nano-itx
Latest
J&W announces M001 Cedar Trail nettop, to keep desks and ears happy
If you like your computing to be neither seen, nor heard (or less seen and less heard), J&W has announced another bantam slab of nettop for your consideration. On the inside there's a choice of Cedar Trail D2550, N2800 and N2600 dual-core options, with support for up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM. Diminutive machines don't mean lack of I/O, and in this case you'll be getting three USB ports, a multicard reader, LAN, HDMI, VGA and RS232. Fanlesstech points out that it's actually a nano-ITX system, which measuring in at only 135 x 128 x 45 mm means it can be tucked away into even more convenient crevices. Just make sure not to hide it away too securely, else that 802.11.n WiFi might suffer.
Portwell ships Atom-based nano-ITX motherboard
With all these nettops, netbooks and plain ole motherboards flying every which-away, it's hard to say if Portwell's Atom-based nano-ITX board really is the first, but it's close enough to count in our book. Utilizing all sorts of legerdemain and black magic, the engineers at Portwell were able to craft a Linux-friendly mobo that measures just 4.72- x 4.72- x 0.65-inches and supports Intel's Silverthorne Atom while including six USB 2.0 ports, embedded audio and a gigabit Ethernet jack. The Nano-8044 can be ordered in two flavors -- the Z530, which packs a 1.6GHz CPU, or the Z510, which clocks in at 1.1GHz. As you could likely guess, this one's aimed primarily at point-of-sale machines, digital signage devices and other commercial applications, and the sub-10-watt power draw should keep energy costs to a minimum. Oh, and it should totally play Doom in a pinch.[Via LinuxDevices]
The Stephenson G-Metric Nano casemod is pure Bioshock
The old cliche informs us that a picture is worth a thousand words, and in the case of Jeffery Stephenson's PC enclosures -- that's most definitely true. His latest design comes in the form of a sleek, tiny deco-styled wooden box, crafted from a disused cigar humidor and loaded with a VIA NX15000 Nano-ITX motherboard, 1GB of RAM, and a hidden optical drive around the side. The end result comes off looking like some time-warp artifact straight out of Bioshock -- and leaves us wishing Mr. Stephenson would get into mass production of these babies. Hit the read link for far more details on the case, and be sure to check out Jeffery's other amazing designs.[Via Wired]
Via's VT6047 mainboard becomes first in Pico-ITX lineage
Making good on its promise to deliver an uber-small mainboard for tight-space and media-centric applications, Via has announced its first product in the 10- x 7.2-centimeter Pico-ITX lineup. Checking in over 75-percent smaller than Mini-ITX boards of the past, this x86-based reference design seeks to embrace a "new world of ultra compact embedded PC systems and appliances." The board was purportedly designed to be powered by one of Via's own C7 or Eden CPUs, and should be available shortly to board vendors and hardware designers interested in concocting even smaller PCs for their customers. The design also relies on the firm's VX700 chipset and provides Ethernet, eight-channel HD audio, four USB 2.0 ports, a SATA connector, and a multi-format card reader. Reportedly, the VT6047 will be priced anywhere from "$300 to $500," but we guess that's just the premium you pay for a palm-sized PC.[Via LinuxDevices]
Make your own laptop using Mini-ITX components
The main appeal of laptops tends not to be their upgradability: that's what desktops are for, right? Well, if the recent trend for "deskbooks" is anything to go by, then that assessment isn't true anymore. Entering the same league as commercial 19- and 20-inch desktop replacements, and tipping the performance vs. portability scale heavily towards the "need two people to carry it" category is Torquil Harkness' "ITX-Laptop," a computer designed around Mini-ITX components so that it simultaneously maintains a modicum of portability alongside full upgradability. Torquil admits that the end result could have been far smaller had he used Nano-ITX -- or Pico-ITX -- components, but in order to make it "as powerful as a regular desktop" he decided to go for larger parts. Despite Torquil's statement that performance was the aim, we'd have to say on first glance at the specs -- 2GHz, 1GB RAM, and a PCI-based ATI Radeon 9200 graphics card -- that some degree of compromise took place. Still, we believe him when he claims that he "could slot in a motherboard with PCI Express in the future" because this thing's wide open for future upgrades, and that's the point. Never mind the limited specs or the questionable chrome paint job: just lean forward, take a closer look at those computer guts and think "I can do that too." That's the way to stick it to the man.[Via BoingBoing]
Via Epia PX motherboard spawns Pico-ITX SFF form-factor
Although it wasn't too awfully long ago that AMD unveiled what it hoped would become an accepted standard for small form factor PCs, it looks like Via is already trying to one-up DTX. The forthcoming Epia PX media-oriented motherboard will clock in at just 3.9- x 2.8-inches, which provides "half the surface area of its already-tiny 4.7- x 4.7-inch Nano-ITX" standard and looks utterly dwarfed beside the 6.7- x 6.7-inch mini-ITX. Via's boards have become commonplace in applications which can sacrifice raw horsepower for low-power requirements and cool operation, such as being housed in Mini-Box's VoomPC-2. Consequently, the the Epia PX will purportedly tout just a 1GHz C7 processor (at least initially), and there's speculation that some flavors might actually support HDTV resolutions and video-in, but most of the expansion will be done through pin headers. Via hasn't opened its mouth to divulge details surrounding price nor availability, but it's assumed that this wee motherboard will run folks between $250 and $350 whenever it finally lands.
