is enough psu. There are less chances for upgrades. As they are traditional system running on mostly Intel Atom processor and standard 1 or 2 GB ram you can expect a mid size performance. But today we are having quiet powerful miniATX boards.GIGABYTE H55N-USB3 is one of them. Loaded with usb 3.0 ports, hdmi connection, and dvi support you can get a better performance. AMD too has some motherboard under miniATX series.
Design : The design part offers you choices what you can go in future. Like is there a space available of adding extra hard drive or not. Or you can fit a gpu on the same. This are something which are essential to check. Ample of miniATX cabinets are packed with psu. They are traditionally between 200 to 400w. Most commonly you will find a power button, two usb ports, headphone/speaker connection, dvd and power button. It is would be small box size cabinet. Placement is possible either by vertically or horizontally. Antec ISK 100 is a good example of vertical placement. It has a nice open cover on side giving maximum cooling support. The width of this system is just 70mm and you can simply mount that anywhere you want. Due to small size it offers you placement almost anywhere you want. There are two drive bays inside with extra fan support and 4 front usb. This is how feature changes if you keep on checking for new models.
Upgrades : This is point is a bit tough to explain. As a number of MiniATX cabinets does not comes with upgrade options. But still if possible we can check out. If there is no chances available in the specs you will find the detail. For mini cabinets you have to buy a smaller version of hardware. You cannot fix what you have right-now with you. There are small gpu models also available in the market. It is possible to upgrade a motherboard, ram, processor and hard drive. But you cannot expand the same. Also the smaller version of gpu and hard drive comes costlier. I cannot advice you to use SSD's in the same.
Re: Tips to choose MiniATX cabinets
This type of systems are best for bulk purchase. If you are willing to setup a place where you systems just for working purpose then would help you in many ways. I had seen a tiny system running on Ubuntu. The performance was quiet nice and it was enough for running regular games. You can start from making a list of portable motherboards and then psu. While going for a hard drive really does not matter much. I had seen the bays of miniATX cabinets. They fit well with any.
