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Motherboard Incoming AM4 Mini-ITX boards

Hifihedgehog

Editor-in-chief of SFFPC.review
May 3, 2016
459
408
www.sffpc.review
not even HDMI???
This is geared towards enthusiasts who will have a video card by default. This is the not the motherboard you are looking for. I am almost considering selling off my ASRock board because. Then again, X470 and B450 is rumored to be coming in February with the 12-nm+ Zen Refresh. It might be worthwhile waiting until then if you are able since the new chipset may have more goodies than the last.
 

Hifihedgehog

Editor-in-chief of SFFPC.review
May 3, 2016
459
408
www.sffpc.review
Any word yet on ITX AM4 motherboards with HDMI 2.0? A family member who has a Skull Canyon NUC that he uses for home theater duty is strongly considering going with AMD Raven Ridge in an Antec ISK110 the first half of next year. However, until there is HDMI 2.0, it is a no-go.
 

stree

Airflow Optimizer
Dec 10, 2016
307
177
Hmmm Perhaps I am mistaken..My 350 MB is out of the machine right now, I will double check when back in.......Certainly works on this PC, H97M ITX-ac
 

parlinone

Trash Compacter
Nov 3, 2017
54
19
I registered just to vent my frustration but man all AM4 Mini-ITX offerings have issues right now! (I'm sure many of these already have been discussed)

Gigabyte AB350N: bad layout of power connector and SATA2 ports that block airflow.

Biostar X370GTN: RAM slots too close to the CPU + no displayport 1.2 (4K@60Hz)

Asrock AB350: no USB3.1 and no displayport 1.2

My dream AM4 Mini-ITX would have the basic layout of the Asrock, the Biostar USB ports and the Gigabyte video ports. If nothing better comes along I guess I'll settle for the Asrock, but man it is somewhat disappointing.

NB: Asus is out of the equation as it is unsuitable for APU's

PS: lol at my status, i've been building mini-ITX systems since 2006...
 
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Boil

SFF Guru
Nov 11, 2015
1,253
1,094
I registered just to vent my frustration but man all AM4 Mini-ITX offerings have issues right now! (I'm sure many of these already have been discussed)

Gigabyte AB350N: bad layout of power connector and SATA2 ports that block airflow.

Biostar X370GTN: RAM slots too close to the CPU + no displayport 1.2 (4K@60Hz)

Asrock AB350: no USB3.1 and no displayport 1.2

My dream AM4 Mini-ITX would have the basic layout of the Asrock, the Biostar USB ports and the Gigabyte video ports. If nothing better comes along I guess I'll settle for the Asrock, but man it is somewhat disappointing.

ASUS has an AM4 ITX motherboard as well...
 

parlinone

Trash Compacter
Nov 3, 2017
54
19
I'm happy to explain why I said this.

The lack of wifi and bluetooth is undeniable. At the time of posting, this board does not have this functionality according to the Biostar website. As for build quality, for one, the Gigabyte and the ASRock boards both have metal reinforcement of the PCIe slots. You can see this without looking at a spec sheet, because the metal is exposed. Is this reinforcement necessary? That is debatable, but it is an example of superior build quality.

I don't deny that the Biostar board is capable, I just can't find a reason to recommend a board that costs the same as the ASRock offering but has less functionality and less attention to detail. If you can think of a good reason, I'd be glad to put it on the list.

EDIT: forgot to add, see here for proof of reinforced PCIe slots (link 1, link 2). Gigabyte board also has LEDs for $5 more than the Biostar one, so again, more bang for buck.


Others have said this already...but still some pretty weird reasoning here to dismiss the Biostar. The LED strip and metal shield is just silly. Any board that omits them gets a solid thumbs up from me. And no sane person should use the onboard WiFi. It's so much slower and so much more prone to interference compared to LAN connected wall socket adapters (not sure what the english name is) that omitting WiFi altogether gets another thumbs up from me. But omitting USB 3.1 (Asrock) and the weird 24-pin ATX & SATA layout (Gigabyte) are in fact serious deficiencies.
 
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stree

Airflow Optimizer
Dec 10, 2016
307
177
I am unsure about the great value placed on the USB 3.1..............What is the ever so vital function that is denied by the lack of it? I use USB for quite humble purposes...............wireless KB & mouse dongle, ( USB2) printer... also USB2....... add on card readers (USB3).........very occasional external SSD drive....... USB3................Now I can understand that the card readers and ext SSD would be nippier with a faster USB.......But a deal breaker? Nah............
So what am I not seeing?
 

parlinone

Trash Compacter
Nov 3, 2017
54
19
I would assume most people back up on a regular basis to an external drive? Or copy large files to and from a thumbdrive? It's already slow with USB3.0 today, having double the speed matters...

Of course your mouse and printer won't see any difference, that's not what you use those faster ports for.
 

parlinone

Trash Compacter
Nov 3, 2017
54
19
Yes but for a board that will last you hopefully ~5 yrs not having the latest USB standard, where it is hard to find a board *without* it, is a serious omission. But indeed using a NAS it's much less of an issue.

The Asrock is still my preferred AM4 m-ITX since the layout of the other two boards are real dealbreakers for my particular setup but the lack of USB3.1 has me scratching my head.
 
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SeeFiFo

Average Stuffer
May 14, 2017
70
83
Gigabyte AB350N: bad layout of power connector and SATA2 ports that block airflow.

The layout is not great, but I'd say SATA ports blocking airflow is a non-issue (because SATA cable airflow blockage is miniscule, I doubt it even has a measurable effect), and while the power connectors are oddly positioned, I don't think it's an actual deal breaker unless it's physically impossible to connect cables to them (e.g. because of cpu cooler blockage). Power cables should also only cause a miniscule airflow blockage.

Asrock AB350: no USB3.1

Though it doesn't really matter to me personally, I agree it's an odd omission.
 
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