Small form factor classifications.

[Okjoek]

I've always used either my big ol desktop for all my computer purposes. I'm a little confused about some of these different types of small computers out there and what they all specialize in and where some of their purposes overlap.

 

There's like these ones like the raspberry pi models which could literally fit in your pocket it looks like. On Amazon it classifies it as a "desktop barebone". if it is so how much more performance does their hardware have over a phone?

Then there's those Intel "NUC" things like the one Linus advertises in a lot of his recent videos. From what I've read it looks a bit like a gaming laptop's sized hardware without the screen, keyboard and stuff.

Then there's laptops and notebooks which I fail to understand the difference between. Is a notebook just a smaller laptop?

I also remember that in our house there used to be a relatively small computer that was an "all in one" which was essentially a monitor with laptop-like hardware, but no built in keyboard/mouse function.

 

As someone who usually works on a budget it's awful hard looking at smaller form factors goes because there seems to be a triangle of balance between price, size and performance and when you try to push size smaller it looks like you have to compromise at least one of the other two. It's certainly an interesting browsing experience, but it seems to boil down to what the person does with the computer. I don't compute on the go a lot so the big desktop has always been the ideal path for me, but I also have gifts to think about which is why I was wondering what input others could shed on some of these numerous types of computers.

 

 

[Aytex]

NUC is bascially a small PC yes, it is NOT for gaming though, it is possible but i wouldn't buy the intel NUC because your gaming

[ForsakenLive]

With small form factor computers, you are paying a premium for an efficient and compact system.

They are usually never recommended for tight budgets, or high power applications.

There are x64 mini PCs (running Android or Linux) and x86 (Chrome OS, Linux, Windows). A Nuc/Brix/Beebox/etc(those are names given by the brand) won't be able to run games, but will handle most average tasks just fine.

[pagani123]

None of these are actually considered full fledged desktops. raspberry pi is essentially a phone without a screen. a nuc is a step up from that and then laptops are a step up from that. laptops atm are the only ones that can be used for gaming. but we could see a nuc paired with a razer core type setup eventually