The choice of motherboard MINI-ITX form factor on the Z370. Overview of the Motherboard ASRock AM1B-ITX ⇡ Specifications and equipment

COUGAR company is no longer the first year pleases with wonderful design solutions capable of finding a place in the hearts of both simple users and gamers. This material is dedicated to one of these interesting products, standing a little apart from its huge and not very fellow, Mini-ITX COUGAR COUGAR QBX.

Packaging and equipment.

The body comes in a beautiful box, on the sides are the advantages and features of this building, stylization fully complies with the company's website and is exactly repeated technical specifications and product features. Unfortunately, in the process of transporting the packaging was hopelessly corrupted by the stickers of Domodedovo and the skot of the transport company "Little Horse Express".

Specifications.

Case Type: Mini-ITX

Motherboard form factor: MINI-ITX!

Physical dimensions (w / w / g): 178 x 291 x 384 (mm)

Optical Drive Type: Only Slot Loading Slim ODD is supported (like laptops)

Place to install hard disk size 3.5 "(HDD): 1

Place to install hard disk size 2.5 "(HDD / SSD): 4

Expansion slots output (for example, for video card): 2

Front panel: 2 x USB 3.0 / HD audio

Cooling system

Maximum number of installed fans: 7 pcs.

Facial part: 80 mm x 1 (not included)

Top: 120 mm x 2 (according to information from the site not included, but in this instance it is present)

Rear wall: 90 mm x 1 (installed by the manufacturer)

Bottom Case: 120 mm x 2 (not included)

Left side: 120 mm x 1 (in this instance, the manufacturer is installed)

240 mm Water cooling radiator with one 120 mm fan

System Management Cable: Present

Filter for fan (reusable purified)

1 x Filter for installation on the bottom (pre-installed, removable)

1 x Filter for the front panel (included in the delivery kit is installed by the user independently)

Support for liquid cooling systems:

Left side: 240 mm Water cooling radiator with one 120 mm fan

120 mm Water cooling radiator with one 120 mm fan

Maximum total length Video cards: 350 mm (high-performance graphic cards are supported)

Maximum height of the processor cooler: 105 mm

Installing the Power Supply: PS2 ATX Power Supplies with a maximum length 140 mm

Appearance and equipment.

The type kit is all inclusive, everything you need is pre-installed by the manufacturer, and the missing items are in a separate box together with the instructions for assembling in pictures (English only).

Despite the rather compact dimensions, the case is not too light, but it is very tough and stable. This fact is related to the presence of a fairly durable metal frame with a large amount of rintery and rubber legs at the base, which is simultaneously a niche for a removable dust filter.

The side panels are made of plastic with metal ventilation gratings. Removed and installed very easily due to a short weight.

Pretty volumetric inner space will actually disappear after installing the power supply, but the cable management system implies the laying of part of the wires for motherboard and rear wall.

Another interesting solution is leaning up removable panel Fastening the liquid cooling system / place to install hard drives. This panel has 3 attachment points, which theoretically should prevent the appearance of vibration from the only installed fan and the hard disk operation.

Installing the power supply is one of the "raisins" of this case. Despite the "modest form factor", this housing involves the installation of the standard size supply unit, though no more than 140 mm long and with a certain location of the 220 volt power connector, which allows you to install almost the most high-performance components. Despite the fact that the manufacturer does not require the system of cable management (removable wires) at the power source, I recommend to install exactly that, because Places under the wire is not just a little, but catastrophically not enough.

The location of the power connector in the red frame is not just the same as the original form of the extension coded at an angle of 90 degrees, does not allow you to install the power supply with this power connector.

Although no, allows, with a certain skill.

The possibility of installing the drive of optical disks is present, the truth is only Slim size (such are installed in laptops). To load / unload discs, the upper plastic cover is shifted, which serves as an air intake.

The manufacturer implemented a small number of interfaces on the front panel, which in principle corresponds to a compact design. There are 2 USB 3.0 ports, headset connectors and power off button.

