Well, it looks like SFF has hit the mainstream – even the big hardware makers are pre-building SFF systems for you! MSI has just launched their new system, the Nightblade MI.
Read more here..
Read more here..
From the rear we see that the system is powered by a Flex-ATX style power supply (350w Bronze rated). It also looks like a custom motherboard has been developed for this system. It’ll be interesting to see deeper inside this computer.
This a thousand times. It's noteworthy that a large component manufacturer does build a compact gaming chassis, but indeed: why make it so incredibly proprietary and inefficiently ? Apparently the main designer is not someone who has ever done some research into SFF.I think it is funny how MSI goes full berserk on custom components like the CPU cooler, the riser (which seems to be of custom height) and mainboard to get down to 10L while they could've easily done that with regular components. They even used a tray-loading ODD with a custom faceplate instead of going for a slot-loader, couldn't tell you why.
To be honest, its hard to tell flex atx and 1u apart just from a small picture. And yes, I have seen (and owned) flex atx power supplies with the fan on the back! You're probably right though, will correct the article soon.