Price premium for the compact build just doesnt justify the cooling compromises that mini-ITX brings to the table especially for people living in hot climatic regions of the globe where ambient temps can cross 40Deg C.
And...? So this one product might not be suitable for people using tiny air cooled cases in warm places? And who are you to say what is and isn't justified for different people? Liquid cooling pretty much negates the space issues. Also a mini-ITX board does not need to be used in a mini-ITX case.
Yeah, it seems odd to complain about cooling problems when you're already at 104F... might want to invest in AC at that point or just get a massive case with tons of fans, not conducive to ITX at all!
I'm not sure what one has to do with the other. One isn't paying a premium for the cooling, or less of it - that simply comes with the territory of the Mini-ITX board in general.
Clearly, if one is living in such an area where your inside temperature is 40C, additional cooling considerations are likely warranted, almost regardless of the build size. I do not understand the root of that comment...
One of the main selling point of Mini-Itx motherboards is smaller and compact PC builds and thats how both motherboard and case manufacturers have been marketing it. So if you want to take full advantage of smaller system then going the route of smaller Mini-Itx cases is necessary which means a restriction on size of cooler that can be used. And using tower style Itx cases defeats the purpose as one can easily go to micro Atx form factor without increasing the volume of pc case too much.
I guess we can, or at least should, agree that there isn't a one size fits all and that Mini-ITX in general falls into the "not for everybody" category. Then again, If I built my wife a system in a mammoth full tower case, I'd probably be getting some very dirty looks to...so that is also a "not for everybody" sort of build.
All that said, this article is actually a motherboard review. I am personally interested in a Mini-ITX build, but for a more mainstream, non-gaming sort of system. so what I'd like to see is a different article that addresses Mini-ITX in general and the issues, pros and cons surrounding it; selecting components that fit in a reasonable case, coolers that fit etc. One thing I would have liked to have seen in this particular article - even though its a motherboard review - is what it looks like actually mounted in a case and using components one might actually be able to fit in such a case. Notably, the GTX 980 isn't something that you could actually use in a Mini-ITX build so why benchmark with it? Or am I wrong about that?
Just looked again. Ditto on the power supply and dual 120MM cooler. If they wouldn't fit in a Mini-ITX case why use them for testing the motherboard intended for such a case?
Benchmark consistency is important. The same components are used with the exception of the motherboard being reviewed so that the only variable that changes from one review to the next is the motherboard itself. Results can then be reliably compared with previous and future reviews and useful conclusions can be reached about the differences in performance.
Depends on the Case. My Mini-IX Build can in fact support many things. I am running a gtx 1080 TI in my mini-ITX. So it really just depends on case design. RVZ03B MINI-ITX Case is designed specifically for a gaming build and as such can fit many things in it, mind you its a tight fit, that many other cases can not handle, but is definitely possible to do these things if you look around enough.
Ambients usually exceed 50'C (122F) here at least once every summer. 40'C is a cake walk.
My LGA2011+3930K rig is still going strong though, with the price of Ram and GPU's, I don't see the point in upgrading right now? The bang for buck just doesn't seem to be there.
Quite the contrary my friend. The dissipation is as much as a bigger board. Its easier to cool because the fan stream in a mitx case is acting more like a heattube. Using a board as a heatsink is not such a great idea. My 240 Air is cooling a watercooled 1800x, 32GB Ram and 1080 very well in my hot climate.
This comment is ridiculous. Cooling compromises? That is entirely dependent on the case, not the motherboard.
Most of the chips used in this board, even overclocked, will never exceed 100w power draw. If you were commenting on an x299 ITX platform I'd half agree with you because the compromises are vast, but for Z370?
I'm still running an Asrock H87M-ITX on a severely overclocked i5-4690K (4.6GHz) on water cooling with a 120x40mm radiator in a Silverstone FT03-Mini, not to mention the GTX970 with a blower. System pulls over 400w under load (2xHDD's and an SSD don't help) and the overall footprint is just over ONE cubic foot. Never had any cooling issues.
"is one of two boards of its size which have two M.2 slots (GIGABYTE Z370N WiFi is the other)" -- Joe, doesn't Supermicro C7Z370-CG-IW have two M.2s in a similar configuration (on both sides of PCB)?
