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

 

[jeshikat]

While wildly impractical, a collection of various "riser cards" (this term is getting overused) with different I/O combinations would be neat. Some of us have no need for any SATA ports and would rather have two more M.2, while others would like 12 SATA ports for a compact storage server. I think two SATA ports and some high-power PWM fan/pump headers would be neat.

You're definitely right in that it'd be impractical (both from a technical and economical standpoint) but it's a cool idea and I'd love to see swappable riser boards for customization. Would be way more useful than the 3D printed shrouds ASUS touts.

 

[QuantumBraced]

I guess ASRock didn't really design the board with the idea that anyone would want to remove either of the riser boards. Otherwise, they could have certainly made better choices, I hope they'll keep that in mind for the next iteration... I mean usually the 2011/2066 socket is flanked by RAM, often with high heatspreaders, so I think most air coolers will fit? The issue will be if you wanna use something low-profile like a Dynatron R15 for some kind of an insane <7L X299 build and then your cooler is completely surrounded by the great wall of China. Otherwise I think most people would want to remove the cards for purely aesthetic reasons and to help with case airflow a little, tho honestly if it's not where the heat exchange is taking place, the effect of the cards on case airflow will be minimal. ASRock could have also tried to make the risers a little sexier, and the board overall for that matter. The previous version had a cheerful light blue/grey theme, this one is a little bleak.

On another note, the previous board had literally every square millimeter outside of the socket covered with components whereas this iteration actually has gaps where there's nothing around the socket (where they put their logo and model number in that unfortunate font/color). I guess with the risers and additional layers/putting stuff on the back they freed up real estate on the front, but still it seems like they could have squeezed a USB 3.1 front header and a Thunderbolt controller somewhere on either side of the board or one of the risers. I'm not complaining, just wondering... I have to find faults with everything, it's in my nature. And apparently rambling also is. I do love my X99E-ITX/ac to death.

 

[jeshikat]

I mean usually the 2011/2066 socket is flanked by RAM, often with high heatspreaders, so I think most air coolers will fit?

The problem is there's only RAM on two sides on normal X99/X299 boards, so you'd have the other two sides free to position a heatsink where the heatpipes could interfere with the RAM like on the NH-L12.

ASRock could have also tried to make the risers a little sexier, and the board overall for that matter. The previous version had a cheerful light blue/grey theme, this one is a little bleak.

I actually had Drew tell them to do it in black if they did a X299, because it's really hard to do a matching build to that light blue on the X99E-ITX/ac

But that's also the trend this year with RGB, you don't want the motherboard to clash with the desired color effects so they're often just black or grey.

On another note, the previous board had literally every square millimeter outside of the socket covered with components whereas this iteration actually has gaps where there's nothing around the socket (where they put their logo and model number in that unfortunate font/color).

That's partly for CPU heatsink clearance. Narrow ILM coolers are designed for servers so they constrain to exactly the keepout dimensions, which on the Narrow ILM is basically the socket itself. Here they've rightfully kept the area surrounding the socket clear even though technically it's beyond what the 2011/2066 keepout zone requires.

They aren't stenciling every single little component this time so the PCB doesn't look as busy due to that too.

 

[Dyson Poindexter]

You're definitely right in that it'd be impractical (both from a technical and economical standpoint) but it's a cool idea and I'd love to see swappable riser boards for customization. Would be way more useful than the 3D printed shrouds ASUS touts.

In the old days, I had a Jetway VIA C3 ITX board with optional IO cards. These all went to the rear IO panel (things like additional lan ports or serial ports) but it was a similar concept.

I've been hurting for a compact storage server (few if any cheap ITX boards have more than 4 SATA ports) and a standard form factor for small mezzanine boards (I think this is the industry term) would go a long way towards making ITX more versatile.

With everything converging on PCIe signalling the technical limitations are falling off. A tiny mezzanine board with an enterprise RAID controller would be so neat to have! Then again, why not just have a Dell PERC on an MXM card?

