Discussion nano-itx

[theoldwizard1]

So with the next round of "mobile" processors coming out soon from AMD (Strix Halo, AMD Ryzen™ Al Max+ 395), and I am certain Intel, do you think we will see any motherboard and case manufacturers get on the nano-ITX size bandwagon ? I don't think they could squeeze a typical desktop processor and associate

Or will this strictly be the pre-built mini-PC territory ?

 

[Gidilo]

So with the next round of "mobile" processors coming out soon from AMD (Strix Halo, AMD Ryzen™ Al Max+ 395), and I am certain Intel, do you think we will see any motherboard and case manufacturers get on the nano-ITX size bandwagon ? I don't think they could squeeze a typical desktop processor and associate

Or will this strictly be the pre-built mini-PC territory ?

No reason for them to make it modular if you can't upgrade anyway. We will see those chips in the typical 4x4" or Nuc form factor and perhaps a Minisforum mini ITX board. I guess some of them will have sodimm others soldered ram.
But you can still take these mini PCs and salvage the board for your own design

 

[thewizzard1]

I feel anything sub-ITX will be 4x4/NUC sized, or RasPI form-factor.

Low-power has gone a long way, but even 15w mobile processors can be told to suck down 30w in boost - Many smaller boards don't like handling more than USB power (~15W) and folks don't want to pay for a processor to be capped at it's low TDP setting.

But I'm always hoping for exceptions And those newer, cheap Intel processors (U100/U150/ N305/N355) are pretty danged neat.

 

[Gilles3000]

Is Nano-ITX still a thing? Haven't seen anything interesting, or rather anything at all it that formfactor for a while now...

There are hardly any nano itx cases anyway, so I don't really see any advantage over a non standard mini-pc board?

 

[theoldwizard1]

To be more specific ...

Unless you are a real "gammer" and are not willing to limit yourself to "onboard" GPU (i.e. you want a PCIe 4.0 x16 slot), it look like home built SFF is dying !

The pre-built SFF (approximately NUC/Apple size) are starting to appear with OCulink are going to be much more cost effective !

It is too early for reliable benchmarks of Strix Halo (a.k.a. AMD Ryzen™ Al Max+ 395) systems, but I will bet they will beat my 8700G/MSI B550M SFF that I built about a year ago !

 

[Gidilo]

To be more specific ...

Unless you are a real "gammer" and are not willing to limit yourself to "onboard" GPU (i.e. you want a PCIe 4.0 x16 slot), it look like home built SFF is dying !

The pre-built SFF (approximately NUC/Apple size) are starting to appear with OCulink are going to be much more cost effective !

It is too early for reliable benchmarks of Strix Halo (a.k.a. AMD Ryzen™ Al Max+ 395) systems, but I will bet they will beat my 8700G/MSI B550M SFF that I built about a year ago !

yes it will beat your 8700G but diy SFF is far from dead. M.2 to pcie x16 is very easy

 

[theoldwizard1]

... but diy SFF is far from dead. M.2 to pcie x16 is very easy

I am resurrecting this thread !

The whole DIY built PC industry is slipping away ! The only niche is people who are willing to pay PREMIUM PRICES for NAME BRAND components that may (or may not) give them a more "frames per second" on their favorite game.

AMD's recent announcement about addition Strix Halo product line (a.k.a. Ryzen AI Max) will bring many additional pre-built SFF system to the low end/mid market in mid/late 2026.

(Segue - there "suddenly" seems to be a large number of "unknown" Chinese vendors building/marketing SFF based on older AMD laptop chips. While I would consider a pre-built SFF system built around a Strix Halo chip, in no way am I endorsing these systems built on "leftover" laptop chips.)

 

[confusis]

Pre-builts do indeed seem to be on the rise. I feel that us enthusiasts dismiss embedded stuff too easily. Companies like Minisforum seem to be offering solid products that cover anything from office work to light gaming.