We've got a couple older Z170 Asus Maximus VIII Impact machines around, and for some reason the BIOS defaults to all non-standard values. If you want to run things at stock/standard you have to specifically change them to be that. It's especially annoying because BIOS updates reset all of your settings to Asus' defaults.
Asus has some nice hardware, but I really don't feel like fighting them on BIOS defaults.
It's very common for intel motherboards to set very high voltages for stuff like system agent. This very board will auto set vccio and vccsa to like 1.2-1.3v when the bios itself describes default as like .96v
You forgot to edit the copy/pasted lineup table on the first page, it claims this review is for the Maximus X Apex with the Z370-I Gaming "in testing".
I've been very intrigued by the mini-ITX format for a new build. I'd be doing an AMD version, but from what I can see, if you aren't going to do SLI, the mini-ITX boards offer a great value. You get intel networking, intel wi-fi, Realtek 1220 sound, NVME storage slots, all in a small package with a reasonable cost.
ATX boards with those features tend to be quite a bit more expensive, especially on the AMD side (or you sacrifice some of the features).
Of course, once you load up a build with an ATX PSU, large cooler, GPU, ODD (I still buy CD's and need a way to rip them) the size starts to be similar to a regular ATX build. Still, I like the minimalist approach to the motherboard.
You pointed out exact reason why not to get this, so this board should be used in most builds no problem. Its really nice simply to have a small case as well.
Error in the table at the bottom of page 1. The note [this review] is in the wrong row. Looks like a C&P error from the previous review of the ROG mITX board.
I have this board, and this article doesn't mention that the RGB header is an addressable 5V digital 3 pin, rather than the traditional 12V 4 pin. Trying to find compatible fans and strips is a pain in the ass.
i wanted a mitx board but the addition of an extra pcie slot (matx) and the generally lower prices are attractive. I still ended up getting mitx asrock z370/m , no bling, 6 satas 2network slots , significantly cheaper than virtually all z370 mitx by £40. I suspect its meant to be a no-frills , possible NAS board, no TB3 , why so cheap ? vrms? segmentation?
mATX seems to pretty much universally have poor VRM setups designed for budget buyers.
I added an additional pci-e x4 slot to this exact board using an m.2 to x4 adapter and then a riser cable run under the motherboard. My caselabs s3 just happens to have a 3rd expansion slot so I've got a dual 10gbps ethernet card there.
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Chaitanya - Monday, May 21, 2018 - link
Price premium for the compact build just doesnt justify the cooling compromises that mini-ITX brings to the table especially for people living in hot climatic regions of the globe where ambient temps can cross 40Deg C.jordanclock - Monday, May 21, 2018 - link
And...? So this one product might not be suitable for people using tiny air cooled cases in warm places? And who are you to say what is and isn't justified for different people? Liquid cooling pretty much negates the space issues. Also a mini-ITX board does not need to be used in a mini-ITX case.tarqsharq - Monday, May 21, 2018 - link
Yeah, it seems odd to complain about cooling problems when you're already at 104F... might want to invest in AC at that point or just get a massive case with tons of fans, not conducive to ITX at all!MDD1963 - Monday, May 21, 2018 - link
"Also a mini-ITX board does not need to be used in a mini-ITX case."I'm sure there's at least one tard looking to stuff one into Corsairs largest ATX doublewide case right now....
meacupla - Tuesday, May 22, 2018 - link
Do you mean the Obsidian 1000D? Because that case has room for an E-ATX and mITXSamus - Thursday, May 24, 2018 - link
Haha that's exactly what I was thinking. Dual PC's in a PC!Joe Shields - Monday, May 21, 2018 - link
I'm not sure what one has to do with the other. One isn't paying a premium for the cooling, or less of it - that simply comes with the territory of the Mini-ITX board in general.Clearly, if one is living in such an area where your inside temperature is 40C, additional cooling considerations are likely warranted, almost regardless of the build size. I do not understand the root of that comment...
