- Pizza box form factor
In
computing , a pizza box is a style of case forcomputer s. They tend to be very thin, normally one or tworack unit s (1U or 2U) in height, making them wide and flat. The result is a case that looks like boxes used to deliver pizza.The first computers generally referred to as pizza box machines were
Sun Microsystems desktopworkstation s sold in the late 1980s, most notably theSPARCstation 1 . Other famous examples include theSGI Indy , theNeXTstation ,Macintosh LC , andAmiga 1000 .The original SPARCstation 1 design included an expansion bus technology,
SBus , expressly designed for the form factor;expansion cards were small, especially in comparison to other expansion cards in use at the time such asVMEbus , and were mounted horizontally instead of vertically.PC compatible computers in this type of case typically use the PCI expansion bus and require special low profile expansion cards, shorter than the PCI cards used in regular PCs. [cite web
url = http://www.pcisig.com/news_room/faqs#low_profile_pci
title = Low-Profile PCI
accessdate = 2008-02-17
date =
work = PCI-SIG Frequently Asked Questions
publisher =PCI-SIG ]The density of computing power and stackability of pizza box systems also made them attractive for use in
data center s. Systems originally designed for desktop use were placed on shelves inside of19-inch rack s, sometimes requiring that part of the case be cut off in order for them to fit. Servers in this form factor are now designed for rack mounting.The pizza box style has mostly fallen from use for
desktop computing , as concerns such as cooling and expansion capabilities have made tower and minitower designs the de facto standard. Taller versions of the pizza box design exist, but these are usually known as "desktop cases"; they have roughly the same dimensions as a mini tower, but are designed to lay flat on a desk.References
External links
* [http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/P/pizza-box.html Pizza box] in the
Jargon File
* [http://johansz.free.fr/images/sun/ultra1-11sm.jpgPicture of a Sun Ultra 1] with a "pizza box" case
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