Small form factor PC

Their smaller and often lighter construction has made them popular as home theater PCs and as gaming computers for attending LAN parties.

[3] According to marketing strategy, one manufacturer may decide to mark their product as "small form factor" while other manufacturers are using different marketing name (such as "Minitower", "Microtower" or "Desktop") for personal computers of similar or even smaller footprint.The acronym SFF originally stood for "Shuttle Form Factor," describing shoebox-sized personal computers with two expansion slots.

Standard CPU heatsinks do not always fit inside an SFF computer, so some manufacturers provide custom cooling systems.

[6] Most SFF computers use highly integrated motherboards containing many on-board peripherals, reducing the need for expansion cards.

Crowdfunding and availability of rapid prototyping tools has enabled the production of several mini-ITX cases focusing on efficiently organizing commercial computer components into small volumes including the Ghost S1,[13][14] DAN A4-SFX,[15][16] and Thor Zone MJOLNIR.

3D printing and laser cutting have enabled customization and one-off production by both manufacturers like Lazer3D[23] and individual users[24] with access to the relevant equipment.

Smaller models are typically sold as barebones units, including a case, motherboard, and power supply designed to fit together.

Upgrade options may be limited by the non-standard motherboards, cramped interior space, and power and airflow concerns.

The base of the XPC is provided with mounting points which accommodate both "Shuttle form factor" (ShFF) and mini-ITX motherboards.

When an ShFF system is upgraded to a mini-ITX motherboard, an Intel or compatible processor fan must replace the ICE cooler.

This design is popular with SFF enthusiasts as it packs high-performance hardware into a small space while providing adequate cooling.

An electrically insulating sheet, such as thermoplastic polyurethane, may be placed between the motherboard/PSU and graphics card to implement separate airflow zones, isolating heat sources from each other to improve cooling.

Since 2006, major OEM PC brands such as HP and Dell have begun to sell fully assembled SFF systems.

Essentially a bookshelf-style case lying on its side, a miniature HTPC replicates the look of other smaller-than-rack-sized home theatre components such as a DVR or mini audio receiver.

Each model of Dell's OptiPlex line of computers typically includes an Ultra-Small Form Factor (USFF) chassis option.

The compact size comes at the cost of restricted expandability, as USFF models have no PCI or PCIe slots and may have limited CPU and memory options.

Starting from Series 5, USFF was replaced with Micro variants, an even smaller size option that uses external power supplies and does not have optical drives.