 

[jeshikat]

Since you can hook up a GPU through M.2 then a small M.2 compatible board with a SATA controller and ports on it seems feasible.

 

[QuantumBraced]

The problem is there's only RAM on two sides on normal X99/X299 boards, so you'd have the other two sides free to position a heatsink where the heatpipes could interfere with the RAM like on the NH-L12.

Duh, I had a senior moment there. I'm sure plenty of air coolers will still work, you only need a few good options of various heights to fit to please everyone, especially if they are Noctua. Did you happen to discuss the issue of air cooler compatibility and/or risers blocking airflow with the ASRock people?

I actually had Drew tell them to do it in black if they did a X299, because it's really hard to do a matching build to that light blue on the X99E-ITX/ac

But that's also the trend this year with RGB, you don't want the motherboard to clash with the desired color effects so they're often just black or grey.

I understand, but you can make it monochromatic and still give it some character/styling and friendlier shades of grey, like EVGA's boards. This one seems very bleak and dark... I'm totally projecting and nitpicking, but I just love the X99E-ITX/ac so much, I actually themed my whole build light blue/grey to match it, but it's not the colors alone that make it nice. It's also the font honestly, this ghostly Arial. ASRock really need to take a page out of ASUS's or EVGA's book on this, they are engineering fiends, but not great at marketing.

That's partly for CPU heatsink clearance. Narrow ILM coolers are designed for servers so they constrain to exactly the keepout dimensions, which on the Narrow ILM is basically the socket itself. Here they've rightfully kept the area surrounding the socket clear even though technically it's beyond what the 2011/2066 keepout zone requires.

They aren't stenciling every single little component this time so the PCB doesn't look as busy due to that too.

Indeed, that makes sense.

 

[jeshikat]

While wildly impractical, a collection of various "riser cards" (this term is getting overused) with different I/O combinations would be neat. Some of us have no need for any SATA ports and would rather have two more M.2, while others would like 12 SATA ports for a compact storage server. I think two SATA ports and some high-power PWM fan/pump headers would be neat.

Since you can hook up a GPU through M.2 then a small M.2 compatible board with a SATA controller and ports on it seems feasible.

Whelp, it's apparently so feasible that it actually already exists! http://www.delock.de/produkte/F_1179_M-2-NGFF_54668/merkmale.html?setLanguage=en

Did you happen to discuss the issue of air cooler compatibility and/or risers blocking airflow with the ASRock people?

Oh yes.

 

[drunker]

Will asrock come out with next generation xeon mini itx motherboard with lga 3647 socket?

 

[jeshikat]

@Dyson Poindexter I think you're onto something with M.2 expandability:

• 2x RS-232 serial: http://www.delock.de/produkte/F_1179_M-2-NGFF_62871/merkmale.html
• Mini-PCIe adapter: http://www.delock.de/produkte/F_1179_M-2-NGFF_62858/merkmale.html
• 4x SATA w/ RAID: http://www.delock.de/produkte/F_1179_M-2-NGFF_62850/merkmale.html
• 2x USB 3.0 headers: http://www.delock.de/produkte/F_1179_M-2-NGFF_62843/merkmale.html
• 2x Intel Gigabit NICs: http://www.delock.de/produkte/F_1179_M-2-NGFF_62753/merkmale.html
• U.2 adapter: http://www.delock.de/produkte/F_1179_M-2-NGFF_62721/merkmale.html
• x4 PCIe slot: http://www.delock.de/produkte/F_1179_M-2-NGFF_62584/merkmale.html

Will asrock come out with next generation xeon mini itx motherboard with lga 3647 socket?

I believe LGA 3647 is even bigger than TR4 so it's very unlikely.

 

[QuantumBraced]

With the last adapter and a PCIe x4 riser cable, you can install any x4 card on a mini ITX board that has a front M.2 slot, given the case has more than 2 slots. It would work in an NCase M1. Neat. That removes one of the fundamental limitations of Mini ITX.

So what does ASRock think of air cooler compatibility and airflow issues? I imagine they are not worried about it.

