Durability of an ITX mobo

[tinyitx]

In general, what would you say about the durability of an ITX mobo when compared to an ATX mobo of similar grade. I am not talking about an entry level ITX compared with a top-of-the-line ATX mobo or vice versa. Also, I am not talking about the building skill of an individual but rather the overall average of all builders. Specifically, I mean, how is the design of an ITX mobo itself as well as its sitting inside a smaller case affects its lifespan when compared to that of an ATX mobo.

This is one of the issues that I have not found much discussion here or elsewhere (ie the durability of an ITX motherboard compared to an ATX mobo). I have read people complaining about the relative shorter life span of ITX mobos compared to ATX mobos. Explanations cited often are:-

a) the market of ITX motherboards is much smaller than that of ATX motherboards. So, manufacturers channel much less manpower and money into the board design. Thus, with an relative inferior design, life is shorter.

b) as an extension of above, components used are of lesser quality and this contributes to the worse durability

c) as an ITX board is smaller in size, heat generating components are more squeezed closely to each other than on an ATX mobo. This congestion affects the durability negatively.

d) an ITX mobo is usually inside a much smaller case in which other system components are up to each other's nose. The heat dissipation is usually not handled as well as an ATX motherboard sitting inside a larger case. Particularly, case airflow over an ITX mobo (to cool various components, eg VRM, chipset, SB/NB in the older days...etc) is usually nil or minimum, thus affecting mobo components adversely.

I have also read a complete opposite view, claiming ITX mobos have relative better durability because manufacturers use better components to build their ITX mobos because they are aware of the potential worse thermal condition inside a smaller SFF case.

What do you guys think? Longer lifespan, shorter or just about the same when an ITX is compared to an ATX mobo?

I have never used an ITX mobo before and so I am a newbie. Share your view and your first hand experience please.

 

[confusis]

I've used everything from STX thru to SSI-EEB, and across the hundreds (yes, hundreds.. maybe even thousands) of boards I've used and abused, the death rate is equivalent amongst all form factors, price brackets and use cases.

 

[tinyitx]

I've used everything from STX thru to SSI-EEB, and across the hundreds (yes, hundreds.. maybe even thousands) of boards I've used and abused, the death rate is equivalent amongst all form factors, price brackets and use cases.

Excellent!

But I suppose most of the hundreds of boards that you have used only remained in your hands for a relatively shorter period of time?
I mean, most of these were used by you for, say, shorter than 1-2 years? If this is so, then the durability of those boards was not really tested. Long term (say, for the sake of discussion, 'long term' means 3 years +) durability is the main focus.

Then, if you can sieve out those boards which were used for less than 3 years, I suppose you will still have dozens (not hundreds) of boards used and abused in your experience and you will still come to the same conclusion?

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

Installed an inexpensive ITX h61 system at my in-laws, inside an SG05, and it's been rock solid for the past 7 years.

The system is so entry level that the motherboard only has a PCIe-1x slot .

 

[el01]

Excellent!

But I suppose most of the hundreds of boards that you have used only remained in your hands for a relatively shorter period of time?
I mean, most of these were used by you for, say, shorter than 1-2 years? If this is so, then the durability of those boards was not really tested. Long term (say, for the sake of discussion, 'long term' means 3 years +) durability is the main focus.

Then, if you can sieve out those boards which were used for less than 3 years, I suppose you will still have dozens (not hundreds) of boards used and abused in your experience and you will still come to the same conclusion?

Think of it this way:

• The ICs on the boards are designed for (I estimate) around -40 to 85 degrees Celsius. That's for an ATmega 328p, by the way. And considering the reliability of ICs, they will probably last for around 5 years of continuous use.

• PCBs are pretty durable. The max trace temp can be around 130 degrees Celsius without issues (https://electronics.stackexchange.c...is-a-suitable-temperature-rise-for-pcb-traces)
• Physical connectors on the board will likely not die if you don't constantly disassemble hardware (for example, plugging and unplugging the 24-pin 50 times a day). Even if you remove connectors 10-20 times a day, you'll probably be fine
• VRMs are probably fine as long as you cool them and don't rely on a modern art heatsink. Airflow from a top-down cooler or something should be fine.
• The main concern with open-air setups (I assume this is what you're asking about) is dust and the elements. Dust should be fine, since most motherboard components are solid-state. The elements- temperature is probably OK as long as you don't light your PC on fire, humidity- I'm pretty sure most boards have some sort of humidity protection (otherwise there would be a ton of RMAs), but if you're careful, you're fine.

• Desktop boards are still more reliable than a laptop board (those need to have more components for power management and such), and when laptop boards (other than Macbooks, but PC != Macbook) last around 10 years (like my dad's old Linux laptop and my old Dell), I wouldn't be worried about a desktop board.

I haven't personally used many ITX boards, but from my prior experiences, this should be OK.

 

[rfarmer]

I have an Asrock B85 itx board that has seen continuous use since Jan 2014, so almost 5 years. This computer is run 24/7 and runs as well as when I built it.

 

[confusis]

Excellent!

But I suppose most of the hundreds of boards that you have used only remained in your hands for a relatively shorter period of time?
I mean, most of these were used by you for, say, shorter than 1-2 years? If this is so, then the durability of those boards was not really tested. Long term (say, for the sake of discussion, 'long term' means 3 years +) durability is the main focus.

Then, if you can sieve out those boards which were used for less than 3 years, I suppose you will still have dozens (not hundreds) of boards used and abused in your experience and you will still come to the same conclusion?

Most of the boards came to me mid to late life span (think 5yrs old+) - before I reviewed hardware I used to recycle and rehome computers for local families who weren't well off and needed a PC for their kids for homework. That and I enjoy old and obscure hardware. I'd also posit that must hardware I have my hands on enjoy a tough time of benchmarks and stress tests