Dell intros 'smallest' desktop PC made with desktop parts
Integrated power brick too
Dell has introduced what it claims is the "world's first fully functional" mini PC.
The Optiplex 780 USFF - for "ultra-small form-factor" - measures just 24 x 24 x 6.5cm, which is actually bigger than Apple's Mac Mini, for instance. However, unlike the Mini and other mini-PCs, the 870 USFF has is power brick inside the chassis, Dell said.
Dell's Optiplex 780 USFF: PSU built in
It also uses desktop components - most similarly sized machines rely on parts designed for notebooks - with the exception of the optional Wi-Fi card and the storage, which is a 2.5in form-factor part: a 250GB HDD, 160GB fully encrypted HDD or 64GB SSD.
Dell said the 780 USFF can be specced up with single- an dual-core Celeron, Pentium and Core 2 processors, all of which connect to the machine's Q45 chipset. Graphics are handled by the integrated GMA 4500 engine.
There's room in the casing for an optical drive.
The on-board 180W PSU has a 90 per cent efficiency rating, Dell said. Curtis Campbell, Dell's OptiPlex Product Manager told Register Hardware that the 780 USFF's cooling system is well able to handle the heat the PSU generates in addition to what comes off the other components.
Ready for out-of-the-way mounting
Dell will supply the 780 USFF with a variety of optional mounts for connecting the machine to the rear of monitors and the underside of desks.
Dell today also upgraded its Optiplex 3 series, introducing the 380 range to replace the existing 360 set of machines. The new models use Intel's G41 chipset, allowing them to be specded with a choice of CPUs running from Celeron up to Core 2 Quad.
Unlike their predecessors, the new machines all use DDR 3 memory, clocked to 1066MHz.
The Dell Optiplex 780 USFF is available for order today at prices starting at £479/€569. Optiplex 380 prices start at £359/€399 for the desktop, £289/€329 for the minitower and £369/€419 for the SFF model. ®
COMMENTS
Optical drive ?
There's no way that's a desktop optical drive with a motorised tray, surely? Looks like a horrible little laptop "popout" to me.
Re: @ Scogar: Expansion slots?
Fine, add USB devices all you like; but, sooner or later, you'll need an external hub, and a powered one at that. There goes another power socket and (probably) some desk space.
If the device is going to be permanently attached anyway, then using a PCI or PCIe version (if available) is very likely to be more practical. (I do this for DVB-T reception: two tuners connected via PCI, and one spare tuner in a USB stick.)
@ Scogar: Expansion slots?
Who uses expansion slots these days? Even big business which buy desktops and mini-desktops by the truckload never use them. They don't even upgrade the memory - they simply buy a new computer.
Also, the Mac Mini supports up to 8GB of memory and two displays up to 2560 by 1600 pixels using a GeForce 9400M. I'm sure if it was as big as that Dell beast, it could hold a more powerful graphics card. So what's your point exactly?
I don't even understand why you would want expansion slots in a modern computer which (should) come with everything anyway. Unless of course you have a specific piece of obscure or legacy hardware you need to plug in which isn't available in a USB or Firewire version, eschewing the need to dig around the guts of a machine.
Who uses SCSI these days? Anyone??
"world's first fully functional"
First? I guess they aren't counting the "book size" pc's like the 386sx I've got in the back of a cupboard somewhere
