Enter the Mini-ITX.com online store

Projects

September 05, 2017
Choosing the right DC-DC PSU

August 27, 2015
AMD's Project Quantum

August 13, 2015
The Redstone PC is the ultimate Mini-ITX Minecraft Machine

October 09, 2014
The "Restomod TV"

April 09, 2013
Installing NAS4Free

February 28, 2013
Building an XBMC 12 Home Theatre PC

January 25, 2011
XBMC Guide updated to version 10.0

August 06, 2010
Building a Green PC

February 15, 2010
Building an ION powered HTPC with XBMC

October 10, 2008
The "Cambridge Autonomous Underwater Vehicle 2008"

Mini-ITX Online Store

September 12, 2008
"Florian", the DVD burning robot

September 05, 2008
The "i-EPIA"

May 22, 2008
The "GTA-PC"

April 14, 2007
The "Digg" Case

January 19, 2007
The "ITX-Laptop"

December 07, 2006
The "Tortoise Beetle"

October 02, 2006
The "DOS Head Unit"

August 31, 2006
The "Janus Project"

August 05, 2006
The "Leela PC"

June 26, 2006
Nano-ITX in a Football

May 17, 2006
The "EPIA Alloy Mod"

April 11, 2006
Neatorama's Collection of Case Mods

February 18, 2006
The "Rundfunker"

October 24, 2005
The "ITX TV"

October 06, 2005
The K'nex-ITX

August 05, 2005
The "Waffle Iron PC"

July 21, 2005
The "Supra-Server"

July 18, 2005
The "Mega-ITX"

July 07, 2005
The "Encyclomedia"

May 25, 2005
The "Accordion ITX"

Mini-ITX Online Store

May 16, 2005
The "FileServerRouterSwitch"

May 15, 2005
The "Mini Falcon"

May 13, 2005
The "Bender PC"

May 11, 2005
The "BBC ITX B"

May 10, 2005
The "Frame"

April 20, 2005
The "Jeannie"

March 09, 2005
The "Cool Cube"

January 30, 2005
First Nano-ITX Project?

January 17, 2005
The "iGrill"

January 15, 2005
The "Gumball PC"

December 15, 2004
The "Deco Box"

December 03, 2004
The "TERA-ITX"

October 06, 2004
The "Coealacanth-PC"

September 17, 2004
The "Gramaphone-ITX-HD"

August 26, 2004
The "C1541 Disk Drive ITX"

August 25, 2004
The "SEGA-ITX"

August 13, 2004
The "Quiet Cubid"

August 06, 2004
The "BMWPC"

July 14, 2004
The "Moo Cow Moo"

July 02, 2004
The "Mini Mesh Box"

Full alphabetical archive on right hand side of page...


5 Atom Mini-ITX Boards Reviewed
Posted on Sept 23, 2008 Go to:

MSI MS-9830 - Fanless, Industrial

MSI's MS-9830 hadn't been released at the time of writing - our board is a version 0A.

The MS-9830 is one of two forthcoming Atom boards from MSI and is arguably the most interesting of the pair, and of all the boards reviewed here. It is aimed more towards the industrial market and has several unique features that set it apart from the other boards.

The MS-9830 is driven by an Atom CPU at the same 1.6GHz as the other boards; takes SO-DIMM DDR2 memory up to 2GB; has both VGA and DVI-D; twin Gigabit LAN; 2 Serial ports and headers for 4 more (5 are powered 5V/12V); 4 USB 2.0 ports and a pin header for 2 more; 1x IDE and 2x SATA; a PCI and a Mini-PCIe connector; can run from both ATX and 12V DC power and is completely fanless.

The secret of the MS-9830s fanless design is it draws less power and so requires less cooling - it uses an Atom N270 CPU instead of the usual 230, and an Intel 945GSE + ICH7M chipset. We don't expect the MS-9830 to be quite in the same price range as the other boards here - but if you want quality, you'll have to pay for it.

Click to launch image viewer

The MS-9832 (not pictured or reviewed here) looks like it will be much closer to the Gigabyte or Jetway boards in design and price range, but with twin Gigabit LAN and 4 SATA ports.

Click to launch image viewer

MSI MS-9830 Mini-ITX Motherboard
Processor1.6GHz Atom N270
Chipset945GSE + ICH7M
Memory1 x DDR2 400/533 SODIMM slot (up to 2 GB)
GraphicsIntel GM950 Integrated Graphics
Audio5.1 Channel Audio
LAN2x Intel 82574L Gigabit Ethernet
Back Panel Connectors
2 Serial (1x RS232/RS-422/RS-485, 1x RS232 5V/12V)
1 VGA
1 DVI-D
4 USB 2.0
2 RJ45 LAN (10/100/1000)
3 3.5mm Audio
Onboard I/O Connectors
1 PCI Slot
1 Mini-PCIe Slot
1 IDE Connector (UDMA 33/66/100)
2 SATA Connectors
4 Serial Headers (RS232 5V/12V)
1 USB Pin Header for up to 2 additional USB 2.0 Ports
1 9-pin Audio Connector
1 Front Panel Connector
1 Fan Header
1 20-pin ATX Power Connector
Intel D945GCLF2 - Dual Core Atom -->

*Advert* Find your perfect board the Mini-ITX store! *Advert*
Our board finder will help you decide at the Mini-ITX.com Online Store. We serve the UK, Europe, USA and beyond. Order in-stock components before 7.00PM GMT and we'll ship same day!


Board Finder
Case Finder
Mini PC Finder