@wertigon why do you say the C8I is incompatible with cases that would otherwise be DTX compatible? Due to the height of the SODIMM.2 board? Outside of sandwich style cases (where the overhang from the board beyond the PCIe slot would interfere with riser cables in most cases) it shouldn't be an issue, seeing how a standard height GPU is far taller than it. This isn't a board for air cooling, sure, but that's to be expected in this market segment.
Like I said, I find the board kind of limiting for anything sub-15L, and see little reason to go with mITX/mDTX if the case exceeds 15L. Some cases can hold it, like the Sugo SG05-Lite and NCase M1, but others like the Sugo SG13 or virtually any sandwich case or console style case, not as much. If you were to list every case being produced today as sub 15L, I think you'd find most are not possible to fit this board in there.
As for fitting two PCIe 4.0 SSDs as a selling point though, it isn't much of one given that every other X570 ITX board except the ASRock has that to - including the strix.
Technically, many of those secondary m.2 slots are PCIe 3.0, but you are completely right in that it isn't a selling point, like, at all. Theoretically, speaking, you could take the Strix design, move it over to the mDTX form factor, and easily fit two extra m.2 slots on the excess space - if not four.
Nothing quite screams "buy me" like the ability to have eight to twelve terabyte of NVME greatness in a small form package like the J-Hack Pure X or XL, but perhaps that's just me.
The C8I is for people wanting a crazy VRM, a bunch of headers, LN2 mode, on board buttons, and so on. I.e. mostly overclockers, but also enthusiasts with a lot of money. For everyone else the Strix will be plenty.
This is a fair point, and I agree with you on this. And to be fair, these are but my personal feelings on the matter. The C8I is a damn good premium board, I just wish it had slightly more concrete points than great VRMs, because I find it quite a tough sell right now.