 

[tbronzwaer]

Will asrock come out with next generation xeon mini itx motherboard with lga 3647 socket?

Are you looking for an LGA 3647 board specifically, or are you interested in the next generation Xeon chips in general? Some websites claim the upcoming Xeons are all based on LGA 3647, but I think that's wrong - many of the Gold series chips seem to be based on LGA 2066 (there are conflicting reports, so I'm waiting for the chips to actually come out and we'll see).

As Aibohphobia mentioned before, this board still won't support those Xeons, because apparently one needs the Intel C422 chipset for those (which this board doesn't have). Gigabyte is releasing an LGA 2066 board with C422 chipset that is supposed to support the upcoming Xeons, though (it's not an ITX board, unfortunately). So if you want a next gen Xeon in an ITX board, like I do, there is still hope.

 

[jeshikat]

So what does ASRock think of air cooler compatibility and airflow issues? I imagine they are not worried about it.

You would be correct, but I hope they're thinking about it more since I keep bringing it up.

 

[EdZ]

IIRC, The dual-, quad-, and octa-core socket Xeons (E5-2xxx and upwards) are being unified to a single platform and socket (Purley, LGA3647). The fate of what were the single-socket E5-1xxx Xeons remains unknown: Intel have not announced whether they have been effectively retired ("just make a single-socket LGA3647 board and put any Xeon in it if you want"), or if there will be a dedicated single-socket workstation platform based around LGA2066. No such platform has been announced as far as I am aware.

 

[Dyson Poindexter]

The most basic of Xeons have always been on the desktop socket (115x). I could see keeping that and letting all the big boys run on 3647. I don't know what the roadmap is, but if EPYC doesn't bomb Intel is going to have to pull out all the stops soon.

I have been crushing hard for the Threadripper chips, and I really hope Intel steps up to the plate and meets AMD on the 10-16 core battlefield. This stagnation of quad core chips has gone on far too long.

 

[jeshikat]

That would suck if single-socket Xeons go away. In datacenters there's no need for them, but they are still very much needed for workstations and SMB servers.

Huh, with a M.2 version of this you could free up the PCIe slot for something else and still hook a monitor to the board: http://www.dpie.com/mini-pcie/graphics/innodisk-empv-1202

 

[QuantumBraced]

Noob question, but does the chipset/CPU distinguish between a PCIe x4 slot and an M.2 slot? Or is the connector simply different, but otherwise it's 100% identical. If you hook up a graphics card to an M.2 slot using an adapter/riser cable, will the board and Windows recognize it regardless of bifurcation support? (because you're not technically bifurcating).

 

[jeshikat]

In my finding with the STX160.0 the ASRock Mini-STX board recognized the GPU with no issues at all. I didn't have to do anything other than just plugging it all together.

It's still uncharted territory though so I plan to pick up a few of these adapters to test with the X299E-ITX/ac for my review.

 

[QuantumBraced]

Oh right! I forgot about that legendary build. Okay, I'm guessing there will be no issues then. I will never need more than a graphics card, but just knowing you can adapt M.2 into anything and theoretically get expandability is pretty awesome. M.2 is truly the universal expansion slot for SFF.

 

[jeshikat]

So I had been trying to figure out how the X299E-ITX/ac handles the triple M.2 with Kaby Lake-X since they only have x16 lanes off the CPU, yet the M.2 here are wired to the CPU so that wouldn't leave enough for the PCIe slot.

I was thinking maybe there's some kind of complicated switching going on where if a Kaby Lake-X is used the M.2 get wired to the chipset instead, but it's actually much simpler:

The X299E-ITX/ac does not support Kaby Lake-X. Problem solved

 

[Boil]

So I had been trying to figure out how the X299E-ITX/ac handles the triple M.2 with Kaby Lake-X...

The X299E-ITX/ac does not support Kaby Lake-X. Problem solved

LOL...! I guess ASRock took one look at Kaby Lake X in regards to the X299 ITX MB, and simply said "Nope."