14 DAY TRIAL // Mini-ITX motherboards used to be quaint, weak things, but then Intel and AMD started to get serious about performance-efficiency-price balance, and case makers got in on the act. The result was a still growing collection of platforms that can do everything a full-ATX motherboard can do, minute multi-GPU setups.
You'll still need to bow down to space demands and PSU limitations of course, assuming you don't just bulldoze through those concerns as well by buying the best available.
In any event, ECS decided it was time to offer something that both hardcore game lovers and less enthusiastic people would enjoy.
So without further ado, behold! The Z97I-DRONE and H97I-DRONE motherboards, both of which feature the mini-ITX form factor are here.
The specifications of the ECS Z97I-DRONE and H97I-DRONE mainboards
The newcomers are completely identical, save for their chipsets: the Intel Z97 for the former and H97 for the latter. It means that if you want overclocking, you go for the Z97I-DRONE.
Other than that, the specs are pretty par for the course as far as high-end platforms go. They will definitely let you build a mean gaming mini desktop.
Perfect for people who like to go to LAN parties often but don't want to limit themselves to a laptop. Also, very good for those who just like small things.
We'll start with the heart of the matter and go from there. The LGA 1150 socket should support all CPUs up to the Haswell Core i7-4000X series.
It is also wired to a PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot, meaning that you can only install a single video board. Of course, if you want to really cover both extremes and get a dual-GPU video board...
In addition to the single PCI Express x16 slot, the motherboards offer you a mini PCI Express 2.0 x1 slot, two DDR3 DIMM slots (full-length), five SATA 6.0 Gbpos ports (for HDDs and SSDs), 8-channel HD audio with TOSLINK SPDIF output (sound cards are being run out of business at this rate), and Gigabit Ethernet.
Finally, in case you don't immediately get an add-in video board, the integrated GPU of whatever Intel CPU you purchase will be able to communicate, through the motherboard, with a TVF or monitor via the dual-link DVI, HDMI or DisplayPort outputs. Finally, six USB 3.0 ports round up the specs sheet (four on the back, two via headers, for case front panel ports).
Availability
Unfortunately, we don't know when the ECS Z97I-DRONE and H97I-DRONE mini-ITX motherboards (both with 5-phase CPU VRM, 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors) will start shipping. The price is also still a mystery.
