Mini-ITX

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Mini-ITX is a motherboard form factor developed by VIA Technologies. Mini-ITX has similarities to ATX, microATX, FlexATX and BTX form factors, but is significantly smaller - the motherboard dimensions are only 170 mm by 170 mm (6.7 in by 6.7 in).

Mini-ITX boards can often be passively cooled due to their low power consumption architecture, and are ideally suited for use in home theater systems, where the noise generated by a computer (in particular, the cooling fans) can detract from the cinema experience.

[edit] History

In March 2001, VIA (a chipset manufacturer) released a reference design for an ITX motherboard, to promote the low power C3 they had bought from Cyrix, in combination with their chipsets. Designed by Robert Kuo, VIA's chief R&D expert, the 215 mm x 191 mm VT6009 ITX Reference Board was demonstrated in "Information PC" and set-top box form factors. He would later go on to design the Mini-ITX form factor. The ITX form factor was never taken up by manufacturers, who instead produced smaller boards based on the very similar 229 mm x 191 mm FlexATX form factor.

In October 2001, VIA announced their decision to create a new motherboard division, to provide standardised infrastructure for lower-cost PC form factors and focus on embedded devices. The result was the November 2001 release of the VT6010 Mini-ITX reference design, once again touted as an "Information PC", or low cost entry level x86 computing platform. Manufacturers were still reticent, but customer response was much more receptive, so VIA decided to manufacture and sell the boards themselves. In April 2002 the first Mini-ITX motherboards - VIA's EPIA 5000 (fanless 533 MHz Eden processor) and EPIA 800 (800 MHz C3) - were sold to industrial customers.

Enthusiasts soon noticed the advantages of small size, low noise and power consumption, and started to push the boundaries of case modding into something else - building computers into nearly every object imaginable, and sometimes even creating new cases altogether. Hollowed out vintage computers, humidors, toys, electronics, musical instruments, and even a 1960s-era toaster have become homes to relatively quiet, or even silent Mini-ITX systems, capable of many of the tasks of a modern desktop PC.

Mini-ITX boards are still primarily industrial boards, with the majority sold in bulk for less exciting applications. They are produced with a much longer sales lifetime than consumer boards (the original EPIAs are still available), something that industrial users need. Manufacturers can prototype using standard cases and power supplies, then build their own enclosures if volumes get high enough. Typical applications include playing music in supermarkets and advertising display boards.

To date there have been three generations of VIA's Mini-ITX boards, the original PL133 chipset boards (affectionately known as "Classic" boards), CLE266 chipset boards (adding MPEG-2 acceleration), and CN400 boards (which added MPEG-4 acceleration). Second generation boards include the EPIA M, MII, CL, PD, TC and MS - all tailored to slightly different markets. The EPIA SP is the first CN400 board to be released to date. All current VIA boards use their x86-compatible CPU - the C3, or its lower power Eden variant. In 2006 the next generation C7 CPU will be used in newer boards. Other manufacturers have also produced boards using the same form-factor, using VIA, but also Intel, AMD, Transmeta and PowerPC technology.