Companies are starting to take the Mini-ITX form factor seriously, releasing feature rich products that are barely a quarter of the size of current high-end enthusiast level motherboards. The question probably on your mind is “why should I care?”
You’ll find the answer below.
What is Mini-ITX
Mini-ITX is a motherboard form factor with the size of the board at 170 x 170mm; far smaller than full size ATX boards (305 x 266mm).
VIA Mini-ITX Form Factor Comparison
The Mini-ITX form factor was developed in 2001 by the head of VIA’s R&D, Robert Kuo. Manufacturers were hesitant to adopt the new form factor; however it was a hit with consumers and so VIA started producing Mini-ITX motherboards themselves.
As they often do, manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon after its initial success, and the result is now you get a Mini-ITX board for almost any application.
Benefits
A small profile, professional looking case with a Mini-ITX platform inside is perfect for home theatre/media PC applications, and will look at home next to a DSTV PVR or DVD player.
Mini-ITX boards are also often specialised, such as the Commell LV-678 pictured below.
Commell LV-678-3DB-ITX
With the optional add-on card, theLV-678 can support up to eight SATA hard drives; more than most high-end enthusiast motherboards costing north of R4,000.
The board also features dual Intel gigabit Ethernet controllers, allowing the board to be accessed from two separate networks. They can also be teamed together where both connect to the same network, yet function as one controller, effectively doubling the maximum data transfer speed.
Gamers can also benefit from Mini-ITX, thanks to a host of offerings from Asus, Gigabyte and Zotac.
Miahallen over at Tech Reaction proved that you can cram top end hardware into a Mini-ITX case with a Mini-ITX board, and reach performance levels that will shame at least 70% of gamer systems out there for the same price.
The real benefit of a Mini-ITX system for gamers is portability; cases such as the locally available Lian Li PC-Q07 can easily fit into a backpack along with peripherals and cables.
Lian Li PC-Q07-ITX
Problems
Mini-ITX is rare in South Africa; we don’t often get top-end boards here, and there is very little market knowledge regarding the form factor.
The price is also a deterrent; packing so much technology into a small board does prove costly, something consumers often underestimate.
Finally, the largest issue facing mini-ITX boards in SA – the power supply. Mini-ITX cases often feature SFX power supplies (a smaller version of ATX power supplies), which are relatively rare in SA. Due to their small size, these power supplies often sport a low wattage and very weak 12v rails – not ideal for a gamer who wants to make use of a power hungry GPU.
There are companies such as Silverstone that do make higher-end SFX power supplies (as shown by Miahallen), however these PSUs aren’t brought into our country, meaning anyone who wants one will have to import; a costly exercise.
Asus P8-H67I-ITX
Mini-ITX boards are versatile, feature rich, fairly priced, and appeal to a growing market of consumers. For a home theatre enthusiast, storage fundi or regular LANner, they present an elegant solution to problems often addressed by overpriced, niche hardware which performs a single, simple function.
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