WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:06.799 the year is 2018 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:12.480 and many pc components are smaller faster and more energy efficient so the 00:00:09.920 --> 00:00:17.279 power of a full tower can be crammed into something like the Corsair one 00:00:15.679 --> 00:00:24.640 so then why the balls are people still buying 00:00:21.279 --> 00:00:28.400 massive towers like the obsidian 900d 00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:32.479 here is this just pure ep machine 00:00:28.400 --> 00:00:42.079 or are there practical reasons 00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:50.000 so right here is your typical mid tower with bleeding edge gaming specs now 00:00:48.239 --> 00:00:55.600 let's imagine for a second that you want a machine with the same specs but at 00:00:52.879 --> 00:01:00.800 literally one third of the size while a custom small form factor is an 00:00:57.760 --> 00:01:02.239 option like the insane orthrest that we 00:01:00.800 --> 00:01:09.439 built last year we opted to compare to the new Corsair 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:10.560 one because inside this sleek trashcan 00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:16.080 chassis is the highest performance per volume 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:21.600 that we have tested compared to the mid tower we did note 00:01:18.880 --> 00:01:28.560 slightly higher CPU temperatures in the one but the gtx 1080 ti in this thing is 00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:31.680 liquid cooled allowing higher boost so yeah 00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:36.799 this small form factor technically actually outperformed 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:40.640 the air-cooled mid tower in our gaming benches while maintaining a similar 00:01:38.960 --> 00:01:45.840 level of noise of course CPU overclocking results would 00:01:43.600 --> 00:01:50.479 typically be slightly lower than a mid tower but for games this will almost 00:01:48.720 --> 00:01:56.560 never make any kind of noticeable difference and the pricing between a diy 00:01:53.600 --> 00:02:01.119 small form factor and a mid tower is similar as well 00:01:58.240 --> 00:02:05.360 so then what is the downside to this type of a machine 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:09.200 a big one is the lack of expandability you want to throw a three and a half 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:13.920 inch you know 12 terabyte hard drive in here 00:02:11.440 --> 00:02:19.200 you will need to use external storage which kind of kills the elegance of a 00:02:16.720 --> 00:02:24.560 machine like this whereas with a mid tower you can crown like four in here 00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:28.879 and not only will that not be a problem but you won't even see them because of 00:02:26.640 --> 00:02:33.440 the way that the internals are laid out it's really sleek this gives you 00:02:30.640 --> 00:02:39.200 terabytes upon terabytes of storage right inside your computer 00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:44.400 oh wait hold on a minute here so if you can get all of the performance 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:48.959 and the expansion out of this guy 00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:54.560 why would you want to go bigger alright let's make our way over here 00:02:51.440 --> 00:02:57.200 so if you're a serious business gaming 00:02:54.560 --> 00:03:02.640 aficionado and all about that dual card action you need not just the space to 00:02:59.760 --> 00:03:08.080 fit the cards because a mid tower even some small form factors can fit them but 00:03:05.200 --> 00:03:14.239 you also need space for them to breathe though with that said the truth is these 00:03:10.239 --> 00:03:18.080 days even a single gtx 1080 ti can haul 00:03:14.239 --> 00:03:21.280 in most titles even in 4k and sli 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:23.360 scaling leaves a lot to be desired 00:03:21.280 --> 00:03:29.920 with that said if you were doing something like a multiple user machine 00:03:26.640 --> 00:03:32.480 like we did in this very one for our 00:03:29.920 --> 00:03:36.319 triple headed vr gaming machine a full tower is pretty much your only 00:03:35.040 --> 00:03:42.239 option though i wouldn't call that a 00:03:39.440 --> 00:03:47.440 super common use case one other reason though 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:48.480 RAM expandability while a handful of itx 00:03:47.440 --> 00:03:56.159 boards which is what you're going to be stuck with if you go with something like this have four memory slots 00:03:52.720 --> 00:03:57.879 going atx or up enables you to deck out 00:03:56.159 --> 00:04:04.000 your rig with up to 128 gigs of RAM so at that point you're 00:04:00.959 --> 00:04:06.640 able to load your games onto a RAM disk 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:09.840 have multiple virtual machines or i don't know analyze particle collisions 00:04:08.480 --> 00:04:13.840 for cern to be honest we're having difficulty 00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:18.880 coming up with a realistic scenario where this much RAM would be a practical 00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:20.639 investment for a desktop user so 00:04:18.880 --> 00:04:25.440 that rationale takes a bit of a back seat 00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:29.560 bringing us to number three cooling a full tower enables you to not only 00:04:27.759 --> 00:04:35.440 slide a fat 360 millimeter aio in there plus 00:04:33.440 --> 00:04:40.320 another one for your graphics card if you're into that sort of thing 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:42.479 it also makes it much easier to run a 00:04:40.320 --> 00:04:47.280 custom water cooling loop i mean yeah if you've got the skills with the zed you 00:04:45.040 --> 00:04:53.759 can make a sick loop in a mid tower or again even smaller but a full size one 00:04:51.040 --> 00:04:59.120 is much easier to work with especially if unlike me you've got big hands 00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:02.240 you can also fill a full tower up with a redonkulous amount of local storage so 00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:06.720 it's kind of like what this can do 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:11.440 this can do better though sometimes that will come at the expense of radiator 00:05:08.400 --> 00:05:13.199 space finally a full tower is a bigger 00:05:11.440 --> 00:05:19.600 canvas to showcase your hardware 00:05:15.280 --> 00:05:21.840 cabling and your uh you know mucho RGB 00:05:19.600 --> 00:05:26.639 so it's a flex piece but what about the downsides 00:05:24.080 --> 00:05:32.479 well your typical full tower always costs more than a mid tower from the 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:34.800 same manufacturer because it's just more 00:05:32.479 --> 00:05:40.000 material and it costs more to ship it around and have you ever tried moving 00:05:37.039 --> 00:05:46.960 one of these especially by yourself the 900d empty with no hardware in it 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:51.360 weighs more than twice as much as the 00:05:46.960 --> 00:05:52.960 Corsair one with a full system in it so 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:56.240 unless you're into using your computer as weightlifting 00:05:55.199 --> 00:06:03.520 equipment it's that's not a practical selling point 00:06:01.039 --> 00:06:09.440 so let's summarize then as compared to 00:06:05.280 --> 00:06:11.120 a mid tower a 2018 small form factor is 00:06:09.440 --> 00:06:17.520 almost as fast is smaller lighter about as loud 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:23.039 costs about the same and only really lacks in overclocking potential 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:26.800 and local storage if you're not using a nas 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:30.319 on the other hand a full tower while more expensive not to mention 00:06:29.280 --> 00:06:36.479 heavier enables wider graphics card options 00:06:33.199 --> 00:06:38.160 more RAM and more local storage on top 00:06:36.479 --> 00:06:43.120 of and i really think this is the biggest reason being easier to work in 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:48.479 as well as being a bigger stage for showcasing your hardware 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:51.440 well computer hardware that is of course so thanks for watching guys if you 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:55.199 disliked this video you can hit that button but if you liked it hit like get 00:06:53.600 --> 00:06:59.199 subscribed or maybe consider checking out where to buy the stuff we featured 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