SFF and Performance Computing

SFF is something that has been around for ages, but because of technological limitations, it has historically been limited to low-power operations, both in the sense of low wattage and low processing ability. With the advent of the Atom, Intel has brought SFF computing the front and almost single-handedly reinforced the stigma that SFF computing means computing with caveats. So what is a person to do if they want SFF and want a powerful, usable computer? Well, there are choices.

This whole idea is posited and then examined as Hot Hardware takes a look at ITX options currently available that run on something aside from the Intel Atom or the VIA Nano, which are both low-powered (in both senses, really) processors. While the Atom has definitely caught on in the mainstream, a standard netbook or nettop is insufficient for some users.

There are choices available, however, that may satisfy all but the most hardcore gamer or video editor while still being small and easy to stow away behind the monitor. Well, there’s really only one if you want to be able to play something other than five year old games, but the Zotac GF9300-D-E is a pretty compelling option considering what all they’ve crammed into an ITX board. The biggest deal? A PCI-E slot. Yeah, that means real video card.

The look at the ITX options is pretty in-depth and includes a lot of numbers and comparisons. I won’t spoil it any further except to say that Zotac board is the clear winner if you want high performance, or at least high performance given you’re limited to a Core 2 Duo.

Hot Hardware’s writeup is very interesting and in-depth, a suggested read.