Cooling system

The distribution of air flows one of the most important factors Successful cooling system. The classical and most effective scheme of the "aerodynamic tube" when the air fence occurs from the front part, and there is no completely blowing in the opposite direction at the COUGAR QBX. Externally monolithic design, in essence, is a solution with removable panels. The design does not pretend to be originality, but do not forget about the form factor. The Mini-ITX system is perhaps not intended for extreme overclocking, even despite the presence of motherboards with a chipset for processors with a unlocked multiplier. Therefore, the most fideling subject of this assembled system is, first of all, a video card, and it is still on the distribution of air flows in the case in most cases, because Blowing the air is happening in all directions (of course, if you do not take into account the cooling systems with turbines).

Fans

3 preset fans entered the package

1. Two pieces 120x120 mm

Nine blade impeller has sharks fins to improve airflow, but no hope - there are no fans on the manufacturer's website, and the Internet does not show anything when searching for marking CFU120. Judging by the form of the impeller is a lightweight version of the CF-D12HB manufacturer, which presented on the site of the manufacturer CF-D12HB is distinguished by the absence of a vibrational case, LED backlight and 4pin fan connector.

Specifications are quite good and meet today in many well-known manufacturers.

Operating voltage: 12 V; 0.3a.

Speed: 1200 rpm

Airflow: 109.42 m2 / h

Bearing type: hydraulic (according to information from the COUGAR site)

2. One 90x90 mm

Absolutely ordinary semi-blade low-robbed fan (designation S in the factory number)

Without any clarifying characteristics on the site.

By the way, there is no one's own production. In both cases, products are purchased from the famous Hong Sheng manufacturer under labeling

1. A1225L12S 12V 0.3A is most likely taken over the base with the subsequent installation of the impeller on the request of Cougar).

2. A9225L12S 12V 0.18A, (most likely no improvement was made, just glued a sticker with the logo).

The complete absence of Wow effect is guaranteed)

Noise indicators

Testing was made by a rather popular CEM DT-805 device, which allows measuring the sound range from 30 to 130 dB as a standard frequency range of dBA and low-frequency DBC. The sound meter was installed in a fixed tripod, in a distance of 30 cm from the system unit.

In order to approximately understand what the data of the figures below shows the cutting out of the table.

35 - Pretty heard (muted conversation)

40 - quite audible (normal speech)

(Norm for residential premises, from 7 to 23 hours)

45 - Pretty heard (normal conversation)

50 - clearly audible (conversation, typewriter)

These indicators are valid for standard dBC noise, the level of DBC is always significantly higher because Includes low-frequency component.

What can be said about the work of the standard cooling system?

According to the test results, it fully complies with noise standards in the average apartment during the day. But it is impossible to name it, even with a big stretch. Unfortunately, all fans have 3pin power connections that does not allow to adjust the revolutions on some motherboards, and there is no place for refusal in the case.

Two complete 120 mm fan with "hydraulic" bearings are buzzing on maximum revolutions and create vibration due to the lack of a vibrational case or gaskets.

But unexpectedly very pleased with the complete 90mm fan - when working on maximum speeds, it is practically not heard, especially against the background of larger fellow and it is despite the simplest and most common design.

Setting the processor cooling system and assembly

By default, any box cooler, a low-profile cooling system on heat pipes or liquid cooling with a 120/240 mm radiator can be installed in the housing. This fact is associated with a very dense layout of the elements in the inner space of the system unit, and the radiator of 240 mm is possible to install only on the side folding lid, sacrificing the box to install the hard disk of the standard size 3.5 ". In this installation option, the place for the drive remains only under Video card.

Install the SSD drive is much easier to place on the right side of the motherboard on the right side of the motherboard, but only if the cooling system of the processor cooling systems is allowed.

As can be seen in the image, the staffing of DeepCool Maelstorm 240 interferes with the installation of the drive, and the installation of this fastener is not possible due to the too strong clamping to the case (when started the motherboard, turns off the protection against KZ)

This in the manual is the ability to install 2x 120 mm fans to the lower part of the housing for better cooling "video card" indicated not clear why.

