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The Mini-ITX form factor was developed by VIA in 2001 to promote its C3 CPU, but technology has come a long way in the last decade. CPUs are smaller, cooler, and faster than ever before, and desktop chassis makers have embraced the ultra-compact market. Needless to say, the Mini-ITX platform is no longer limited to anemic low-end solutions.
Today we're looking at a new breed of Mini-ITX motherboards from Asrock called the Z68M-ITX/HT and A75M-ITX. The former is an Intel Z68 board that supports Intel's second-generation Core processors (Sandy Bridge), while the latter utilizes AMD A75's chipset to support Socket FM1 processors, namely the new Fusion A-series desktop APUs.
In addition to comparing Asrock's boards, we'll spice things up by selecting Intel and AMD's $140 CPU offerings. In other words, this review will also serve as a comparison for the Core i3-2120 and AMD A8-3850. Let's move on then.
User Comments: 8
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If you pair the AMD A75 with a HD 6670 you can enable Dual Graphics which will make the video performance = to a HD 6690.
This makes it an even cheaper solution for a quality media box.
What GTX 580 takes up 2 slots when theres only enough room for 1 in a case...
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Guest said:
If you pair the AMD A75 with a HD 6670 you can enable Dual Graphics which will make the video performance = to a HD 6690.
This makes it an even cheaper solution for a quality media box.
What GTX 580 takes up 2 slots when theres only enough room for 1 in a case...
6690? Does that even exist? Hope you're not talking about a 6990 lol, no way in hell do two 6670s come close.
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StaffSteve said:
What GTX 580 takes up 2 slots when theres only enough room for 1 in a case...There are Mini-ITX cases that support dual slot graphics cards. I am using the Lian Li PC-Q25 for example...
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6690? Does that even exist?
Sort of. It's a bit existentialist, but adding an HD 6670 to Llano's graphics "creates" a HD6690D2. It's just a naming convention and probably easier to sell than "AMD Almost-Crossfire"
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I would take the AMD solution just for the APU, I mean intel HD video is somewhat decent for some HD content, but that radeon 6310 renders 1080p with no problems whatsoever, not to mention it is good for light gaming as well.
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Tekkaraiden said:
A mini-itx A75 will hopefully be powering my next htpc.
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wizardB said:
I really can't believe the Intel onboard graphics they are truly pathetic can't understand why they bother.The AMD solution is really the perfect one for a media PC of a desktop for the average home user.....Intel's well you could use it for a video picture frame......maybe
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Steve said:What GTX 580 takes up 2 slots when theres only enough room for 1 in a case...
There are Mini-ITX cases that support dual slot graphics cards. I am using the Lian Li PC-Q25 for example...
Lian Li in general seems to be making some kind of a splash with many of their ITX cases as of late coming with 2 slots, with the Q08, Q11, PC-TU200, and of course the Q25. The extra flexibility is nice, considering prior to my current build, I was using a RAID card and a slot fan to help populate the 4 HDD slots in my Q08. Now I've got the GTS 450 I won 11 months ago populating that spot, with a much beefier processor and motherboard. =)
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