Micro Towers Make Sense
Save Space as CD-ROM Drive is Almost Obsolete
If you are a regular reader, you would have seen in last weeks’ article we talked about how the CD or DVD-ROM device is well and truly heading the way of the Dodo. There are good reasons for this and it is unlikely that we will see them on the general market for much longer. At the same time, we are also seeing the transition from mechanical hard drives (HDD) to solid-state drives (SSD’s).
If we now take a closer look at the typical desktop computer tower, we see that they have always had over half of their internal space as just plain air. That is right – most computer towers have over 50% wasted space inside! The reason for all this spare space is upgradeability. Most desktop PC’s can accept a 2nd or 3rd hard drive as well as an extra CD-ROM and a dedicated video card.
In short, the typical computer tower is one of the most upgradeable machines around. However, if we drop out the use of a CD-ROM and factor in the small size of SSD’s then a smaller tower makes sense. So how small can we go? Let’s take a look at the latest Micro towers that are now on the market.
Hewlett Packard, Lenovo and Dell all make Micro desktop towers that lack a CD-ROM but offer brilliant performance and reliability in a device that weighs less than 1kg and can nearly be covered by one hand. These tiny devices would suit around 90% of desktop users and have many advantages over a traditional tower, apart from the space saving.
At around 175mm square and only 35mm thick a micro tower can sit unobtrusively on your desk next and provide easy access to the power button and the USB ports. They also consume around a quarter of the power of a traditional desktop and with an external power supply similar to a laptop charger they are very resistant to power surges and brown outs.
In the last 3 months we have changed our entire shop over to these devices to save power and space as well as upgrading to more powerful CPU’s. They will accept the very latest M.2 style SSD’s as well as a 2.5” SSD and can take up to 32GB Ram. As far as power is concerned that have the latest i5 and i7 CPU’s from Intel which will leave the most powerful laptops for dead.
When it comes to connectors they have no lack of USB ports and can connect to either 2 or 3 screens simultaneously straight from the factory. Many of the micro PC models also have built-in Wi-Fi connectors and all have Ethernet ports. We have huge stocks of both new and Eco Micro towers starting from $645 and every customer that is introduced to one ends up taking it home!
If you are in the market to update your desktop tower but have grown tired of the wasted space, ugly looks and difficulty in taking it in for a service then consider the micro tower. And, if you still need to use CD’s then a micro tower can be teamed with an external USB DVD-ROM for another $80.
Future Byte Me topics can be emailed to [email protected] and Bruce is contactable at Kerr Solutions, 205 Musgrave Street or on 49 222 400.
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