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TweakTown has posted a review of the Albatron KI780G Mini-ITX motherboard. They tested the board with an AMD Phenom X4 9350e CPU and compared it to a VIA EPIA SN2 Nano board.
Their tests covered integrated graphics (IGP) as well as discrete graphics with a Gigabyte 9800GX2.
Today Albatron have sent us their Mini-ITX KI780G board based around AMD’s very popular IGP chipset, the 780G. Let’s see just how well it’s able to perform compared to VIA’s Nano platform.
Read the full article here.
For some time, I have been wanting to provide an up to date list of the Mini-ITX motherboards available on the market.
This post is the first of a series, starting with the comparison of the Mini-ITX motherboards with AM2/AM2+ socket.
There are currently 7 boards available:
As some of the Mini-ITX motherboards share the same specifications (OEM versions under different names), I have grouped the boards in the table below to keep it simple.
| Albatron KI690-AM2 | J&W MINIX 780G-SP128MB / Albatron KI780G | Jetway NC81-LF (JNC81-LF) / Magic Pro MP-NC81 | Jetway NC62K (JNC62K) / Magic Pro MP-NC62K-LF | ||
| CPU | AM2 socket (Athlon64 x2 / Athlon64 / Sempron CPUs up to 65W TDP) | AM2+ socket (Athlon64 x2 / Athlon64 / Sempron CPUs up to 95W TDP – 65W recommended) | AM2+ socket (Athlon64 x2 / Athlon64 / Sempron CPUs up to 65W TDP) | ||
| Chipset | AMD 690G / SB600 | AMD 780G / SB700 | NVIDIA GF-8200 (MCP78S) | ||
| RAM | 2 x SODIMM Up to 2GB DDR2 667/533 RAM |
2 x SODIMM Up to 4GB DDR2 1066/800/667 RAM |
2 x SODIMM Up to 4GB DDR2 800 RAM |
1 x DIMM Up to 2GB DDR2 1066/800 RAM |
|
| Expansion Slots | 1 x PCI slot | 1 x PCIe x16 slot (supports up to x4) | 1 x PCI slot | ||
| Display | ATI Radeon Xpress1250 integrated graphics | ATI Radeon HD3200 integrated graphics with 128MB onboard side-port DDR2 memory | NVIDIA GeForce 8200 integrated graphics | ||
| Audio | Realtek ALC883 8 Channel HD Audio | Realtek ALC885 8 Channel HD Audio | Realtek ALC662 6 Channel Audio | Realtek ALC883 8 Channel HD Audio | |
| Storage | 1 x IDE port 4 x SATA2 ports |
||||
| LAN | 1 x Marvell 88E8056 Gigabit Ethernet | 2 x Realtek RTL8111C PCIe Gigabit Ethernet | 1 x Realtek RTL8211B PHY Gigabit Ethernet 1 x Realtek RTL8111C PCIe Gigabit Ethernet |
||
| USB | 8 x USB 2.0 | 10 x USB 2.0 | 8 x USB 2.0 | 10 x USB 2.0 | |
| Rear Panel I/O | 1 x DVI port 1 x HDMI port 1 x VGA port 1 x TV out port (YpbPr) 1 x RJ45 port 4 x USB ports 1 x IEEE 1994 port 3 x S/PDIF (coaxial in, optical in, optical out) ports 5 x audio ports 1 x PS/2 port |
1 x DVI port 1 x HDMI port 1 x VGA port 1 x RJ45 port 6 x USB ports 1 x eSATA port 2 x S/PDIF (coaxial in, optical out) ports 6 x audio ports 1 x PS/2 port |
1 x DVI port 1 x HDMI port 1 x VGA port 2 x RJ45 ports 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports 2 x e-SATA ports 3 x audio ports (1 S/PDIF optical out) |
1 x DVI port 1 x VGA port 2 x RJ45 ports 6 x USB ports 1 x eSATA port 2 x S/PDIF (coaxial in, optical out) ports 6 x audio ports 1 x PS/2 port 2 x Serial ports |
|
| Internal I/O | 1 x IEEE1394 port 1 x Serial header 4 x USB 2.0 via 2 headers 1 x 24-pin ATX power connector 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector 1 x front audio connector CPU / Chassis Fan connectors 1 x IR connector |
1 x Serial header 4 x USB 2.0 via 2 headers 1 x 24-pin ATX power connector 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector 1 x front audio connector CPU / Chassis Fan connectors 1 x IR connector |
1 x Serial header 4 x USB 2.0 via 2 headers 1 x 24-pin ATX power connector 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector 1 x front audio connector CPU / Chassis Fan connectors 1 x 12 PIN WiFi header (Note: the Magic Pro board comes with Magic-Pro 802.11n WiFi Card) |
1 x Serial header 4 x USB 2.0 via 2 headers 1 x 24-pin ATX power connector 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector 1 x front audio connector CPU / Chassis Fan connectors |
|
SweClockers has reviewed the Jetway NC81-LF Mini-ITX motherboard. They used the Jetway motherboard with a AMD Phenom X3 8650 triple core CPU (2.3GHz, 95W TDP) and compared it to the Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H Micro-ATX motherboard.
They found the Jetway board’s performance to be close to the Gigabyte board - although slightly below.