Install them, of course, they can, they will play the role of the stand, the idea is very doubtful because There will be no necessary air flow.

System assembly

Conclusion

Cougar was established in Germany in 2007 by a group of computer enthusiast engineers engaged in peripheral devices. Professional team, adheres to the philosophy of design technology, focused on the use of the human and aesthetic factor. This combination has developed such products that meet the world demand for high-class professional gamers. COUGAR case testing is outside the usual development framework, which makes it possible to achieve the creation of a diversified line of products of the game computer peripherals that meet today's day. This enthusiasm and innovative spirit are the basis of COUGAR.

Approximately the company describes its aspirations and development, but what can be said essentially. COGARA QBX case is definitely a quality product.

An extremely durable frame design in combination with removable panels is not only an excellent design idea, but also an excellent embodiment of engineers' development.

The excellent quality plastic does not have a hint of a marked gloss, but a fully blown design allows you to install the most modern components. As for complete fans, they can be considered a consumable material that change if the user is wishing to less noisy, it is true that it increases the budget.

1. Little weight

2. Sustainability

3. Rubber legs

4. Easy to install side panels

5. Not a great plastic

6. Tough Rama

7. Cable generation cable system

8. The package includes fans

9. Magnificent design, size and functionality

1. Noisy 120 mm Fans

2. Where is the power off button on the housing? And there is no it, so for full shutdown We will have to or unscrew the top cover, or pull the wire from the outlet.

I express the huge thanks to Cougar for the granted sample, as well as the DNS company for everything.

Seeing the B250 chipset in the title review, do not rush to leave the page immediately. Despite the output of three hundred intel system logic chipsets and next-generation processors, motherboards on B250 ...

Seeing the B250 chipset in the title review, do not rush to leave the page immediately. Despite the output of three hundredthly chipsets of the system logic Intel and the next-generation processors, motherboards on the B250 are still relevant. Moreover, the simsowel under consideration refers to the Mini-ITX format. And when you task to collect a compact multimedia PC based on Intel processor, not tomorrow, and today, you will not have almost no choice. The younger chipsets of the three hundred series are not available yet, and collect on the Z chipset and the Pentium or Celeron budget processor is not exemplated. The productivity of data of generation processors Kaby Lake their built-in video nuclei is quite enough for a compact multimedia PC, or as they are also called - HOME TheATRE PC. This can be seen by reading the relevant reviews on our website.

The Biostar Racing B250GTN motherboard model was considered today was released in the spring of 2017. It represents the flagship of the racing series. Despite the MINI-ITX format, the board has almost all the advantages of full-size models. In stock Slot M.2, port U.2, Hi-Fi audio encoders The ability to output images via HDMI in 4K resolution.

Specifications

• Socket: Intel LGA1151;
• Supported processors: 7th / 6th generations Intel Core i7 / i5 / i3 / Pentium / Celeron;
• Chipset: Intel B250;
• RAM: 2 × DIMM DDR4 1866 - 2400, Max. up to 32 GB;
• Expansion slots: 1 × pci-e × 16 v3.0;
• Graphics: 1 × HDMI port with support for maximum resolution 4096 × 2160 at 30 Hz, 2560x1600 at 60 Hz, 1 × DVI-D with a resolution of 1920x1200 at 60Hz;
• Data Storage Interfaces: 4 x SATA 6 Gb / s, 1 × M.2 Slot (Key M) 2260/2280;
• 1 port U.2 PCI-E 3.0 × 4 speed support;
• USB ports: 6 × USB 3.0, 4 × USB 2.0;
• Sound: Realtek ALC892 8-Channel Blu-Ray Audio, support for Biostar Hi-Fi;
• Network card: 1 × 1000 Mbps, Intel i219V;
• Form factor: MINI-ITX;
• Dimensions: 17 cm × 17 cm;
• The average cost: 6000 rubles.

