Can someone explain the difference between a tower and the small form comps?

C

CarLuver

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i usually use a lap top. my son gave me a 27 inch monitor and some other stuff like a logitech key board and mouse when he upgraded his stuff. so i guess all i need is a cpu. the last time i had a desktop was about 10 years ago.

So i have been looking online for a cpu. i see the normal towers , but i see the small form one also. i do most web surfing and other low demand stuff. for this, will a tower be overkill? is a tower usually jsut needed for gaming?

here is a small one was looking at

Amazon.com: HP EliteDesk 800 65W G2 Business Mini PC Desktop Computer/Intel Quad-Core i5-6500T up to 3.1GHz/ 8GB DDR4 RAM/ 256GB SSD/WiFi/Bluetooth/USB 3.0/ Windows 10 Professional OS(Renewed): Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: HP EliteDesk 800 65W G2 Business Mini PC Desktop Computer/Intel Quad-Core i5-6500T up to 3.1GHz/ 8GB DDR4 RAM/ 256GB SSD/WiFi/Bluetooth/USB 3.0/ Windows 10 Professional OS(Renewed): Computers & Accessories
www.amazon.com
 
First off the cpu is just one component in the computer. Computers come in all different sizes and the size does not necessarily corelate to how powerful they are although it can be an indication. You can buy powerful small form factor computers so that way they don't take up a lot of space. If all you are going to be doing is web surfing and writing documents that pc is more than capable. Really if your not interested in changing parts out in the computer the small form factor a are nice because they are small and quiet.
 
joegreen said:
First off the cpu is just one component in the computer. Computers come in all different sizes and the size does not necessarily corelate to how powerful they are although it can be an indication. You can buy powerful small form factor computers so that way they don't take up a lot of space. If all you are going to be doing is web surfing and writing documents that pc is more than capable. Really if your not interested in changing parts out in the computer the small form factor a are nice because they are small and quiet.
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I think CarLuver is using CPU to mean desktop PC.
 
The towers have standard size slots for expansion, while the small form factor (SFF) computers often have small special proprietary slots, and some have none at all.

If you ever need to install any upgrades (RAM, graphics card, etc), it will probably be easier with the tower :unsure:
 
SFF PCs are really just small towers but the expansion slots in the back are half-height (see picture below.) You'll be fine with an SFF though for your tasks.

1618416554230.jpg
 
CarLuver said:
So i have been looking online for a cpu. i see the normal towers , but i see the small form one also. i do most web surfing and other low demand stuff. for this, will a tower be overkill? is a tower usually jsut needed for gaming?
Click to expand...
The small form will be fine for your use. We have them at work as standard PC for basic usage.
For engineering, video editing programs, etc you would need a beefier computer.
 
Pew said:
SFF PCs are really just small towers but the expansion slots in the back are half-height (see picture below.) You'll be fine with an SFF though for your tasks.

View attachment 54118
Click to expand...

Not the one he linked in the OP, it's a micro PC basically, which uses laptop components and doesn't offer any form of expansion beyond increasing RAM.
 
CarLuver said:
i usually use a lap top. my son gave me a 27 inch monitor and some other stuff like a logitech key board and mouse when he upgraded his stuff. so i guess all i need is a cpu. the last time i had a desktop was about 10 years ago.

So i have been looking online for a cpu. i see the normal towers , but i see the small form one also. i do most web surfing and other low demand stuff. for this, will a tower be overkill? is a tower usually jsut needed for gaming?

here is a small one was looking at

Amazon.com: HP EliteDesk 800 65W G2 Business Mini PC Desktop Computer/Intel Quad-Core i5-6500T up to 3.1GHz/ 8GB DDR4 RAM/ 256GB SSD/WiFi/Bluetooth/USB 3.0/ Windows 10 Professional OS(Renewed): Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: HP EliteDesk 800 65W G2 Business Mini PC Desktop Computer/Intel Quad-Core i5-6500T up to 3.1GHz/ 8GB DDR4 RAM/ 256GB SSD/WiFi/Bluetooth/USB 3.0/ Windows 10 Professional OS(Renewed): Computers & Accessories
www.amazon.com
Click to expand...

The unit you linked is basically laptop/notebook hardware shoved into a small case suitable for desktop placement. There are brackets that allow you to mount these to the back of your monitor as well for a truly compact installation.

They usually have 1x internal 2.5" hard drive slot which may or may not be occupied depending on configuration and it will have 2x RAM slots, just like in a notebook, with the one on top of the other. They take notebook RAM.

These are more than adequate for the usage profile you've described.
 
