Lian Li PC-Q08 Mini-ITX Case
ITX motherboards capable of playing the latest games are just one piece of the puzzle. To enjoy those games, you need a powerful video card. You’ll also need a large enough power supply to run that video card. That’s the easy part. Finding a mini-ITX case that can house a large power supply and a full size video card, that’s hard. It looks like the design team at Lian Li is trying to make things easier. The new Lian Li PC-Q08 computer case is their solution. It’s a mini-ITX aluminum case that will house a standard ATX power supply and …
ECS H55H-I: Mini-ITX, Mini Price
The ECS H55H-I specs are in line with what we have come to expect from the latest batch of Intel® H55 based ITX motherboards. The ECS H55H-I doesn’t offer any outstanding features such as USB 3.0 or WiFi. According to the published specs, the ECS H55H-I does not support the latest 95w quad-core Core™ i5 and Core™ i7 processors, but it does hit an excellent price point. It is by far the cheapest H55 ITX board suitable for gaming. Price sells and being the only model to date with a two-digit price tag will undoubtedly prove to be a winning …
DFI LANParty MI P55-T36: Sans IGP
DFI has lain to rest the rumors that it will be pulling out of the retail computer hardware market. That’s good news for all parties concerned. For us here at ITXGamer, it means that we get to look forward to more unique products like the LANParty MI P55-T36. Upon first glance, it may seem very similar to other Intel® based offerings but has a unique feature, or lack thereof, as the case may be. It has no onboard video. It’s the only mini-ITX board we know of that lacks an IGP. It’s virtually begging the user to plug in a …
Zotac H55-ITX WiFi: Now With USB 3.0
Zotac was the first manufacturer out of the gate with a mini-ITX platform based on the Intel® H55 Express chipset. Zotac is not as well know in mainstream computer gaming circles as brands like ASUS and Gigabyte but they have been manufacturing ITX motherboards since 2006. Their website lists 32 different models of ITX motherboards. They’ve taken all of that design experience and put it into developing the first ITX motherboard with ATX capabilities. The specs for the Zotac H55-ITX-A-E WiFi look like this: Manufacturer: Zotac Model: H55-ITX-A-E WiFi Retail Price: $115 USD (NewEgg) Chipset: Intel® H55 Express Southbridge: N/A …
ITX Overclocking Contest: H55N-USB3
If you had any doubts that a mini-ITX system can’t run with the bigger boys, the you need to head over to the HWBOT website and check out the results of the Gigabyte mini-ITX H55N-USB on HWBOT contest. Enthusiasts participated in the contest by overclocking their mini-ITX rigs and shooting for the fastest Super PI 32m times. First Place went to a Gigabyte H55N-USB3 with an i5 670 overclocked to an incredible 6400.9 MHz. Using 4 GB of GSkill PerfectStorm RAM, it cranked out Pi to 32 million digits in just 6 minutes 18 seconds and 469 milliseconds. Of course, …
Gigabyte GA-H55N-USB3: Easy Overclocking
Gigabyte’s GA-H55N-USB3 is a worthy competitor to the gaming-capable mini-ITX market. The first inclusion of USB 3.0 gives this board an edge over earlier boards from other manufacturers. The lack of onboard WiFi might be a deal breaker for some. The only wireless options involve sacrificing the PCIe x16 for a wireless card or using a USB dongle. However, the ability for easy overclocking due to the Gigabyte’s wider BIOS options should make it a favorite with ITX gamers. The low price point won’t hurt either. Manufacturer: Gigabyte Model: GA-H55N-USB3 Retail Price: $105 USD (NewEgg) Chipset: Intel® H55 Express Southbridge: …
MINIX 890GX-USB3: ITX, AMD Flavored
J & W Technology comes to the mini-ITX table with an offering of a different color, AMD green. Forgoing the Intel® H55 chipset in favor of AMD’s powerful 890GX, J & W also raises the bar with the inclusion of SATA 3.0 with transfer rates up to 6Gbps. The only shortcoming may be the choice to use SO-DIMMs in place of traditional desktop memory. There is less selection of high-end SO-DIMMs available and they usually cost a bit more. The specs for the AMD-powered MINIX 890GX-USB3 mini-ITX board are: Manufacturer: J & W Technology Model: MINIX 890GX-USB3 Retail Price: N/A …