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What Is A Nano-ITX Motherboard? The Smaller Motherboard!
ByAnna Bonilla- Read Time6 mins
What Is A Nano-ITX Motherboard?
A Nano-ITX motherboard is a small form factor computer motherboard that has been developed by several manufacturers, including VIA Technologies. The Nano-ITX motherboards are typically used in embedded systems and other applications that are in a confined space, such as DVRs, set-top boxes, media players, etc. This motherboard has become popular among manufacturers of embedded products due to its compact size and low power requirements. While this board may seem like just another computer component for your home office, it actually offers many advantages over its larger counterparts.
The Nano-ITX motherboard uses the same mounting holes as ATX boards but has a smaller footprint (the area where components are placed on the board). In contrast, all types of ITX (including Micro-ATX) are designed for desktop computers. There is one thing to remember about Nano-ITX, and this isn’t really hard to forget—they are fully integrated. In layman’s terms, they are furbished. The Nano-ITX is not upgradeable in any manner like the other motherboard types (ATX, MicroATX, E-ATX, etc.). Although they still have the ports and other peripherals, the CPU, GPU, and RAM are just not interchangeable.
Specifications Of A Nano-ITX Motherboard
The Nano-ITX form factor is the smallest Mini-ITX motherboard available. It’s 4.7 by 4.7 inches (12 x 12 cm). The maximum height is 2.5cm, which means most cases will be able to accommodate it without modification. A few cases may require some extra work to make them fit, though: for example, if you want your case to close completely (without leaving any space for airflow). Then you’ll need to trim down the plastic on parts like the side panel or front cover so that nothing obstructs those areas when it closes shut again!
Nano-ITX motherboards can be used to build small form factor PCs. The motherboard’s smaller size means that it has fewer slots and ports than a typical ATX motherboard, but this also makes it more affordable.
A Nano-ITX motherboard will have a few expansion slots, which are where you can install additional hardware like an external video card or sound card (if your system needs one). In addition to these expansion slots, some Nano-ITX boards include M.2 connectors for fast storage devices like SSDs or RAID cards that allow you to combine multiple hard drives into one large virtual drive. Nano-ITX motherboards also usually include onboard Wi-Fi antennas so that you don’t need additional USB dongles for wireless connectivity.
The following are standard specifications for a Nano-ITX motherboard:
Advantages Of A Nano-ITX Motherboard
Nano-ITX motherboards have a lot of advantages over traditional motherboards; here are some:
Small size: As you can imagine, the smaller the motherboard, the less space it will take up in your PC case. This makes for a much tidier-looking assembly and can help you save money on computer case costs as well.
Flexibility in mounting: Nano-ITX motherboards can be mounted just about anywhere at all! You’re not limited to mounting on top or bottom; they’ll fit into any available space you have available inside your case—even if that means horizontally across its front cover panel (just like an ATX form factor motherboard). Some even come with optional standoffs to make things easier by giving you more options when installing them into their cases.
Open architecture: Since these boards are so small, there’s no need for them to be enclosed within bulky metal shielding or other layers of protection from interference (since there’s so little room for interference anyway). By being open architecture this way, manufacturers can include extra components like capacitors and inductors without having to worry about fitting them somewhere else on their PCBs; they’re already integrated directly into whatever component happens to be nearby.
Disadvantages Of A Nano-ITX Motherboard
Now that we’ve gone over the advantages of a Nano-ITX motherboard let’s take a look at some of the disadvantages of this form factor. The main downside with purchasing one is that Nano-ITX motherboards are obviously smaller and therefore have less room for expansion than standard ATX or microATX motherboards. This means that you won’t be able to install as many different components on them, such as additional memory slots or PCI Express slots for graphics cards.
Another disadvantage to keep in mind is that there can be less surface area available for cooling down your CPU and other components because there isn’t much space between each component mounted onto the motherboard. This makes it harder to keep everything cool enough when overclocking your CPU or running multiple GPUs together off one PCIe x16 slot (which requires more room).
Average Price For A Nano-ITX Motherboard
The cost to buy one can vary greatly depending on the features you want and how much you’re willing to pay for them. If you’re looking for something with lots of flashes, you’ll probably be paying more than if all you need is something basic. If this is the case, there are many options available in the $150-$200 range that will work perfectly well for your needs and leave plenty of room in your budget for other output devices, such as a monitor or keyboard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Wrap Up
Nano-ITX motherboards are an excellent choice for those who need more processing power than their standard Mini-ITX counterpart but don’t want to spend the extra money on a larger board with more features that they may never use. With their small size and low cost, these boards provide users with an affordable alternative without sacrificing quality or performance.
