The Mini-ITX form factor was developed by VIA in 2001 to promote its C3 CPU, but technology has come a long way in the last decade. CPUs are smaller, cooler, and faster than ever before, and desktop chassis makers have embraced the ultra-compact market. Needless to say, the Mini-ITX platform is no longer limited to anemic low-end solutions.
Today we"re looking at a new breed of Mini-ITX motherboards from Asrock called the Z68M-ITX/HT and A75M-ITX. The former is an Intel Z68 board that supports Intel"s second-generation Core processors (Sandy Bridge), while the latter utilizes AMD A75"s chipset to support Socket FM1 processors, namely the new Fusion A-series desktop APUs.
In addition to comparing Asrock"s boards, we"ll spice things up by selecting Intel and AMD"s $140 CPU offerings. In other words, this review will also serve as a comparison for the Core i3-2120 and AMD A8-3850. Let"s move on then.
Read: Mini-ITX Face-Off - Asrock"s Intel Z68 vs. AMD A75
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