14 DAY TRIAL // Zotac decided it couldn't just exclusively focus on Intel's and AMD's new platforms, so it created three ION-ITX motherboards that make the best of a certain Intel CPU and NVIDIA GPU.
Simply put, Zotac created the ION-ITX R, S and T-series, all of which feature the Intel Atom D525 processor and the next-generation NVIDIA ION GPU (512 MB DDR3).
The ION-ITX R series has two DDR3-800 DIMM slots (up to 4 GB RAM), one PCI Express x1 slot, 8 USB 2.0 ports and an ATX power connector.
The ION-ITX S series has, in addition to the above, a pair of USB 3.0 ports, though only 6 USB 2.0 connectors are present.
The ION-ITX T series adds a DC-DC power supply to the mix, plus a so-called power brick, but is other wise identical to the others.
The rest of the feature set of all newcomers includes two SATA 3.0 Gbps ports, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n WiFi, 6-channel HD audio, NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology and Dual-link DVI-I, plus HDMI.
“ZOTAC continues to update our award-winning NVIDIA ION platforms,” said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International.
“Our latest ION-ITX R, S and T series introduce Next-Generation NVIDIA ION graphics and available USB 3.0 technology to our NVIDIA ION product lineup to let DIY enthusiasts assemble their ideal small form factor system with the latest technologies and features,” he added.
“ZOTAC understands the noise concerns home theatre PC users have and completely revamped the cooling system on the ION-ITX R, S and T series platforms for noise-less operation,” Mr. Berger went on to saying.
All the mainboards pack the aforementioned elements inside the mini-ITX form factor and have the added benefits of Blu-ray 3D support, Intel HyperThreading technology and compliance with DirectX 10.1.
All motherboards use passive cooling but have not yet been given price tags.