After the initial success of AMD’s Ryzen CPU’s, motherboard manufacturers have started releasing at least one socket AM4 Mini ITX Motherboard. The SFF (Small Form Factor) enthusiast market is arguably a niche market to cater to. However, the market demands it, and it looks like the manufacturers obliged.
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This year, AMD launched their AMD Ryzen CPU family, which earned tremendous respect from customers that consist of both content creators and gamers. AMD released them as a response to its arch rival, Intel’s Skylake series CPU family. Since the day of its release, Ryzen platform is going more and more popular among gamers. It’s arguably after a long time that gamers preferred AMD over Intel processors.
Coming to the topic, today we are going to discuss the best mini ITX motherboard (s) based on AMD’s B350 and X370 chipsets. There are multiple chipsets/platforms out there to use with AMD Ryzen processors. However, they are not identical to easy other. In fact, they are entirely different.
For example, B350 is suitable for mainstream builds, more based on on-paper specs. On the other hand, the X370 is designed for PC enthusiasts as it is highly overclockable. It is perfect for multi-GPU (Both Crossfire & Nvidia’s SLI) setups. Before we discuss the motherboards based on these chipsets, here is a quick comparison between them:
Comparison between X370 and B350 Chipsets
X370 | B350 | |
USB 2.0 | 6 | 6 |
USB 3.1 Gen 1 | 6 | 2 |
USB 3.1 Gen 2 | 2 | 2 |
SATA | 4 | 2 |
SATA Express [SATA III or PCIe3.0] | 2 | 2 |
PCIe 2.x | 8 | 6 |
SATA RAID | RAID 0/1/10 | RAID 0/1/10 |
Multi GPU | YES X8/X8 or multiplexed | NO |
Overclocking | YES | YES |
So you see there are significant differences in both these platforms. Your choice heavily depends on the purpose of your build, the type of build you want and what type of user you are. With that being said, let us continue to the list of mini ITX AM4 motherboards based on B350 and X370 socket for AMD Ryzen CPU. When it comes to Mini-ITX form factor, there are not many motherboards to choose from. Thus, we have included whichever we could find for the time being. Here we being:
Best AM4 Mini ITX Motherboard (B350 Chipset)
1. Gigabyte GA AB350N gaming:
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It is a 17 cm square motherboard. Looking at this extremely compact size, it is awe-inspiring what it packs inside. It certainly does not possess latest technologies in a massive count, but at least it includes all of them. It encompasses M.2, SATA 6 GB/s, Gigabit LAN, Wi-Fi AC and USB 3.1 both on board and rear panel. The DDR4 slot supports up RAM speed up to 3200 MHz. Following are some important specs:
Chipset | AMD B350 Chipset |
CPU Support | Supports AMD Ryzen, 7th Gen A series and Athlon Processors |
Form Factor /Socket Type | Mini ITX form factor Socket AM4 |
Power Connections | 24 pin ATX main power connector 8 pin ATX 12V power connector |
RAM slots | 2x DDR4 DIMM slots support up to 32GB dual channel memory |
Storage interface | 4x SATA 6 GB/s with RAID 0/1/10 support 1x M.2 socket 3 connectors supporting socket 3, M key, 2260/2280 SATA and PCIe x4/x2 SSD |
Expansion slots | 1x PCIe Express x16 slot, running at x16 1x M.2 socket 1 connector for M2_Wi-Fi 1x CPU 2x DIMM 288-pin slots |
USB Ports | 2x USB 3.1 Gen 2 A ports on rear 4x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports on rear 2x USB 2.0/1.1 ports 1x USB 3.1 Gen 1 onboard header 1x USB 2.0/1.1 onboard header |
Dimension | 8.7 x 7.4 x 3.1 inches |
Weight | 1.8 pounds |
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2. ASRock AB350 Gaming ITX/AC:
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It comes with RGB headers, making it comparatively easy to control the color scheme of your RGB stripes. It has dual band Wi-Fi for faster internet and Bluetooth experience. Awesome sound performance is delivered thanks to the integrated creative sound blaster and cinema 3 technologies. Intel LAN ensures quality Ethernet performance. Steel PCIe slots guarantee the safety of your graphics module. Here is a detailed look at some important specs:
Chipset | AMD Promontory B350 Chipset |
CPU Support | A-series APUs / Bristol Ridge Ryzen Series CPUs / Summit Ridge |
Form Factor /Socket Type | Mini ITX form factor Socket AM4 |
Power Connections | 24 pin ATX power connector 8 pin 12 hi-density power connector |
RAM slots | 2x DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 32 GB of main memory |
