Via Debuts Mini-ITX 2.0

DeviceGuru writes "Via Technologies has launched the second generation of its signature mini-motherboard standard. Mini-ITX 2.0, an evolutionary update to the seven-year-old 170×170mm form-factor, introduces new and emerging buses and interfaces such as PCI Express, SATA, Gig-E, and HD A/V, while preserving backwards-compatibility with the original standard. Mini-ITX has been a popular form-factor for a range of space-constrained hobbyist and commercial applications."

Comments

Re:Space-constrained?

[Collective 0-0009]

it's very hard to find suitable components as well as good case. That is the great thing about ITX, all you need for a case is an old VCR, old Hummer RC car, or I even made a computer out of an old CRT monitor shell, and put an LCD in the front.... sort of an iPC.

ITX is designed to think outside the box (case).

The processor is near the top right

[kriston]

Amazing. At first I was wondering if the 45-degree offset component would allow good airflow, thinking it is the processor, but it is not.

After downloading the Image Kit I noticed that the processor is actually the little tiny component with "nano" stamped on it near the top right side of the board.

Re:Space-constrained?

[billcopc]

The reason they use crappy chipsets is because they're cheaper than the good stuff, and Mini-ITX is primarily about money, secondly about size.

I mostly stopped caring about Mini-ITX when I realized I could gut a low-end laptop for less money and better performance than Via's offerings. Their prices just aren't in line with my perception of value. There are also several alternatives on the market, most of them based on Intel mobile chipsets, like the Arcom Apollo.

If I wanted something even smaller, there's the Gumstix/Netstix. This Mini-ITX 2.0 seems like a whole lotta nothing, too late to market, too costly to care.