Introduction of micro form factor PC

Small and portable, fashionable and beautiful, energy saving and environmental protection, mute, these words are the best summaries of a micro form factor PC. Micro form factor PC make up for the deficiencies of traditional desktop computer, and is also very suitable for the user experience of modern people, which makes the micro form factor PC market a hope for desktop manufacturers to seek breakthroughs in recent years. It is also an opportunity for manufacturers such as ShareVDI Technology to focus on the research and development of micro form factor PC, opening up a new world for the PC market.

Micro form factor PC, also known as mini computer, mini computer host, thin client (HTPC), minicomputer, cloud terminal or mini PC, some people like to call it a micro desktop PC, it is a small size, low power consumption, ultra-quiet, high-performance, stylish and beautiful computer hosts, micro form factor PC has the basic attributes and performance of traditional desktop PC.

Advantages of micro form factor PC

(1) Small and portable

Smallness is the biggest feature of micro form factor PC. Its volume is generally 1/30 of the volume of traditional desktop hosts, which is equivalent to the thickness of a 130-page book, and its length and width are as large as A5 paper.

(2) Save space resources

The compact size of the ultra small form factor PC can stand up or lie down and can be fixed on a hanging rack. It can be placed in any small corner of the table, or it can be fixed behind a monitor or TV screen with a special hanging rack, freeing up more space for the current office or home life. Space resources, but also a clean and tidy space on the desktop.

(3) Fashionable and beautiful

The old-fashioned shape of most traditional large desktop consoles can no longer meet the aesthetic needs of modern people, while the stylish design of the micro form factor PC, coupled with its small size and exquisiteness, is very artistic whether it is placed on the desk, living room or study.

(4) Low power consumption, energy saving and power saving

The micro form factor PC uses a low-power processor, and the thermal design power consumption TDP is generally around 10W-17W, while the average power consumption of the traditional large desktop host is 100W~150W, which is 10 times or more than the power consumption of the micro desktop PC.

(5) Quiet and environmental protection

The rumbling noise of traditional large desktops has seriously affected the experience of computer workers, game players and home life. In this living space where pollution sources are everywhere, people can no longer afford more pollution. Due to the fanless heat dissipation design of the micro desktop PC, the whole machine can achieve zero noise during operation, which brings a quiet experience to work and life, and has been loved by people.

(6) Strong performance

The performance of micro form factor PC has become mature. After several years of exploration and accumulation, most micro form factor PCs can meet the basic needs of 70% of users for office, entertainment, industrial control, display and playback. Although most micro form factor PCs are still designed with integrated display. However, some high-profile micro form factor PCs with independent graphics are not inferior in overall performance.

(7) Safe and stable

Due to the small size, high integration of the main board, and compact design layout of component chips, most micro form factor PCs can run stably for a long time, and it is not easy to affect the operation or interruption of the whole machine due to individual hardware problems, or even damage the whole machine.

(8) Easy to update and maintain

The micro form factor PC is small and portable, and it is very convenient in terms of software update or hardware update. If you need to expand the memory and hard disk, you only need to open the cover of the micro form factor PC with a screwdriver.

The composition of a micro form factor PC

Micro form factor PC is another form of traditional desktop host. Its composition has many similarities with traditional desktop hosts. It is mainly composed of the following parts:

① Chassis (Aluminum alloy material)

② Motherboard (ITX small board, laptop motherboard)

③ CPU (Low-power notebook CPU)

④ Power adapter (12V or 19V power supply)

⑤ Memory (DDR3L or DDR4...low voltage)

⑥ Hard disk (2.5-inch mechanical hard disk HDD or solid-state hard disk SSD)

⑦ Network card (10-100-1000M)

⑧ Graphics card (mostly core graphics cards, a few with discrete graphics cards)

⑨ Sound card (mainboard integrated)

⑩ Radiator (Cooling module or fan, etc.)

⑪ Base or vesa mount (Different manufacturers)

Micro form factor PC application

(1) Corporate office

In corporate office applications, whether it is daily office software, drawing tools or various management software, R&D systems, etc., micro form factor PC can be easily controlled.

(2) Home entertainment/living room audio and video

The stylish and compact appearance of the mini host, coupled with its more powerful functions than the TV box, has been favored by audio-visual entertainment users.

(3) Industrial control

In this age of appearance, the huge and rough chassis design of traditional industrial computers will gradually be replaced by mini-type industrial computers, and strong functions are no longer the only choice criteria for industrial computer users.

(4) Cloud terminal

The micro form factor PC can be used as an access terminal device for a diskless workstation, which saves more maintenance costs for users and ensures the security of user data resources.

(5) School education/multimedia classroom

The functions of resource acquisition, network space, shared services, etc. required by educational informatization, micro form factor PC can provide perfect support for teaching programs. The modernization of teaching methods requires more modern teaching equipment to help! In recent years, in the process of realizing the digitalization, networking, intelligence and multimedia of teaching, universities and colleges have been using micro form factor PC as the equipment for building multimedia classroom.

(6) Downloader

The characteristics of the download machine, the micro form factor PC is even better: small size, power saving and good heat dissipation, 24 hours of stable operation is no longer a problem.

(7) Digital Signage

One of the micro form factor PC is called OPS computer. Its biggest function is to provide a complete solution for digital signage, education all-in-one computer, electronic whiteboard, etc.

(8) Commercial supermarkets, government, medical, military and other fields

Nowadays, micro form factor PC can be used for office work,games playing, live streaming... It has far exceeded the basic performance originally pursued by micro form factor PC. It is believed that with the continuous innovation of technology, micro from factor PC will cover more market segments in future.