Storage interface | 4x SATA 6 GB/s connectors with RAID 0/1/10 support 1x Ultra M.2 Socket with N key, SATA3 6 GB/s, and M.2 PCIe support |
Expansion slots | 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 slot [x16 mode] 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 slot [x8 mode] 1x Vertical M.2 socket with the bundled Wi-Fi 802.11 ac module |
USB Ports | 6x USB 3.1 Gen1 ports 1x USB 2.0 Header 1x USB 3.1 Gen1 Header |
Dimension | 8.9 x 7.3 x 3.3 inches |
Weight | 2 pounds |
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Best Mini ITX Motherboard (X370 Chipset)
1. ASRock Fatal1ty Gaming ITX/AC:
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It is much similar to the b350 motherboard by ASRock we discussed earlier. Still, the chipset makes a huge difference. It has 2T2R dual band 802.11ac Wi-Fi module. Creative sound blaster and cinema 3 are there for impressive sound quality. Faster data transfer speed is delivered through Ultra M.2 interface that can stretch the speed as high as 32 GB/s. Copper material plating is used for controlling the temperature in extreme conditions. Here is a quick overview of certain aspects related to this mobo:
Chipset | AMD Promontory x370 chipset |
CPU Support | AMD socket AM4 A series APUs / Bristol Ridge Ryzen series CPUs / Summit Ridge |
Form Factor /Socket Type | Mini ITX form factor AMD socket AM4 |
Power Connections | 24 pin ATX power connector 8 pin 12V hi-density power connector |
RAM slots | 2x DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 32GB of main memory |
Storage interface | 4x SATA3 6 GB/s connectors with RAID 0/1/10 support Ultra M.2 Socket with M key, M.2, SATA3 6 GB/s module and M.2 PCIe module support |
Expansion slots | 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 slot [x16 mode] 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 slot [x8 mode] 1x vertical M.2 socket with bundled Wi-Fi 802.11 AC module Gold Contact in VGA PCIe slot |
USB Ports | 6x USB 3.1 Gen 1 with ESD protection support 2x USB 2.0 with ESD protection support |
Dimension | 8.9 x 7.3 x 3.3 inches |
Weight | 2 pounds |
Buy it here:
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2. BIOSTAR X370GTN:
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An impressive thing about this motherboard is that it can support both Windows and MAC OS Sierra in dual boot. The audio quality is excellent. LAN is fully compatible and doesn’t require any extra tests. The double 5050 RGB headers make it easy for you to give your desirable them to your rig. The build quality is excellent. With a decent number of USB ports, SATA and RGB headers, it is perfect for semi-enthusiast builders, who don’t want to go too far in customization. Here is a quick look at some important specs:
Chipset | AMD x370 chipset |
CPU Support | AMD A series APUs Ryzen series CPU / NPU for socket AM4 |
Form Factor /Socket Type | Mini ITX form factor with AMD socket AM4 |
Power Connections | 24 pin ATX power connector 8 pin 12V hi-density power connector |
RAM slots | 2x DDR4 DIMM memory slots supporting up to 32 GB of DDR4 main memory Maximum frequency up to 2400 Hz |
Storage interface | 4x SATA 3 connector with RAID 0/1/10 support 1x M.2 key M 32 GB/s connector with M.2 SATA 6 GB/s, PCIe storage support |
Expansion slots | 1 PCIe x16 3.0 slot X16 mode for Ryzen CPU only NPU / APU run at x8 mode / speed |
USB Ports | 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Port 4x USB 3.1 Gen1 Port 1x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Header 1x USB 2.0 Header |
Dimension | 10.9 x 10.2 x 2.5 inches |
Weight | 1.8 pounds |
Buy it here:
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Conclusion
Like I said in the beginning, the SFF is a niche space with a lot of use cases. A one stop entertainment box, there are a lot of users who desire a lot of power under the hood in a compact form factor. With the release of AMD’s Ryzen 3 series, we expect to see this market expand further. Do ensure that you have an efficient CPU cooling systems installed for these Ryzen CPU’s, especially for Ryzen 7 CPU‘s which comes unlocked. It will make sure that you take full advantage of the CPU overclocking capabilities.
We hope you like our compiled list of the best AM4 Mini ITX Motherboard available in the market. For any questions or feedback, do drop us your suggestions below in the comment section.
Indrajit
Feedback taken. Tweaked that last line. Cheers!
Ken
Regarding your last statement: "You can get a Snapdragon 835 powered Android device at hal...
Indrajit
6 core 12 threads?