Packaging and equipment

Motherboard comes in a compact cardboard box with color printing. On the lid of the box applied concise design: on the background, stylized under carbon, there is a silhouette of a racing car, the specified modeling board and its belonging to the racing series.

In the upper right corner there is a sticker with QR code to activate a premium account in World of Tanks, an exclusive tank and gold.

On the back side There is more detailed information about the product: a detailed diagram of all connectors and connectors, and also drinking an additional functionality - connecting LED backlight, the ability to connect U.2 and M.2 drives.

Inside the box in an antistatic package, the fee is located, fixed between cardboard buffers.

The kit is the user manual, a brochure with a description of the VIVID LED DJ program, a disk with software, a plug on the interface panel and four SATA cables. Once the possibility of connecting LED tapes It stands out as one of the main features, I would like to be seen in the kit and the extension cable for connecting them.

Appearance and Features of the Board

For those who are used to the form of full-size motherboards, the appearance of the Racing B250GTN will seem just toy. The main purpose of the design of the MINI-ITX format is the assembly of compact multimedia PCs. Place on a piece of textolite size 17 by 17 centimeters Many elements will not work. Therefore, by a minimum: two slots - for memory modules, one slot - PCI-E.

But the manufacturer did not limit this and found a place for the drive of the M.2Na standards of the back side of the motherboard.

Textolite painted into standard black color, no patterns are provided.

A little above the center is the Socket LGA1151. Traditionally, the two dimm DDR4 slots are located on the right of it. You can install up to 32 GB of RAM. The chipset has a limit at the maximum frequency of RAM in 2400 MHz.

On the right edge of the board there is a 24-pin power supply block, under it four SATA 3 connector, the support for RAID 0,15 and 10. Under them is a connector U.2C support for PCI-E 3.0 x4 high-speed drives, Intel Optane support TECHNOLOGY. Even below - connectors for connecting the front interface panel - buttons and indicators. In the coal, the removable BIOS microcircuit based on WinBond 25Q64FVAIG flash memory with a volume of 64 Mbps is specially stated. This solution looks strange for the motherboard without overclocking functions.

At the bottom edge of the textolite, the PCI-E Gen3 x16 slot is located. Above it is USB 2.0 connectors for two ports and USB 3.0 to two ports. Here is the 4-pin connector for connecting the SYS FAN jumper to reset the BIOS settings.

Between the connectors, we see the ITE IT8613E chip, it is responsible for Multi I / O, monitoring and operation of the PS / 2 port.

In the corner of the board separately allocated a sound tract. The sound corresponds to the 8-channel HDA codec. Realtek Alc892. Not the most famous option, but it provides good sound. This is also facilitated by the established audio symbols.

Above the sound zone is a gigabit network controller Intel i219V with branded protection technology from short circuits, statics and lightning - "Super Lan Surge Protection".

Even above, we see the PTN3360DBS microcircuit that ensures the operation of video connections, including HDMI version 1.4 with maximum resolution 4096 × 2160 at 30 frames per second.

On the slot of the expansion of the inside, the battery is the same, it is connected to the board with wires. Directly on the textolite it was not found.

CPU power is based on a seven-phase diagram. If you consider the phases in more detail, we will see the traditional scheme. In fact, there are three converters here. The first four-phase (in the photo it is left of the socket) and the second two-phase (from top of the socket), form the voltage CPU Core and IGPU. The third single-phase (separately worth) generates the CPU VCCSA voltage and additionally by lowering the CPU VCCIO.

The power subsystem is controlled by the PWM controller Intersil ISL95866. Another phase is responsible for DDR memory and is controlled by the UPI Semiconductor UPI SEMICONDUCT.

The passive cooling system is represented by two radiators. One is located on the CPU power supply chain mosphutes, the second is directly on the chipset. The first is attached to the screws, the second - on plastic clips. From above, radiators are closed by inserts from transparent plastic and stylized texture under carbon, the RGB LED backlight is installed under them, the Racing series logo is highlighted on the chipset radiator.

