Form factors play a very crucial role when it comes to determining the size of the motherboard and they are being used in motherboards for ages. Form factor provides information regarding what type of components that we can use in the motherboard and its expandability. You will also get immense information related to the power supply for the motherboard so that you get nothing less than premium quality performance when you are doing your work.
This information helps the user find the type of motherboard that suits the case perfectly and doesn’t cause any problems during the performance. They are many standards that have been developed over the years but there is one standard that not only determines the size of the motherboard but also its performance and it is called an ITX motherboard.
What is an ITX Motherboard?
ITX motherboard is a form factor associated with the smallest motherboards that exist. You will mostly find this form factor in small desktops. The motherboards under this category are very small in size and they are ideal for normal working.
In the old days, the motherboards used to be extremely large with the large number of slots however with the ITX motherboard the size of the motherboard has drastically been reduced.
Types of ITX motherboards
Many different types of ITX motherboards currently exist. They show variation in size and the number of components. The number of slots also differs among different ITX motherboards.
Nano ITX
This motherboard is highly compact and small in size. One of the noticeable features of this ITX motherboard is that it doesn’t consist of legacy ports. Its dimensions are 4.7 x 4.7. Since this line of motherboards is very compact and small in size so you can only fix a limited number of ports. If there are the extra number of posts that you do not need then you can easily remove them to have more space on the motherboard.
Since the Nano ITX motherboards are very small in size they are more ideal for embedded systems as compared to using them in personal computers because they are not designed for that purpose. However, it does provide unique features to the users so that they can control the overall performance of the desktop and do their work easily.
Mini ITX
The most common motherboards are the mini ITX motherboards which are found in the majority of the computers. This ITX motherboard was built to enhance portability and its dimensions are 7 x 6.7. It consists of two memory slots and one PCIe slot. This form factor is widely used in major tech companies like AMD and Intel.
It has gained massive popularity because of its small size. Another great thing about this motherboard is that it is highly affordable and falls perfectly on a budget so that most people can easily purchase it.
PICO ITX
This motherboard is slightly smaller in size as compared to the Nano ITX with dimensions of 2.8 x 3.9 inches. It is ideal for embedded systems and one of its main advantages is that it leads to low power usage so that you can do your work for a long time without any overheating or lag. It boosts the speed up to 1.5GHz. It consists of small size legacy ports.
Mobile ITX
The smallest board among the ITX line of the motherboard is the mobile ITX which was released by the VIA technologies in 2009 and is a part of many fields from military to medicine because of its amazing features and applications. It may use as 2.4 X 2.4 inches. One of the most common features found in this motherboard is the few numbers of ports which means that if you want to connect more devices then you will have to install the I/O board.
Uses of ITX board
There are many uses of an ITX board which makes it a very unique choice for embedded systems. These types of motherboards are ideal for those users who have the following requirements:
Need more space
If you are someone who needs more space then you don’t have to worry about anything because the ITX form factor comes with very small cases which means that you will get more workspace and it will also boost your productivity.
Portability
Since the ITX motherboards are very small in size this also makes them highly portable so that you can easily carry them around and it is never a burden on the user. Therefore computers with these types of motherboards are very easy to move around as compared to those that consist of large motherboards which makes the ITX motherboards a very ideal choice for long-term usage.
Budget friendly
If you are someone who is on a limited budget then you don’t have to worry anymore because most of the ITX boards are very affordable so the majority of the users can easily purchase them. However, it should be noted that because of the small size you won’t get a lot of features and the expansion slots but you will be getting a good quality performance so that should not be a great issue for you.
Drawbacks
There are some drawbacks associated with getting an ITX line of the motherboard. It is a great thing that these boards are very affordable but you cannot expand them or use them for heavy tasks. It also supports a limited number of RAM, PCIe, and SATA slots.
If you want to build up a PC then this ITX motherboard is not the ideal choice for it and won’t allow you to do extensive work. It only provides a single PCIe slot which means that you can only install one PCIe card which includes an SSD card, graphics card, and network card.
Final words
ITX motherboards have their advantages and drawbacks that you should keep in mind before purchasing them. The most popular mini ITX motherboard is a very good choice for those users who want a high quality performance on a budget. By going through this article you will get enough information related to the ITX motherboard so that you can make your choice wisely.