Chaitanya - Monday, May 21, 2018 - link
One of the main selling point of Mini-Itx motherboards is smaller and compact PC builds and thats how both motherboard and case manufacturers have been marketing it. So if you want to take full advantage of smaller system then going the route of smaller Mini-Itx cases is necessary which means a restriction on size of cooler that can be used. And using tower style Itx cases defeats the purpose as one can easily go to micro Atx form factor without increasing the volume of pc case too much.Ratman6161 - Monday, May 21, 2018 - link
I guess we can, or at least should, agree that there isn't a one size fits all and that Mini-ITX in general falls into the "not for everybody" category. Then again, If I built my wife a system in a mammoth full tower case, I'd probably be getting some very dirty looks to...so that is also a "not for everybody" sort of build.All that said, this article is actually a motherboard review. I am personally interested in a Mini-ITX build, but for a more mainstream, non-gaming sort of system. so what I'd like to see is a different article that addresses Mini-ITX in general and the issues, pros and cons surrounding it; selecting components that fit in a reasonable case, coolers that fit etc. One thing I would have liked to have seen in this particular article - even though its a motherboard review - is what it looks like actually mounted in a case and using components one might actually be able to fit in such a case. Notably, the GTX 980 isn't something that you could actually use in a Mini-ITX build so why benchmark with it? Or am I wrong about that?
Ratman6161 - Monday, May 21, 2018 - link
Just looked again. Ditto on the power supply and dual 120MM cooler. If they wouldn't fit in a Mini-ITX case why use them for testing the motherboard intended for such a case?PeachNCream - Monday, May 21, 2018 - link
Benchmark consistency is important. The same components are used with the exception of the motherboard being reviewed so that the only variable that changes from one review to the next is the motherboard itself. Results can then be reliably compared with previous and future reviews and useful conclusions can be reached about the differences in performance.TerraEnvy - Wednesday, August 1, 2018 - link
Depends on the Case.My Mini-IX Build can in fact support many things.
I am running a gtx 1080 TI in my mini-ITX. So it really just depends on case design.
RVZ03B MINI-ITX Case is designed specifically for a gaming build and as such can fit many things in it, mind you its a tight fit, that many other cases can not handle, but is definitely possible to do these things if you look around enough.
jordanclock - Monday, May 21, 2018 - link
Or you get some water cooling and keep your mini ITX case without sacrificing thermal performance.1_rick - Monday, May 21, 2018 - link
"going the route of smaller Mini-Itx cases is necessary which means a restriction on size of cooler that can be used."I put a 240mm rad in a Mini-ITX case, cooling an overclocked Ryzen.
TEAMSWITCHER - Monday, May 21, 2018 - link
Agreed. A modern MicroATX case is only slightly bigger and eliminates all the compromises of the mini-itx form factor.StevoLincolnite - Monday, May 21, 2018 - link
Ambients usually exceed 50'C (122F) here at least once every summer. 40'C is a cake walk.My LGA2011+3930K rig is still going strong though, with the price of Ram and GPU's, I don't see the point in upgrading right now? The bang for buck just doesn't seem to be there.
808Hilo - Tuesday, May 22, 2018 - link
Quite the contrary my friend. The dissipation is as much as a bigger board. Its easier to cool because the fan stream in a mitx case is acting more like a heattube. Using a board as a heatsink is not such a great idea. My 240 Air is cooling a watercooled 1800x, 32GB Ram and 1080 very well in my hot climate.imaheadcase - Tuesday, May 22, 2018 - link
Huh? You can say that about any electronic equipment though..Samus - Thursday, May 24, 2018 - link
This comment is ridiculous. Cooling compromises? That is entirely dependent on the case, not the motherboard.Most of the chips used in this board, even overclocked, will never exceed 100w power draw. If you were commenting on an x299 ITX platform I'd half agree with you because the compromises are vast, but for Z370?
I'm still running an Asrock H87M-ITX on a severely overclocked i5-4690K (4.6GHz) on water cooling with a 120x40mm radiator in a Silverstone FT03-Mini, not to mention the GTX970 with a blower. System pulls over 400w under load (2xHDD's and an SSD don't help) and the overall footprint is just over ONE cubic foot. Never had any cooling issues.
bolkhov - Monday, May 21, 2018 - link
"is one of two boards of its size which have two M.2 slots (GIGABYTE Z370N WiFi is the other)" --Joe, doesn't Supermicro C7Z370-CG-IW have two M.2s in a similar configuration (on both sides of PCB)?