To connect active cooling, only two 4-pin connector are provided. If this is not enough, you will have to take advantage of a special hub.

Additionally, on the board there are two 4-pin connector for connecting LED Lenty two connector, to which the radiators backlight is already connected.

The interface panel is quite laconic: two USB second versions, four - third, PC / 2 for connecting the keyboard, one LAN connector, two video outputs - HDMI and DVI-D, audio outputs are represented by five 3.5 mm connector and one S / PDIF output. Another audio connector connection of headphones and a microphone on the front panel on the board in the area of \u200b\u200bthe sound tract.

No less interesting and reverse side of the board. Here we see the circuit that is distinguished by the area of \u200b\u200bthe sound tract, and also for SSD SSD storage devices M.2 - 2260 and 2280. Supports as SATA III and PCIe 3.0 x4 drives. In addition, the Wi-Fi module of size can be installed in this slot.

The board is attached to four screws. In the interface panel area, we see a couple of through holes. Here, apparently, it was provided for the installation of frequently occurring plastic casing over interface slots.

BIOS and branded utilities

A modern preloader with the graphical UEFI interface is made in the original design. Separations on "Simple" and "Special" modes of work. There is only one window, in the left part of which the frequencies of the processor and memory, the speed of the fan and the temperature are displayed, the time and date is shown below, while clicking on the time the calendar with the settings will be shown.

In the central frame, the main sections are displayed, the transition by partitions through the window from the bottom of the window. Top tabs are displayed.

Total sections Seven:

"Main" is the basic information about the board, only English and Chinese are available from the interface languages.

"Advanced" - contains subsections with various settings: fan turns, setting up USB and SATA controller, as well as the CPU configuration.

"Chipset" - disabling the network and audio controller, set up the graphics.

"BOOT" - select the download device.

"Security" - installation of the password.

O.N.E - settings for processor and memory frequencies, selection of timings and operating stresses. In the same tab, you can adjust the backlight.

"SAVE & EXIT" - Saving or resetting the settings.

On the manufacturer's website, except for all necessary drivers and utilities for bIOS updates, There is a multifunctional branded utility "Racing GT".

The program has four tabs:

System Information - brief information About the processor, memory and motherboard itself.

Sound setting - the volume and sensitivity of headphones.

Setting the backlight is the choice of color, mode, and setting the colorwoman.

Monitoring - setting fans and temperature control.

Testing

Test stand:

• Processor: Intel Pentium G4620;
• Cooling: SLC DeepCool Captain 240 EX;
• Thermal interface: arctic MX-2;
• RAM: GEIL DDR4 Super Luce RGB 2 × 8 GB;
• Power supply: Thermaltake Toughpower DPS G RGB 850W GOLD;
• Drive: SSD WD BLUE 250 GB;
• Case: ThermalTake Core P3 Snow Edition;
• Operating system: Windows 10 64-bit.

The B250 chipset does not imply any acceleration opportunities. The memory frequency can be set to a maximum of 2400 MHz.

Test the possibilities of the Pentium G4620 processor, we compare its results with tests on a full-sized motherboard based on the Z270 chipset.

The difference in performance is insignificant, stacked in the measurement error, in some tests parity or even the advantage of the younger chipset. This comparison demonstrates the fact that the performance of identical components is practically independent of the motherboard itself, whether it is cut in many components a model on the younger chipseetail, a full-size full-size model on the older chipset.

Let us test the temperature indicators of radiators. The maximum indicators during stress test were:

• Radiator chipset - 37 ° C;
• Radiator on mosphs Power subsystem CPU - 33 ° C;
• Power subsystems throttles - 30 ° C.

The hottest core of the processor reached the maximum mark of 46 ° C.

With such temperature indicators, overheating with components clearly does not threaten, even in a compact case.

