14 DAY TRIAL // Micro-Star International may have only released one socket AM1 motherboard, so far anyway, but ASRock wanted to make a statement, so it created and launched three of them from the very beginning.
The AM1 socket, formerly known as the FS1b socket, is compatible with Kabini-series APUs, as well as with some Athlon-branded and Sempron CPUs/APUs.
It is made for home-theater personal computers (HTPCs), nettops, and pretty much any other low-end computer setup.
Of the three mainboards that ASRock just launched, only one really stands out, because instead of the mini-ITX form factor it uses a micro-ATX size.
The micro-ATX model is called AM1B-M and features a PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot, a PCI Express 2.0 x1 slot, two SATA 6.0 Gbps ports (SATA III as it were), Gigabit Ethernet, and 6-channel audio.
Also, it benefits from the presence of two USB 3.0 ports (on the back) and uses a D-Sub output to connect to monitors, digital signage displays, and whatever other screen types feature D-Sub (VGA as it is otherwise known). A 3-phase VRM powers the CPU.
Power is supplied through a 24-pin ATX connector and a 4-pin ATX connector. It's a pretty standard wiring really.
Which can't be said about the AM1H-ITX and AM1B-ITX mini-ITX platforms, because while they can get power from a 24-pin ATX input, they can use a 2-pin external DC input as well.
Curiously, these small ones have more video outputs than the micro-ATX one, with HDMI and DVI flanking the VGA output.
There are plenty of features on the small, square things actually: a PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot, a mini PCI Express slot four SATA 6.0 Gbps ports, and four USB 3.0 connectors (two at the back, two via headers).
The only difference between the AM1H-ITX and the AM1B-ITX lies at the connectivity level. The former has the 2-pin power input and 8-channel audio, while the latter lacks these in favor of a parallel LPT port.
ASRock has fully detailed the AM1B-M, AM1H-ITX and AM1B-ITX motherboards, but it did not provide prices. Which isn't that shocking, since these things probably won't be sold alone, ever, but as part of nettops, HTPCs, mini PCs of whatever other sort, etc.
If you're looking to build yourself a system from scratch, you might be better off seeking a mainboard with an AM2 or AM2+ socket, plus a compatible chip, or something equivalent from Intel.
Unless you're determined to make a small, compact contraption instead, in which case you might be lucky enough to find one of these motherboards for sale at your local retailer, or online somewhere. You'll probably have to abuse some search engines though.
