View source for Pizza-box form factor

{{Short description|Style of computer or other device case}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
[[File:Apple Museum (Prague) Macintosh LC (1990) (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Macintosh LC]] with the common setup of the monitor placed on top of it]]

In [[computing]], a '''pizza box''' is a style of [[computer case|case]] design for [[desktop computer]]s or [[network switch]]es. Pizza box cases tend to be wide and flat, normally {{convert|1.5|to|4|in|cm|0|disp=or|abbr=on}} in height, resembling [[pizza box|pizza delivery boxes]] and thus the name. This is in contrast to a [[computer tower|tower]] system, whose case height is much greater than the width and has an "upright" appearance. In modern usage, the term "pizza box" is normally reserved for very flat cases with height no more than {{convert|2|in}}, while those taller than two inches are referred to as ''desktop'' cases instead.

The common setup of a pizza box system is to have the [[display monitor]] placed directly on top of the case, which serves as a [[podium]] to elevate the monitor more towards the user's eye level, and to have other [[peripheral]]s placed in front and alongside the case. Occasionally, the pizza box may be laid on its sides in a tower-like orientation.

==History==
With the tagline "Who just fit mainframe power in a pizza box?" in a 1991 advertisement for its [[Aviion]] [[Unix]] [[server (computer)|server]] products, [[Data General]] was an early adopter of the expression in advertising,<ref name="cio199104_dg">{{cite magazine | date=April 1991 | title=Who just fit mainframe power in a pizza box... [advertisement] | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sAUAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA59 | magazine=CIO | volume=4 | issue=7 | page=59 | access-date=March 7, 2015}}</ref> returning to the theme on later occasions.<ref name="forbes19940103_dg">{{cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/forbes153janforb/page/n14/mode/1up | title=First our pizza box won the praise... Then our AViiON commercial servers won the prize! [advertisement] | magazine=Forbes | date=3 January 1994 | access-date=21 July 2024 | pages=7,9 }}</ref> However, such usage was preceded by other occurrences of the expression in print, notably Time's 1989 coverage of [[Sun Microsystems]] and its [[SPARCstation 1]] product.<ref name="time19890424_sun">{{cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/time-1989-05-22/Time%201989-04-24/page/51/mode/1up | title=Power Station in a Pizza Box | magazine=Time | last1=Nash | first1=J. Madeleine | date=24 April 1989 | access-date=21 July 2024 | pages=51 }}</ref> The expression was reportedly already in use as early as 1987 to refer to the profile of an expansion unit for the [[Digital Equipment Corporation]] [[VAXmate]].<ref name="bitsandbytes198704_networks">{{cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/nzbitsandbytes-5-07/page/31/mode/1up | title=PC node for larger networks | magazine=Bits & Bytes | last1=James | first1=Mark | date=April 1987 | access-date=21 July 2024 | pages=31,34–35,37 }}</ref>

[[Image:NeXTstation.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[NeXTstation]] workstation ({{convert|2.52|in|cm|abbr=on}} high) sits flat under a {{convert|17|in|cm|abbr=on}} [[CRT monitor]], 1990.]]
Most computers generally referred to as pizza box systems were high-end desktop systems such as Sun's [[workstation]]s of the 1990s.{{citation needed | date=July 2024 | reason=Most computers? }} Other notable examples have been among the highest-performing desktop computers of their generations, including the [[SGI Indy]], the [[NeXTstation]], and the [[Amiga 1000]].
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[[File:Kudrna-lc605b.jpg|thumb|upright|The LC family (LC, II, III, 475, Quadra 605) stacked in storage]]
The pizza box form factor was also seen in budget and lower-end lines such as the [[Macintosh LC family]], which was popular in the education market.<ref>{{cite magazine | url = https://archive.org/stream/MacWorld_9307_July_1993#page/n131/mode/2up/search/pizza | title = Reviews – Macintosh LC III | page = 134 | date = July 1993 | magazine = MacWorld Magazine | first = Gary | last = Kratzer | quote = "The LC III shares the now-famous pizza-box design Apple pioneered with the original LC." }}</ref>

The original SPARCstation&nbsp;1 design included an expansion bus technology, [[SBus]], expressly designed for the form factor; [[expansion card]]s were small, especially in comparison to other expansion cards in use at the time such as [[VMEbus]], and were mounted horizontally instead of vertically. [[PC-compatible]] computers in this type of case typically use the [[Peripheral Component Interconnect|PCI]] expansion bus and are usually either a)&nbsp;limited to one or two horizontally placed expansion cards or b)&nbsp;require special low-profile expansion cards, shorter than the PCI&nbsp;cards regular PCs use.<ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.pcisig.com/news_room/faqs#low_profile_pci
 |title       = Low-Profile PCI
 |access-date  = February 17, 2008
 |work        = PCI-SIG Frequently Asked Questions
 |publisher   = [[PCI-SIG]]
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080215220513/http://www.pcisig.com/news_room/faqs#low_profile_pci
 |archive-date = 2008-02-15
}}</ref>

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 of [[19-inch rack]]s, sometimes requiring that part of their cases be cut off for them to fit. Since the late 1990s, pizza boxes have been a common form factor in [[office cubicle]]s, schools, data centers or industrial applications, where desktop space, rack room and density are critical. Servers in this form factor, as well as higher-end [[Ethernet switch]]es, are now designed for rack mounting. [[Rack unit|Rack mount 1U]] computers come in all types of configurations and depths.

The pizza box form factor for smaller [[personal computer|personal system]]s and thin clients remains in use well into the 21st century, though it is increasingly being superseded by laptops, [[nettop]]s or [[All-in-One PC]] designs that embed the already size-reduced computer onto the [[computer keyboard|keyboard]] or display monitor.

==See also==
* [[Desktop computer#Form factor|Desktop form factor]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/P/pizza-box.html Pizza box] in the [[Jargon File]]

{{Computer sizes}}

[[Category:Computer enclosure]]
[[Category:Desktop computers]]
[[Category:Networking hardware]]