Conclusion

The Biostar Racing B250GTN motherboard surprised us with its own equipment-rich for mini-itx format. It will become an excellent basis for the assembly of compact multimedia Computer Based on Intel Kaby Lake processors. You can use both the video edge built into the processor and install a discrete video card. HDMI video output supports 4K permissions. The motherboard is equipped with quite a decent audio codec with the possibility of connecting multichannel acoustics. A variety of drives for connecting drives - traditional SATA discs, solid state storage devices M.2 and U.2, sufficient USB ports.

The undoubted plus is to follow the fashion in terms of the presence of RGB backlight both on the radiators and the ability to connect the LED tapes, the presence of two 4-pin connectors for connecting the fans.

Of the minuses, you can mark the absence of a built-in Wi-Fi / Bluetooth module necessary for such a system. But this problem is solved by the acquisition of module module M.2.

As a result, we obtain a functional fee from a time-tested manufacturer's time. With her duties, she will cope perfectly, and our edition boldly can recommend it as a basis for a compact HTPC system.

• Affordable price;
• Good accommodation for MINI-ITX form factor;
• RGB backlight;
• Extended connectivity capabilities;
• Slot M.2 and port U.2;
• HDMI port with permission support 4096 × 2160;
• Qualitative audio codec;
• Effective passive cooling.

• No built-in Wi-Fi / Bluetooth module.

Company Fractal Design. He continues to delight his fans with new products, and we continue to overlook them from the point of view of overclockers. This time on the table of our test laboratory, a new miniitx-case Core series was hit - Core 500.. This housing is a kind of "return to the sources", because, despite the external similarity with Node 304, it returned the compartment 5.25 "and the reboot button.

What else is interesting Core 500.How it is arranged and why lovers to lovers in compact buildings - you will learn in this material.

0. Packaging

Let's start a description from packaging, which is very typical for products. Fractal Design.. Dense unpainted cardboard, high-quality foam inserts, recesses for ease of carrying - everything is as always in FD. The box has not very large sizes (450 x 285 x 335 mm 3) and weight (5.3 kg), so the body can be carried out from the store and walk, without fearing at the same time to undermine health.

The front face is depicted a housing assembly, on the left - a set of identification bar codes and a frame frame, on the rear - schematic scheme Cases, and on the right - the table of technical characteristics, which is uncomfortable from the picture, so we duplicate it.

1. Specifications

Specification
Type of shell	Mini-ITX
Color	The black
The size	367 x 250 x 213 mm 3
Places for drives	1 compartment 5.25 "
	3 compartments 3.5 "compatible with 2.5" devices
	3 compartments 2.5 "
	2 USB 3.0 connectors, audio input, audio output, power button and reboot
Compatibility with bp	ATX, length up to 170 mm
Compatibility in video cards	Length up to 310 mm, can conflict with bp
Compatibility with processor	Height from the processor to 170 mm
Cooling
Top panel	Places under 2 fan 120 or 140 mm
Back wall	Pre-installed SERIES R3 140 mm fan
Dust filters	On the top, side and lower edges of the case
Compatibility with radiators	2 sections 120 or 140 mm on the top panel
	1 section 120 mm on the rear wall

2. Appearance and delivery package

Box aside, look at the contents. In addition to the cover of 5.25 "on the front panel, attention attracts the" punching "of the case. Perforation is on all the faces, except for the front panel, and it can be a good air exchange, it means a smaller temperature difference in the housing and outside) and the disadvantage (the air passing through the openings creates noise). From an overclocking point of view - the better, the better, and we will come back to the noise.

Regarding the compartment 5.25 "I want to say right away - the author himself was before the opponent of this compartment, and then unexpectedly received a collection of more than hundreds of films on BlueRay as a gift and was forced to purchase an external BD drive, because For compartments for the inner, it did not turn out. As a result, another device appeared on the table, and in the case, as it was full of space, it remains. Now my opinion is such - 5.25 compartment "is fully justified in the housings suitable for assembling multimedia systems and media centers, because From this area optical discs, if we leave, it is not very soon.

