Small form factor has made the CPU the size of a shoebox
As you were trying to find some space on your computer table to squeeze in a new set of speakers, computer makers have squeezed the computer itself into the size of a regular desktop speaker. Surprised? Well, welcome to the world of small form factor, the biggest change your home computer has seen since the CD drive.

While the first computers were big enough to fit into entire floors of university buildings, the shrinking began when scientists started makings smaller chips, processors and motherboards. With most of them shrunk to the size of postage stamps, the computer had no business to be as big as the ones we now have at homes. The transformation started in 2005, when Apple introduced its Mac Mini, a complete CPU in all of 1.4 litre. The Mini was uncommonly small for a PC at just 6.5 inches square and 2 inches tall and weighing just 1.31 kg. Things have moved on since, and if you haven’t noticed, the latest rage is the all-in-one PC where all you see is the LCD screen, with the CPU tucked away behind it.

S Rajendran, CMO of Acer India, which recently launched its 1-litre AspireRevo R3600 PCs in India, says, “Small form factor has become a reality due to a combination of components that form the core of the PC. The Revo’s platform includes the MBD (Nvidia ION) and an Atom processor. The Hard Disk and RAM used here are similar to the ones in notebooks, thus enabling a decrease in the overall product size.” The only component which the Revo does not have is an optical drive or DVD-RW.

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