Ian Cutress - Monday, May 21, 2018 - link
Correct; updated.hansmuff - Monday, May 21, 2018 - link
A DisplayPort connector! Yay! Too many Mini-ITX have been skipping those, including some ASUS boards.ಬುಲ್ವಿಂಕಲ್ ಜೆ ಮೂಸ್ - Monday, May 21, 2018 - link
"it is worth nothing that the Type-C connector isn't USB 3.1 (10 Gbps)"
-------------------------
It must be worth something or why even have it?
LOL
Mr Perfect - Monday, May 21, 2018 - link
What are the BIOS defaults like?We've got a couple older Z170 Asus Maximus VIII Impact machines around, and for some reason the BIOS defaults to all non-standard values. If you want to run things at stock/standard you have to specifically change them to be that. It's especially annoying because BIOS updates reset all of your settings to Asus' defaults.
Asus has some nice hardware, but I really don't feel like fighting them on BIOS defaults.
nimi - Tuesday, May 22, 2018 - link
What do you mean by non-standard values? Did you accidentally load a overclocking profile or something?12345 - Tuesday, May 29, 2018 - link
It's very common for intel motherboards to set very high voltages for stuff like system agent. This very board will auto set vccio and vccsa to like 1.2-1.3v when the bios itself describes default as like .96vnimi - Tuesday, May 22, 2018 - link
You forgot to edit the copy/pasted lineup table on the first page, it claims this review is for the Maximus X Apex with the Z370-I Gaming "in testing".AnnoyedGrunt - Tuesday, May 22, 2018 - link
I've been very intrigued by the mini-ITX format for a new build. I'd be doing an AMD version, but from what I can see, if you aren't going to do SLI, the mini-ITX boards offer a great value. You get intel networking, intel wi-fi, Realtek 1220 sound, NVME storage slots, all in a small package with a reasonable cost.ATX boards with those features tend to be quite a bit more expensive, especially on the AMD side (or you sacrifice some of the features).
Of course, once you load up a build with an ATX PSU, large cooler, GPU, ODD (I still buy CD's and need a way to rip them) the size starts to be similar to a regular ATX build. Still, I like the minimalist approach to the motherboard.
-AG
imaheadcase - Tuesday, May 22, 2018 - link
You pointed out exact reason why not to get this, so this board should be used in most builds no problem. Its really nice simply to have a small case as well.creed3020 - Tuesday, May 22, 2018 - link
Error in the table at the bottom of page 1. The note [this review] is in the wrong row. Looks like a C&P error from the previous review of the ROG mITX board.Joe Shields - Tuesday, May 22, 2018 - link
Updated.7ruthslayer - Tuesday, May 22, 2018 - link
I have this board, and this article doesn't mention that the RGB header is an addressable 5V digital 3 pin, rather than the traditional 12V 4 pin. Trying to find compatible fans and strips is a pain in the ass.imaheadcase - Tuesday, May 22, 2018 - link
Awesome board, zero reason to get full fledged ATX boards anymore unless a specific thing in mind like PCI or multi GPU setup.dromoxen - Wednesday, May 23, 2018 - link
i wanted a mitx board but the addition of an extra pcie slot (matx) and the generally lower prices are attractive. I still ended up getting mitx asrock z370/m , no bling, 6 satas 2network slots , significantly cheaper than virtually all z370 mitx by £40. I suspect its meant to be a no-frills , possible NAS board, no TB3 , why so cheap ? vrms? segmentation?12345 - Wednesday, May 23, 2018 - link
mATX seems to pretty much universally have poor VRM setups designed for budget buyers.I added an additional pci-e x4 slot to this exact board using an m.2 to x4 adapter and then a riser cable run under the motherboard. My caselabs s3 just happens to have a 3rd expansion slot so I've got a dual 10gbps ethernet card there.
Dug - Wednesday, May 23, 2018 - link
I've been out of the loop, but is bandwidth or performance decreased on m.2 hard drives when both slots are populated?hanselltc - Friday, May 25, 2018 - link
I am still patiently waiting for a decent mini-ITX AM4 offering that doesn't break the bank.