Some notes on Mini-ITX

Author:	John M. Gabriele
Date:	May 2007
Back to:	homepage

Contents

VIA CPU's and mini-ITX boards
Other mini-ITX motherboard manufacturers
Busses
The case
Power Supply
Links

This doc is incomplete, and also probably quite outdated.

This document might be of interest to you if you're considering assembling a little, low-power-consumption, quiet PC, powered by GNU/Linux. The motherboard form factor of choice for this sort of application seems to be "mini-ITX" (which is not the same as "micro-ATX" nor "flex-ATX"). The mini-ITX form factor spec was created by VIA, and the names of the mini-ITX motherboards VIA makes all start with "EPIA". These are small boards: 170mm x 170mm (6.75" x 6.75").

The folks at mini-itx.com sell lot's of mini-ITX-related hardware, and also have a nice introduction to the technology. So far, a lot of the info here comes from their faq.

VIA CPU's and mini-ITX boards

These are all "x86" CPU's which go on these boards:

Eden (usually fanless)
- Eden ESP 4000 -- 400 MHz, 100 MHz frontside bus, 1.7 watts
- Eden ESP 5000 -- 533 MHz, 133 MHz frontside bus, 2.8 watts
- Eden ESP 6000 -- 666 MHz, 133 MHz frontside bus, 2.8 watts
C3 -- faster than the Edens. Start at about 700 MHz and 10 watts. Usually requires a fan. The C3's descriptive names too: Samuel, Ezra, and Ezra-T. C4 CPU's are planned (Nehemiah and Esther).

The VIA mini-ITX boards:

EPIA
- EPIA 5000 (***) -- 533 MHz fanless Eden CPU / VIA Apollo PLE133 North Bridge chipset, (released circa 2002), Good for Linux
- EPIA 800 -- 800 MHz C3 CPU, CLE 266 chipset, (2002), Good for Linux
EPIA V (???)
- EPIA V 5000 -- ??? Good for Linux
- EPIA V 8000 -- ??? Good for Linux
EPIA M -- ("M" for improved media features) Here's a message thread on EPIA M Linux support.
- EPIA ME 6000 (***) -- 600 MHz fanless Eden CPU, CLE 266 chipset, 6-channel audio, IEEE1394, TV-out, (2002)
- EPIA MEII 6000 (***) -- also fanless, PCMCIA slot, compact flash slot.
- EPIA M 9000
- EPIA M 10000 -- 1 GHz C3 CPU / CLE 266 chipset (2003) (Was originally supposed to be Nehemiah-based.) Later models are Nehemiah-based.

EPIA CL -- (now replaced by the PD) 2 ethernet ports, 4 USB2 ports. (Intended for networking applications.)
- EPIA TC 6000 E -- fanless, on-board DC-DC converter
EPIA TC -- has on-board 12 V DC-DC converter.
- EPIA TC 6000 E -- fanless, 600 MHz Eden, can be powered by external 12 V DC <i>regulated</i> power supply. No LVDS, CardBus, nor CF though. :(
EPIA MII
- EPIA MII 12000 -- 1.2 GHz
EPIA PD (replaced the EPIA CL). Intended for point-of-sale applications.
- EPIA PD 6000 E, LVDS (LVDS was a competitor to DVI), 2 ethernet ports
- EPIA PD 10000 -- dual LAN.
EPIA MS
- EPIA MS 8000 E -- LVDS, fanless, 800 MHz, uses more on-board pin headers instead of actual connectors (no I/O ports?)
- EPIA MS 10000 E -- LVDS, fanless
EPIA ML
EPIA DP -- new
EPIA SP -- new

Other mini-ITX motherboard manufacturers

Axiomtek
Lucky Star Live 1000, fanless 667Mhz Eden ESP 6000 CPU.
[...]

Busses

You may want to boot from a compact flash ("CF") device rather than a small laptop-style 2.5'' hard disk. If so, a nice solution is to use an IDE-to-CF adaptor.

The case

I'll be looking for an upright case; one that the air can convectively flow through (cool air in at the bottom, warm air out through the top). Similar to the Mac G4 Cube.

Also, the case should have a DC power connector on it so that an external power supply can be used.

Power Supply

An external power supply is desired. It would be excellent to be able to just plug the into any old 12 V DC power supply -- not sure if that's available though. Possibly have a look at http://www.mini-itx.com/store/default.asp?c=10#p1807.

Links

The good folks at DamnSmallLinux sell a nice rig all set and ready to go. That might be the easiest course to follow.

Another place I've heard about to shop from is: http://www.logicsupply.com/.