So I know what your thinking out there... reading this now... is it best to buy and all in one solution motherboard and built in APU such as ASUS AMD Zacate E350 E35M1-M PROor is it better to go old school and buy the motherboard and CPU seperate like the good ol days
Well I can tell you that whatever your thinking it is possible as your probably already know, but I am now thinking from the perspective of my HTPC mini itx build, now I am building this machine on a budget and not as a games machine, I have a Xbox 360
So the Jetway NC85-E350 Brazos Mini-ITX Mainboard has been released, this motherboard almost seems to pass under the radar as its specs are quite under par when compared to AMD and ASUS offerings, however it is still a Fusion motherboard and you would hope it would be able to perform as such.
CPU
Support AMD Zacate E350 Dual core 1.6GHz APU
Chipset
AMD Brazos Zacate + Hudson D1 Chipset
Memory
2 * SODIMM Sockets for un-buffered Single Channel 64-bit DDR3 800-1066 SDRAM up to 8 GB
Expansion Slots
1 * 32-bit PCI slot
1 * Mini PCI-E
Storage
4 * Serial ATA2 3Gb/s connectors
Audio
VIA VT1705 6-Channel HD Audio CODEC
Ethernet LAN
1 * Realtek RTL8111E PCI-E LAN chip for Gigabit LAN
USB
Embedded 10 * USB 2.0/1.1
Rear Panel I / O
6 * USB 2.0/1.1 ports
1 * PS2 KB/MS port
2 * RJ-45 ports
1 * Audio I / O port
1 * VGA port
1 * DVI-D port
1 * HDMI port
Internal I / O
2 * USB 2.0/1.1 headers for 4 USB 2.0 ports
CPU / Chassis Fan connectors;
1 * 24-pin ATX Power connector
1 * 18 bit Single Channel LVDS header
1 * COM Port & 1 * GPIO header
1 * CIR header
BIOS
AMI 16MB SPI Flash ROM
Certificate
CE,FCC,RoHS,Eup
Functional
ATM, Automation, medical Equipment, Security, Networking, POS, General Application, Gaming Machine, Transportation
Notable items missing from the board is USB-3 and support for SATA support for 6gb/s however if you are just after a value board that does what it says on the tin, this board has the essential usual video and audio options and HDMI of course
So what better way to open the Mini ITX procedings is to begin by showing you all my project mini-itx, this project involves a CIT MTX-003B Black Cube Case with 300W PSU, now these retail at £32 over in the UK however I managed to pick mine up for £29.99 from a Local computer business, I intend to fill this with all kinds of wonderous hardware (AMD Fusion Based most prob... such as Gigabyte M1 Mini ITX DDR3 1066 Motherboard GA-E350N-USB3 that I will pick up in the coming weeks so I will try to give you all a hands on and honest opinion on the hardware (while also looking at the options I could have taken!)
So there it is!, I will open it up and show you the inners as I start to get progress on my Mini-ITX project.
So my Blog is active, in this blog I intend to show you progress on my Mini-ITX builds and good up to date information about the mini-itx community and products in this (still considered) niche market, I have found the resources for mini-itx builds to be quite limited!
or is it better to go old school and buy the motherboard and CPU seperate like the good ol days
that I will pick up in the coming weeks so I will try to give you all a hands on and honest opinion on the hardware (while also looking at the options I could have taken!) 