1080p VC-1 HD playback did provide a good surprise, with the Jetway board requiring much less CPU that the Gigabyte (27% vs. 38%). Could the sideport memory be responsible for this? Regardless, this makes the Jetway board a very good candidate for HTPC.
Finally, power consumption of the Jetway board did not exceed 115W when the Gigabyte peaked at 146W for the 3DMark06 test. This is consistent with the 110W measured by EPIACENTER.de when paired with the Athlon64 X2 5000+ CPU (89W TDP - review here). A good point for this Mini-ITX board.
Overall, they liked the Jetway NC81-LF Mini-ITX motherboard, being a fully featured board, with decent onboard graphics, and good for HD playback.
Limitations are with the lack of PCIe (1 PCI slot), inability to overclock, and the use of SODIMM RAM.
Read the full article (translated from swedish) here [original article] [via the inquirer].
Fudzilla has reviewed the J&W MINIX 780G Mini-ITX motherboard, paired with AMD low power CPUs: AMD Athlon 2000+ CPU (TDB 8W) and Athlon X2 3400e (TDP not yet available - Fudzilla says 22W).
This is a very impressive little board. It has all the features you wish for and some more. The only negative point we could find is the small 4cm fan. It’s too loud but you need to cool the northbridge heatsink, especially when you are using on board graphics for playing some older games. At least there are some quieter aftermarket fans available which should solve that problem.
They were quite also impressed with the Athlon X2 3400e:
This CPU kicks the life out of any Atom and Nano CPU currently on offer. Of course it’s no match for Core desktop CPUs, but there aren’t any other ITX boards in the market which could do the same as the board we tested. So we think, you have no alternative if you look for a HTPC machine where you can play a game once in a while.
Read the full article here [Via AMDZone].
EPIACENTER.de has reviewed the Jetway NC81-LF Mini-ITX motherboard. They used the Jetway motherboard with a AMD Athlon64 X2 5000+ dual core CPU (2.6GHz, 89W TDP) and tested the mini motherboard with Windows XP, Windows Vista Knoppix and Kubuntu 8.04.
They found the Jetway board’s performance to be below the Intel DG45FC they tested previously using an Intel Core2Duo E8500 dual core CPU(3.16GHz, 65W TDP), and the power consumption to be the highest compared to mini-ITX motherboards they reviewed, going over 110W during Prime95 test. They indicated they were disapointed with the performance of the 780G graphics, which fell below they expectations.
Read the full article (warning: partially translated from german) here [original article].
Note: the choice of a 89W TDP CPU for the review is questinable, when AMD offers the Athlon64 X2 5000+ CPU with a lower 65W TDP (F3 stepping) or better: the AMD Athlon64 4850e CPU (45W TDP). This would have provided quite different power consumption results. The absense of Phenom CPUs (like the 9150e for example) is also noticable, as the 780G chipset peforms at its best when coupled with such CPU.
MiniTechNet has reviewed the J&W MINIX 780G Mini-ITX motherboard. They used the MINIX with a selection of CPUs having a 65W TDP: AMD Phenom 9100e quad core CPU and AMD Athlon64 X2 5200+ dual core CPU, and tested the mini motherboard with Windows XP, Windows Vista and even Ubuntu Linux 8.04.
They found the MINIX to be a solid performer, praising the good integrated graphics, full set of features and interfaces, and gave it a Special MiniTechNet nomination.
Read the full article (translated from german) here [original article].
Tom’s Hardware has posted a comparison of 3 low-power platforms: AMD Athlon 64 2000+ CPU on Gigabyte MA78GM micro-ATX motherboard, Intel Atom 230 on ECS 945GCT-D mini-DTX motherboard and VIA Nano L2100 on VIA EPIA-SN mini-ITX motherboard.
We found it amazing to see all three competitors doing a good job when it comes to offering low-power systems, although the approaches are fundamentally different. AMD has its efficient 780G mainstream system with integrated graphics, which we equipped with a low-power Athlon 64 2000+ model at 8 W TDP. Intel’s Atom platform is based on an ECS motherboard using the 945G chipset that isn’t really a low-power product. But the Atom 230 processor requires so little power that it still hits the same 28 W idle power level as AMD and VIA’s devices do.
VIA clearly offers the best processor performance with its new Nano nano L2100 CPU on the EPIA-SN mini-ITX motherboards, but the processing performance comes at a price—its peak power is significantly higher than the peak powers of the AMD and Intel systems.
Read the full article here.
Albatron Technology has announced the KI780G Mini-ITX motherboard, which is one of the few boards on the market that support the 780G chipset.
With support for Phenom processors (up to 65W), HDMI output, 8-channel audio and SDPIF in/out, this mini motherboard is a perfect candidate for a Home Theather PC (HTPC).
The PCIe X16 (4 lane) slot can be used for a discrete graphics card if required, and the 4 SATA ports + 1 e-SATA ports allow for ample storage with RAID support.
Albatron Technology has announced the KI780G Mini-ITX mainboard featuring the AMD 780G chipset, claiming the top-dog spot in the Mini-ITX market. This Mini-ITX board’s most distinguishing feature is the AM2+ socket and support for powerful 4-core, 3-core AMD PhenomTM processors. Not only does the KI780G define a new class of performance Mini-ITX mainboards, it boasts the most complete set of functionality on par with many ATX boards on the market.
Read the full press release here [via LegitReviews].
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