News ASRock Unveils the X299E-ITX/ac: Mini ITX + X299 + Quad-channel Memory

Mod edit:



Detailed overview of what we know about the X299E-ITX/ac thus far here: https://smallformfactor.net/news/asrock-x299e-itxac-little-monster-detailed

Original:

ASRock did it! Finally, there's an Intel HEDT platform motherboard with full quad-channel DDR4 memory. The new X299E-ITX/ac is for those who need up to 18 CPU cores and up to 64 GB of quad-channel DDR4 memory in their SFF machines for reasons. The board manages its limited PCB real-estate by going vertical. It features two riser cards, one with a few onboard controllers, and a pair of 32 Gb/s M.2 slots), and the other riser with SATA 6 Gb/s ports, a third M.2 slot, and the headers such as USB 3.1. The board draws power from 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS connectors, conditioning it for the LGA2066 CPU using a 7-phase VRM. The lone expansion slot is a PCI-Express 3.0 x16, memory is handled by four DDR4 SO-DIMM slots. Connectivity includes two Intel I219-V driven gigabit Ethernet interfaces, 802.11ac WLAN, and Bluetooth 4.1.



Source
 
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Dyson Poindexter

If there's empty space, it's too big!
Jun 25, 2015
55
62
I'm in awe. Many said it couldn't be done, but here we are!

Looks like a riser on the right for SATA and USB3.0. The left riser has an m.2, but also a zillion pins going to the board. Not sure what all they have packed on there.

VRMs look to be an issue. If some of the X299 chips have 150W+ TDPs as predicted the board might struggle a bit.
 

Arboreal

King of Cable Management
Silver Supporter
Oct 11, 2015
802
800
Utterly amazing! 4 SODIMM slots, vertical power card and other risers a la Asus Impact, what more could you want?
An X370 Ryzen ITX you say? You got it
Barebone GTX and RX STX PCs, with MXM wallet emptiers? Yup, them too
You want what? A mining board with way too many 1 lane PCI-E slots?? Hell, let's give you one of those too.
Asrock seem unstoppable in the niche, 'mad to make' products; where everyone else fears to tread.
Keep up the good work guys, you're really pushing the boundaries out there :cool:
 

Arboreal

King of Cable Management
Silver Supporter
Oct 11, 2015
802
800
That's completely bonkers! I have absolutely no need for a LGA2066 CPU, for quad-channel, or for multiple m.2 slots. It would be massive overkill, and hilariously expensive. When can I pre-order?

You're spot on @EdZ, they are bonkers, and all the better for it too!
I had the same reaction as you; need is low, want is HIGH.
Thank goodness I don't have much spare cash at the moment, or it would be frustrating waiting.
 

VegetableStu

Shrink Ray Wielder
Aug 18, 2016
1,949
2,619
Now I'm wondering how many heatsinks would sit in that space. The riser with the SATA ports and USB headers looks a bit too close to the heatsink mounting points

EDIT: going on a slight tangent: Videocardz received rumors of a 18-core i9-X. Holy spaghetti.
 
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Biowarejak

Maker of Awesome | User 1615
Platinum Supporter
Mar 6, 2017
1,744
2,262
This is awesome. I have no need, but tons of want. Only up to 64 gigs of RAM though? For potentially an 18-core behemoth? Seems a bit low in my opinion.
 

guryhwa

Cable-Tie Ninja
G-Unique
Dec 23, 2016
164
962
I'm in awe. Many said it couldn't be done, but here we are!

Looks like a riser on the right for SATA and USB3.0. The left riser has an m.2, but also a zillion pins going to the board. Not sure what all they have packed on there.

VRMs look to be an issue. If some of the X299 chips have 150W+ TDPs as predicted the board might struggle a bit.
actually M2 and dual Intel I219-V PHY, are on that extension card,maybe the asmedia usb 3.1 controller too.
 

|||

King of Cable Management
Sep 26, 2015
775
759
EDIT: going on a slight tangent: Videocardz received rumors of a 18-core i9-X. Holy spaghetti.

Hahaha...I can actually see this being true with Intel trying to one-up AMD's Threadripper. However, I could easily see AMD turning around and offering the 32-core Epyc to consumers (or a slightly de-tuned version with a tad fewer cores or default clock speed), as I believe it uses the same socket as Threadripper. Let the core-count wars begin!

...now the question is, who will be brazen enough to offer an ITX X399?
 

EdZ

Virtual Realist
May 11, 2015
1,578
2,107
The daughterboards look like they drop into a repurposed SODIMM and PCIE 1x slot rather than being soldered on (as with e.g. the power board on the Asus Maximus VIII Impact) which gives them a bonus feature: the m.2 board can be loaded with drives then just dropped in. The board with the SATA connections can be unplugged and moved out of the way to access the motherboard without having to unplug/replug all the SATA devices and USB 3 connector and deal with cable spaghetti.
 

Pat-Roner

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Original poster
Feb 18, 2016
140
103
I want one to hang on the wall, with an arrow pointing with the words "This. Perfect."

What's next, an mATX dual-socket board ? With them one-upping themselves yet again, the sky seems to be the limit.
I love the sideways mounted M.2.


Ikr. What more could you want.
 

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King of Cable Management
Sep 26, 2015
775
759
The daughterboards look like they drop into a repurposed SODIMM and PCIE 1x slot rather than being soldered on (as with e.g. the power board on the Asus Maximus VIII Impact)

The daughter board on the right with the SATA and USB header looks like it also has VRM circuitry similar to the Impact boards, so it is probably soldered on. They just used the PCI-e x1 for a cheap data interface, most likely.