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Why are PC hardware manufacturers incapable of making console sized cases?

S

spoonablehippo

Member
Well, I adore my Alienware Alpha!

I basically wanted something that was at least as powerful as a PS4 but with the flexibility and game cost of PC gaming. My Alpah fits the bill perfectly!
It's basically a 750Ti with and i7-4785 and 16GB RAM

Its about the same size as an original Wii
 
AetherZX

AetherZX

Member
Auto_aim1 said:
Personally for me bigger the better. I have a gigantic NZXT Phantom case with multiple 140mm fans and a Corsair 240mm radiator. I just don't know how you will be able to fit a 750W PSU and high end Nvidia/Amd cards in a console size case though.
Click to expand...

Yep, I'll tote this 200r until the end of time if possible.
 
N

NoblesseOblige

Banned
I can't even imagine the amount of cursing that would come out of my mouth if I were to try and fit enthusiast grade hardware into a console sized package. Cooler Master's Elite 130 is the smallest case I've done anything with and that wasn't particularly fun.
 
L

Lady Gaia

Member
Individual PC models, even when well promoted, rarely sell more than tens of thousands of units. That makes it hard to justify the design work and impossible to justify any serious custom engineering.

To make something like a console you have to plan from day one to sell tens of millions of units, and you have to be very cost and power conscious to hit that sweet spot of mass market appeal and durability. You can't afford to change the design very often because you're still amortizing your investment so you aren't using cutting edge parts except perhaps on day one. You also have to create unique appeal by investing in exclusive titles that will draw a market.

In short, you are building a console. Not a PC.
 
O

orochi91

Member
I'm rocking a Kraken x60 in my current Phantom build, along with an ATX mobo.

Is there a small form factor can accommodate these two components especially?
 
D

DMTripper

Member
The Stealth Fox said:
I'm surprised people don't suggest ITX builds more often in the PC thread. With all the All In One closed loop liquid cooling solutions you could build something 3x more powerful than a ps4 but a third the size of a tower.

The CM Elite 130 case is cheaper (40-50 dollars) and it fits standard atx case parts. Most nice ATX cases are 100 dollars and the same goes with mini ITX. If you're not interested in SLI these builds are very doable. You can even fit a titan X into a lot of the cases.

The only "extra cost" you may be paying for is for an ITX mobo, and that's like 30-40 dollars. And the cooling solution probably costs 30 dollars more than a standard hyper 212 EVO.

You just need to do some research on what you need in terms of storage.
Click to expand...

This is the case I've got and I love it!

Sits under my TV and kicks ass :-D
 
L

littlebigman

Member
Compared to the PS4 and Xbone, the OP's examples look fairly console-sized to me. We're in one of those periods where technological advancements outpace manufacturing advancements, so you end up with super cool powerboxes that could crush a small child if they were dropped off a shelf. You just gotta deal.
 
C

Canis lupus

Member
Terbinator said:
ZSoQJ9Hl.jpg


03Lw1BTl.jpg


thereitis.gif
Click to expand...

The PS4 is bigger than it should be in this pic :p

ps4x2.jpg


Enter the Dragon Punch said:
most people don't because its being made by a Polish company who normally make alternate energy generators like windmills :p
Click to expand...

Any reviews, price, where can I order it? Really interested in this one.
 
S

Steel

Banned
Canis lupus said:
The PS4 is bigger than it should be in this pic :p

http://www.thesixthaxis.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/ps4x2.jpg[/IMG
[/QUOTE]

It's actually the proper size in the pic.

[quote="SteelAttack, post: 190474709"]I guess I am in the minority here but I want my PC cases big, loud and ugly.[/QUOTE]

Definitely in the minority if you like it loud. Though, I do like big from a custom build standpoint. Makes things easier. Though I miss my X51. Shame the motherboard broke.
Click to expand...
 
F

FLAguy954

Junior Member
Canis lupus said:
The PS4 is bigger than it should be in this pic :p

ps4x2.jpg




Any reviews, price, where can I order it? Really interested in this one.
Click to expand...

You actually further validated his pictures. The PS4 on your pic shows the same dimensions.

