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Zotac has released two NVIDIA ION-based Mini-ITX motherboards.

The IONITX-B-E Mini-ITX board features the 1.6GHz Atom N230 CPU (single core), while the IONITX-A-U Mini-ITX board features the dual-core 1.6GHz Atom N330 CPU and WiFi 802.11n.

Other features common to both boards include NVIDIA ION integrated graphics, 3 SATA ports, 1 eSATA port, HDMI and DVI output. The boards have a fanless design (with the IONITX-A-U having an optional fan for additional cooling).

IONITX-A-U/IONITX-B-E specifications:

• CPU: Intel Atom N230 CPU (1.6GHz - IONITX-B-E) / Intel Atom 330 CPU (1.6GHz dual core - IONITX-A-B/C/E/U )
• Chipset: NVIDIA ION
• RAM: 2 x 240pin DIMM slots, up to 4 GB of DDR2 667/800 RAM 
• Storage: 3 x SATA ports, 1 x eSATA port
• Expansion slots: 1 x Mini PCIe slot (used by WiFi module on IONITX-A-U)
• Display: NVIDIA ION Integrated Graphics, 1 x VGA output, 1 x DVI output, 1 x HDMI output
• Audio: 5.1 Channel HD Audio, 2 x S/PDIF output (1 x coaxial, 1 x optical)
• LAN: 1 x Gigabit Ethernet
• WLAN: 1 x 802.11b/g/n (IONITX-A-U)
• I/O: 10 x USB 2.0 (6 x external, 4 x internal), PS/2 port

Press Release here.

IONITX-B-E Product page here.

IONITX-A-U Product page here.

Technorati Tags: atom, GeForce 9400M, Ion, mini motherboard, mini-itx, NVIDIA, ZOTAC

mini-itx.com has posted a pictures of the unboxing of the Zotac ION-ITX-A Mini-ITX motherboard that was reported recently.

This helps confirming the names and specifications of Zotac’s NVIDIA ION-based Mini-ITX motherboards.

Read the full article here.

[Updated: there appears to be some confusion on the name of the Atom 330 board. Is it ION-ITX-B as the title suggests, or is it ION-ITX-A mentioned several times in the article?]

[Updated x2: it is the ION-ITX-A]

Technorati Tags: atom, GeForce 9400M, Ion, mini motherboard, mini-itx, NVIDIA, ZOTAC

Engadget has posted a review of the Acer AspireRevo nettop that was announced recently.

They were impressed with the NVIDIA ION graphics performance, but not with the performance of the Atom 230 CPU, with some performance issues with web browsing or non hardware accelerated video.

This is really a tale of two chips: the CPU and the GPU. Sadly, while we were very impressed with NVIDIA Ion’s performance (it’s basically the GeForce 9400m for cheap and low-power computers), the sluggish Atom 230 processor almost ruins it for everybody.

Read the full article here.

Technorati Tags: Acer, Atom 230, eSATA, HDMI, Ion, mini motherboard, nettop, NVIDIA, review

VIA  has announced the VB8002 Mini-ITX motherboard.

This Mini-ITX board uses the VIA Nano processor combined with the VIA CX700M2 media system processor. It is targeted at media server solutions, with DVI, S-Video, component, and composite output, and optical and coaxial S/PDIF ouput.

With an onboard digital HDTV encoder for high-definition video resolutions, VIA Vinyl 7.1 channel HD audio for a rich audio experience and a range of consumer I/O options including composite and component RCA ports, DVI and S-Video ports, S/PDIF audio, and onboard connectors for LVDS and TV out, the VIA VB8002 is well equipped for today’s digital media applications.

VB8002 Specifications:

• CPU: VIA Nano processor (1.6GHz)
• Chipset: VIA CX700M2 Unified Digital Media IGP chipset
• RAM: 1 x 240-pin DIMM, up to 1 GB of DDR2 533/667 RAM
• Storage: 2 x SATA ports, 1 x IDE port
• Expansion slot: 1 x PCI slot
• Video: integrated VIA UniChrome Pro II integrated graphics, 1 x VGA output, DVI output, S-Video output, component output, composite output, LVDS connector, TV-out header
• Audio: VIA VT1708A 7.1 HD Audio with S/PDIF output (coaxial and optical)
• LAN: 1 x VIA VT6122 Gigabit Ethernet
• I/O:  6 x USB 2.0 ports (2 x external, 4 x internal), PS/2 header

Product page here.

Read the press release here.

Technorati Tags: Component, CX700M2, dvi, mini motherboard, mini-itx, nano, S-Video, VIA