Small form newbie

smithy1988 · 18 Jul 2007 at 22:46

Hi just a few questions.
Am i right in thinking that the majority of micro atx boards only have one Ide slot on the mainboard, wich is therefore usually used as the optical drive? Does this mean that a sata hard drive would have to be used.
Also what options are available to make the optical drive ribbon cables more attractive as obviously a large ribbon cable in a small shuttle type case could cause greater problems than in a standard tower in terms of temps.

Its_Me · 18 Jul 2007 at 23:23

smithy1988 said:
Hi just a few questions.
Am i right in thinking that the majority of micro atx boards only have one Ide slot on the mainboard, wich is therefore usually used as the optical drive? Does this mean that a sata hard drive would have to be used.
Also what options are available to make the optical drive ribbon cables more attractive as obviously a large ribbon cable in a small shuttle type case could cause greater problems than in a standard tower in terms of temps.

the shuttles come with their own rounded IDE ribbons.

But you could always switch to a SATA VDV optical drive too.

smithy1988 · 18 Jul 2007 at 23:34

K but is there only one slot for an old style hard drive. Therefore u have to choose either optical drive or hard drive, if u use the ide slot as ** hard drive u need to buy a sata optical drive, and if u choose to keep your optical drive in ide u will have to upgrade ** hard drive to sata- unless u choose to upgrade the 2. Hope that makes sense

Tute · 18 Jul 2007 at 23:40

Yes there is often just a single IDE channel. But don't forget that single IDE channel can support a pair of devices. So you could have a HDD and an optical drive without connecting anything to SATA.

But I recommend not using the IDE connector at all, there's just no reason to. The SATA optical drives available are really good, and the chunky IDE cable just restricts airflow.

smithy1988 · 18 Jul 2007 at 23:42

k thanks yea that makes sense. I know that sata is the way forward in terms of technology etc but just wanted to ask a few questions as if i upgrade it will probz be in stages. Most boards have 2 sata connections so therefore one for hard drive and one for optical and leave out IDe and the messy ribbon cables?

Tute · 18 Jul 2007 at 23:48

Most new boards have 4 SATA connectors actually!

Unless it's well rounded, an IDE cable will *really* hurt airflow in a SFF case.

smithy1988 · 19 Jul 2007 at 00:02

R rite thanks for correcting me, that means even more space for expanding/updating.
Yea i was thinking that it must really hurt SFF temps.
Thanks for the advice and answering my beginner questions lol- i suppose weve all got to start learning somewhere lol

smithy1988 · 19 Jul 2007 at 18:11

Another question

I came across another question. If you wanted to make a small form pc what psu's do you need, are they the same size as a normal psu or do you have to get a special size psu for M-ATX pc's.

Kanifee · 19 Jul 2007 at 19:05

It all depends on what case you are using.
Some come with the custom sized(?) psu all ready installed such as the shuttle. Others take standard atx like the sugo sgo3 but this case does venture into the slightly more expensive realms for a case with no psu not so much expensive in general but compared to some its a bit higher than people like to pay.
And others do require a matx power supply.
You will have to pick you case then do some research to find out what hardware is compatible with it then budget accordingly

lsg1r · 19 Jul 2007 at 19:14

my s939 motherboard came with 2 pata sockets and 4 sata sockets.
The case a sugo sg01e uses a standard atx power supply (highly recommend a modular psu) and I actually changed the rounded cable being used for the pata (ide) optical drive back to the one supplied with the motherboard (flat type) as when its folded over and tucked out of the way its actually better for airflow. It runs in line with the hd fan but outside of the airflow and doesnt affect the flow to the cpu cooler

smithy1988 · 19 Jul 2007 at 19:19

Thanks damien that clears things up. I thought that that was the case but just hadnt seen any mATX psus for sale on ocuk, so assumed that some cases *** just take normal psus and for the likes of the shuttle they were already preinstalled.
Isg1r
What is the difference with the modular psu's??
Yea im sure that is the case sometimes, its all trial and error as i understand to try and achieve the best temperatures etc

lsg1r · 19 Jul 2007 at 20:09

modular psu's - most if not all the cables can be unplugged (usually come unplugged) and you only use what you need, saves having to tuck the cables somewhere, essential on a smaller case.

smithy1988 · 19 Jul 2007 at 21:01

Ah right- yea i can see the advantage of that especially in smaller cases where good airflow needs to be achieved in a small area of space