Auto_aim1 said:
Personally for me bigger the better. I have a gigantic NZXT Phantom case with multiple 140mm fans and a Corsair 240mm radiator. I just don't know how you will be able to fit a 750W PSU and high end Nvidia/Amd cards in a console size case though.
Click to expand...

This. I switched to a windowed Phanteks Enthoo Pro case and I see the light of large, versatile computer cases. An ITX build would not do my 290x Lightning any justice lol.
 
E

Enter the Dragon Punch

Banned
Canis lupus said:
The PS4 is bigger than it should be in this pic :p

ps4x2.jpg




Any reviews, price, where can I order it? Really interested in this one.
Click to expand...

nowhere yet. they're planning on doing an indiegogo for the first run to gauge interest and help fund Mass production, and they said they're trying to price it on the lower end of $99 to $150 US.
 
I

Ivan Amiibo

Banned
I guess if I could get a PC that size at the same cost as the one I built and with proper heat dissipation, I'd go for it. As it is, you have to pay out the ass and have to worry about issues a regular tower wouldn't give you if set up properly. I'm also just not that pressed for space.
 
D

Dictator93

Member
Well as all the pictures show, it is pretty possible to find console sized pre-fabs and near console sized DIYs following some ATX specs.
 
T

The Stealth Fox

Junior Member
I think the biggest challenge is going small and still having a 5 inch blu ray drive. I feel like that's the limitation with a lot of these sleeker cases.

I guess you could go external or something, lol.
 
D

Durante

Member
The Stealth Fox said:
I think the biggest challenge is going small and still having a 5 inch blu ray drive. I feel like that's the limitation with a lot of these sleeker cases.

I guess you could go external or something, lol.
Click to expand...
Or you could go 2015 and not include an optical disc drive in your PC :p

(My current system has a slot for it, but I didn't bother to put one in)
 
T

The Stealth Fox

Junior Member
DMTripper said:
I would like to see them :)

I have a gtx 960 and a i5 4590 in mine. Would like to see how a better card looks. Do you have water cooling in yours?
Click to expand...

All in one closed loop liquid. Corsair H60i. Getting as good performance as my hyper 212 EVO in my ATX tower, but i had to pay 60 for it.

The extra cost I would say going with mini itx would probably be 70 dollars total. 40 extra for the motherboard and 30 for the cooler. I did buy an SSD too, but that wasn't really part of switching form factor.
 
T

The Stealth Fox

Junior Member
DMTripper said:
Let's see some pics!

I'm not going to upgrade anytime soon as happy with my rig. Would just like to see how it looks.
Click to expand...

How do you resize the pics so it's not intrusive? It's been like years since I've posted images here on NeoGAF.

Enter the Dragon Punch said:
look at the picture I posted with my headphones on it. see that thin black rectangle on the upper right?
Click to expand...

So most cases have a standard slot for it?
 
Nestunt

Nestunt

Member
They will come in a more mainstream way

the problem is that the majority of people have 1 PC and, right now, laptops have the mind share lead

let TV die even more and people will start connecting their tvs to that type of boxes
 
O

OmegaTreeFish

Banned
I have a pretty tiny amount of space for my gaming set up. I recently only had a ps4 set up there but wanted to get a PC to replace my laptop. I looked at the smaller cases and they were all far to large. The only thing small enough was the alienware alpha. I then made a vertical stand for it using book ends and my set up is complete.

mL45z3T.jpg
Click to expand...

You just won't get a tiny PC with top end parts because space is needed to keep it all cool and accessible. However the alpha is prob slightly more powerful than the ps4 (i5 version with 8gig ram, over clocked GPU) but way smaller and quieter than even that. That's a pretty decent compromise I feel.
 
B

blankempathy

Member
Putting everything together inside of a medium sized tower is enough of a pain in the ass. Cant imagine doing it with a smaller case. Although i kinda want a mini itx to play around with. For me sound reduction is far more important to me then form factor and my r4 does an amazing job of that.
 
kraspkibble

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
there are loads of small cases but it can be awkward to get everything to fit and if you're building a gaming PC you want good airflow. that's why most people just stick to m/ATX size.
 
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