It's about how much space you have or want to allow for the "case", if you need expandability or upgradeability (sounds like you don't), some usage types will cause the machine to run hotter and needs space for cooling, fans, etc (again, sounds like you don't). The one from Amazon you linked will likely be just fine for you. My only concern with it would be the supplier (it's not Amazon) and how they actually "refurbish" them. Some could be nothing more than Clorox wipes on the exterior, compressed air to blow out any dust, and wiping the hard drive with a fresh copy of Win10.
 
CarLuver said:
is a tower usually jsut needed for gaming?
Click to expand...
A tower has more room inside, allowing for more expansion capabilities in the future and better cooling setups, if you're into overclocking and such.


CarLuver said:
here is a small one was looking at

Amazon.com: HP EliteDesk 800 65W G2 Business Mini PC Desktop Computer/Intel Quad-Core i5-6500T up to 3.1GHz/ 8GB DDR4 RAM/ 256GB SSD/WiFi/Bluetooth/USB 3.0/ Windows 10 Professional OS(Renewed): Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: HP EliteDesk 800 65W G2 Business Mini PC Desktop Computer/Intel Quad-Core i5-6500T up to 3.1GHz/ 8GB DDR4 RAM/ 256GB SSD/WiFi/Bluetooth/USB 3.0/ Windows 10 Professional OS(Renewed): Computers & Accessories
www.amazon.com
Click to expand...
For basic web surfing this should be plenty fast. Keep in mind it only has DisplayPort and VGA outputs. If your monitor does not have one of those connectors, you'll need to get an adapter.
 
It's about how much space you have or want to allow for the "case", if you need expandability or upgradeability (sounds like you don't), some usage types will cause the machine to run hotter and needs space for cooling, fans, etc (again, sounds like you don't). The one from Amazon you linked will likely be just fine for you. My only concern with it would be the supplier (it's not Amazon) and how they actually "refurbish" them. Some could be nothing more than Clorox wipes on the exterior, compressed air to blow out any dust, and wiping the hard drive with a fresh copy of Win10.
 
OVERKILL said:
Not the one he linked in the OP, it's a micro PC basically, which uses laptop components and doesn't offer any form of expansion beyond increasing RAM.
Click to expand...

Oh I didn't even notice the link, whoops.

The school district my roommate works for changed all their desktops to the Dell mini PCs. I've actually got that exact HP elitedesk 800 G2 in my office at work - although it's just sitting there unused now since I switched all the admin staff over to laptops.
 
That HP he linked is pretty good for the $$. Older Intel 6th gen but 8GB RAM and SSD is all you need for daily tasks. I have a used Lenovo AIO I purchased from work for $100 with i5 6500T and 8GB RAM and it's still very fast to this day. it does have a fast SSD as well.
 
CarLuver said:
i am old. that is what we used to call it back in the days. LOL
Click to expand...

No worries. My wife refers to a desktop PC as "the tower". I remember being at work and an argument broke out between two coworkers over PC usage and the one stating very loudly. I have a lot of work to do I'm not going to sit all day doing it on the XT instead of the AT. Those were two of the very first business PCs. The AT was a slight improvement over the XT. Everything is relative in computing. The slowest computer made today would be unbelievably fast years ago.
 
jayjr1105 said:
That HP he linked is pretty good for the $$. Older Intel 6th gen but 8GB RAM and SSD is all you need for daily tasks. I have a used Lenovo AIO I purchased from work for $100 with i5 6500T and 8GB RAM and it's still very fast to this day. it does have a fast SSD as well.
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x2. It is more than what you need.
It just does not have the capability to add any Graphics Card which is more if you want to use it for gaming.

This form factor is called micro, mini or USFF (Ultra Small Form Factor) are ultra small.

Looking at the spec, it even have Wifi and BT capability.
Probably not the most powerful Wifi but it is integrated already.
 
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Hall said:
What if it's the type that sits horizontal ? :ROFLMAO: Do they still make them that way ?
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Yep, some slim towers can be laid down on their side if you want. they even have the rubber feet so you know they meant for it to be like that.
 
Basically it boils to down whether you want to fix it or not. The desktops are fine if you're just going to dump it when it breaks. Usually the power supply, motherboard and other items are all custom so you can only get them from the manufacturer and they will be 3-5x what the regular price should be so that it's not worth fixing them anymore. A regular tower is usually more standard sized so you can just replace the parts with regular aftermarket parts. I always build my own computers so over the years I've replaced various power supplies and motherboards so that I get years out of them. Sometimes the only thing left that's original is the tower.
 
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