Barebone computer
Encyclopedia
Desktop computer
A desktop computer is a personal computer in a form intended for regular use at a single location, as opposed to a mobile laptop or portable computer. Early desktop computers are designed to lay flat on the desk, while modern towers stand upright...
, notebook (see barebook
Barebook
A barebook computer is an incomplete notebook computer. It is only supplied with basic elements and one has to add components such as CPU, memory, hard drive, wireless card, and so on separately. This enables you to build your own laptop....
) and server
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
purposes, and in nearly any form factor. Manufacturers are also able to produce systems of a specialized or non-standard form factor, since the system is sold as a pre-built unit, with the motherboard
Motherboard
In personal computers, a motherboard is the central printed circuit board in many modern computers and holds many of the crucial components of the system, providing connectors for other peripherals. The motherboard is sometimes alternatively known as the mainboard, system board, or, on Apple...
and power supply already installed.
Components
Assembling a barebone computer by hand is usually less expensive than buying a pre-configured computer from a retailer, and may save time and labor compared with building a system from scratch. A typical barebone desktop system consists of a computer caseComputer case
A computer case is the enclosure that contains most of the components of a computer...
(or tower), with a pre-fitted motherboard and power supply, and often cooling accessories, an optical drive, and possibly a media-card reader. The purchaser of such a platform only has to equip it with a CPU
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
, RAM
Ram
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
, hard drive (if these are not already included) and additional input/output devices depending on their needs. This often includes installing an upgraded graphics processor if the one built into the motherboard is deemed insufficient (or not present at all). Audio adapter or network adapter may be added but this is less common as recent motherboards often already contain good enough solutions.
Peripherals, such as a keyboard
Keyboard (computing)
In computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches...
, mouse
Mouse (computing)
In computing, a mouse is a pointing device that functions by detecting two-dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface. Physically, a mouse consists of an object held under one of the user's hands, with one or more buttons...
and monitor, must also be acquired separately.
Barebone systems sometimes include a CPU
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
or RAM
Ram
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
, but rarely any mass storage media (hard drives), operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
or other software.
Upgrade limitations
Future upgradeability of a barebone system may be limited, especially from the point of view of the motherboard component, which may have less space for extra I/O devices and fewer memory and PCI card slots than desired. The motherboard may not be compatibile with faster processors and memory than those originally purchased with the barebone system. Barebones may also have limit on the maximal processor thermal design powerThermal Design Power
The thermal design power , sometimes called thermal design point, refers to the maximum amount of power the cooling system in a computer is required to dissipate. For example, a laptop's CPU cooling system may be designed for a 20 watt TDP, which means that it can dissipate up to 20 watts of heat...
(TDP) and not be able to support CPUs that would otherwise fit into the socket.
Manufacturers
The following companies currently manufacture barebone computers:- ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
- Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd.
- Micro-Star InternationalMicro-Star InternationalMicro-Star International Co., Ltd is a Taiwan-based electronics company and one of the world's largest motherboard and video card manufacturers.-Overview:MSI is one of the top three motherboard and video card manufacturers worldwide...
(MSI) - Shuttle Inc.Shuttle Inc.Shuttle is a Taiwan-based manufacturer of motherboards, barebone computers, complete PC systems, and monitors. Throughout the last 10 years, Shuttle has been one of the world's top 10 motherboard manufacturers, and gained fame in 2001 with the introduction of the Shuttle SV24, one of the world's...
- SupermicroSupermicroSuper Micro Computer, Inc. or Supermicro designs, develops, manufactures and sells servers based on the x86 architecture. The company's offerings include rackmount, tower server and blade server systems, high-end workstations, storage server systems, motherboards, chassis, and server components...
(servers) - ZOTACZotacZOTAC International Limited is a computer hardware company based in Hong Kong producing consumer electronics in the form of motherboards , Mini PCs, Nettops, and Nvidia based graphics cards...
.
This list is not absolute or exhaustive.
See also
- BarebookBarebookA barebook computer is an incomplete notebook computer. It is only supplied with basic elements and one has to add components such as CPU, memory, hard drive, wireless card, and so on separately. This enables you to build your own laptop....
- Computer caseComputer caseA computer case is the enclosure that contains most of the components of a computer...
- ComputerComputerA computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
- Small form factorSmall form factorA small form factor is a computer form factor designed to minimize the volume of a desktop computer. For comparison purposes, the size of an SFF case is usually measured in litres. SFFs are available in a variety of sizes and shapes, including shoeboxes, cubes, and book-sized PCs...
- Shuttle Inc.Shuttle Inc.Shuttle is a Taiwan-based manufacturer of motherboards, barebone computers, complete PC systems, and monitors. Throughout the last 10 years, Shuttle has been one of the world's top 10 motherboard manufacturers, and gained fame in 2001 with the introduction of the Shuttle SV24, one of the world's...
- SupermicroSupermicroSuper Micro Computer, Inc. or Supermicro designs, develops, manufactures and sells servers based on the x86 architecture. The company's offerings include rackmount, tower server and blade server systems, high-end workstations, storage server systems, motherboards, chassis, and server components...
(servers) - TyanTyanTyan Computer Corporation , is a subsidiary of MiTAC International, and a manufacturer of computer motherboards, including models for both Intel and AMD processors...
(servers)