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SFF.Network ASRock Z270M-STX MXM Micro-STX Motherboard Pictured
- Thread starter jeshikat
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They are a bit higher: mobile GPUs are binned tighter than their desktop counterparts (so you can shave down the voltage for the same clock speed, and reduce power draw and leakage), even when using the same die as a desktop part, so are sold for more than the desktop chip. Board costs may be higher or lower depending on whether the reduction in board area is worth the increased design complexity (and possibly needing more layers to route), though component costs will be lower through eliminating the output ports, and you don't need to design and ship a HSF.
But "many custom builds I saw" is still what, only in the dozens? It's an epic product so people with it are more likely to post pictures of their builds with it, so it generates a false impression that it's really popular.
I suspect it may gain traction though since Kaby Lake is so disappointing and there will be ignorant Intel fanboys who just won't consider Ryzen but want more power.
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Something that might be possible is ASRock cooperating with a community case designer for a barebones project. ASRock supplies the outlines (internal dimensions, materials, cost/complexity, features) and the community case designer designs a case, prototypes it, gets it ready for manufacturing, that ASRock fabricates using their partners and sells as a barebones product.
If there is ever a time where I see an ASRock barebones system that says "Partnered with *insert indie case maker here*" I will probably buy it. Just because the indie guys really know what we want, while most corps glaze over the little things.
Well, if the info in the AM4 thread is true, there may not be any enthusiast ITX boards to pick from even if you did want it
Yeah, that'd be unfortunate... That being said, I'm still kinda expecting that Ryzen's not gonna be nearly as good as people are hoping - I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd certainly like it to be. Competition is good and I certainly wouldn't mind switching back to AMD (Haven't been there since, oh, Athlon XP days, I think). Would light a fire under Intel's ass, too. But recent AMD history from where I'm standing has been a cycle of hype, disappoint, oh-but-the-next-one-will-be-really-good-guys, repeat ad nauseam.
Show me the mITX boards for Ryzen and we can talk about it. I can wait for Kaby because the A4 won't be delivered until maybe sometime this month. If Ryzen will hit the market in a similar timeframe and the benches show good value I'll consider it.
MXM has never been interesting to me until Maxwell, but Pascal is a WHOLE different ballgame.
The time is right for this to work.
The time is right for this to work.
The other thing to consider is that we have another die shrink to Volta in 2018/2019 to look forward to. With the push on VR and the fact that the full base nVidia lineup is now available on MXM, I think this is the ultimate platform not just for small form factor, but VR as well. The 1060 provides 980 power at 120W. With another die shrink I don't think it's unreasonable to think we will see 1080+ performance at the same or lower TDP. There will also be a fair bit of optimization of architecture between now and Volta which will probably only drive performance per watt up more.
When I look at the MSI and Zotac VR backpacks, I cringe. As a physiotherapist and former national team athlete, the impediment a giant box like that strapped to your back to the experience of free movement is significant. Taking something from ITX + 220mm GPU to a 2.5L solution with integrated power delivery is going to make a tremendous difference in terms. If AsRock can market and design around this the right way, I think it could be a form factor we see around for a long time.
When I look at the MSI and Zotac VR backpacks, I cringe. As a physiotherapist and former national team athlete, the impediment a giant box like that strapped to your back to the experience of free movement is significant. Taking something from ITX + 220mm GPU to a 2.5L solution with integrated power delivery is going to make a tremendous difference in terms. If AsRock can market and design around this the right way, I think it could be a form factor we see around for a long time.
I believe 1070/1080 would work but they require more than MXM socket power and have a separate power connector, though I could be mistaken.
According to Nvidia's site, 120W would allow for a Quadro M5000M: http://www.nvidia.com/object/quadro-for-mobile-workstations.html
The M5500M is just a tad above the limit with its 150W power draw.
Make a Xeon compatible version of that motherboard and you'd gave a darn great CAD SFF machine.
The HP Z1 AIO workstation already uses an MXM quadro, with a custom heatsink though.
The M5500M is just a tad above the limit with its 150W power draw.
Make a Xeon compatible version of that motherboard and you'd gave a darn great CAD SFF machine.
The HP Z1 AIO workstation already uses an MXM quadro, with a custom heatsink though.
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Considering the ITX LGA2011-3 was apparently pretty tough... That being said, they'd have one customer at least, just as soon as 32GB ECC DDR4 Sodimms are available.
Yeah, and it looks like as a result MXM quadros are pretty available and waaaaay cheaper than the consumer cards.
Pretty sure it's a JST PH-series: http://www.jst-mfg.com/product/detail_e.php?series=199
JST is basically the Molex of the small power/data connector world.
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