And finally returned the reboot button, about the disappearance of which in Node 304. I once sorry sorry at one time. This button helps a lot when overclocking and testing overclocked, and almost nothing is worth making it. And now she is with us again!

The rear panel housing inherited from Node 304., With one small exception, the fan speed switch was disappeared, and with it and the refoiss, which this switch managed. On the one hand, it is correct, because Now in the case one pre-installed fan instead of three, and on the other - on most mini-itx boards there are only two connectors for fans, and when installing, one of them will be occupied by pump, and the second - vinthilants on the radiators of this itself, i.e. Connect a complete fan on the rear wall will nowhere.

On sidelights outside, nothing interesting, except for holes.

At the bottom of the housing, a dust filter for BP and 4 rubber legs, which are well kept for any surface.

In addition to the case, in which there was also a place to accessories, product catalog Fractal Design.Mentioning on the order of return of the damaged product and the instructions for assembling on nine languages \u200b\u200bimmediately, very visual and at the same time very detailed - the designer clearly knows his business.

The overall impression of the appearance is similar to Node 304.but the other. Something added something else removed, but if you liked the form Node 304.but did not like the lack of compartment for optical disks and the reboot buttons, as well as the position of the connectors on the front panel - in Core 500. These drawbacks have already been corrected. If you want to compare visually - please on the left - Node 304., on right - Core 500..

3. Interior decoration

Remove the upper cover, open the case, look.

The contents are very unexpected. The entire top panel takes a removable frame for installing a two-section radiator of its (or two fans), almost the right - fasteners for hard drives and SSD. Landing place under PB from time Node 304. It has not changed, but the location of mounted mounts for disks is now occupied by a removable tray for an optical drive.

The front panel holds on plastic clips, and on it another place is found under 2.5 "SSD - interesting solutionI have not seen this yet.

All components are performed very high quality, sharp corners are smoothed, the crepe is thought out - everything is done to build any problems when assembling the user.

4. Assembling system

In prepared to start the system assembly, the case looks like this:

Suddenly it turned out that the disk panel on the left side of the housing is fixed, and even if you have only one 2.5 "SSD, you will have to put up with its presence. I can not say that it greatly prevents the assembly, but, in my opinion, this is the first substantial flaw of this building.

The next step will be the installation of BP. If you have a long video card, make sure that it does not overlap the BP connectors for SATA devices. In my case, this did not happen, but sometimes it is necessary to put in nodule or shortened BP. I also note that the BP is fastened with three screws of four possible, but it does not affect the quality of attachment - it sits perfectly, fluttering does not try.

It remains to connect the wires and install the video card, as a result I got like this:

The wires lie slightly inactively, but for the streams of air they will not create any problems, so you can leave it. It remains to close the lid, while turning attention to the presence of dust filters with magnetic fastening.

Well, the system is assembled, run - everything works as conceived, the power LED, which may seem excessively bright, shines with a white light through the button, the LED of the hard disk activity also comes white, and the USB ports 3.0 are really 3.0.

5. Temperature and noise

After two week testing, the following was found out: the case is very well purged, the temperature in it is the same as when using an open bench. After the radiator's mouth, the noise of air bubbles is sometimes heard on the top panel, and although this is the problem of my factory, and not the body, to reduce the noise I had to rearrange the radiator on the back wall - so it is much quieter.

By itself, the corps turned out to be subjectively not very quiet - there is no noise insulation in it, on the contrary, it is all littered with holes for ventilation, so it is better not to put the system to the table in front of yourself.

6. Conclusion

According to the results of the assembly of the system and testing, the housing left pleasant impressions with himself: all the same strict Scandinavian design, the same thoughtfulness to the smallest detail, new interesting ideas and return to old successful solutions, plus also not the highest price - in fact, an excellent body as For a multimedine system and for a compact gaming machine.

Yes, it can now be installed 6 disks 3.5 ", as it could be done in Node 304,but in the rest Core 500. Either better than its predecessor, or at one level with him.

Benefits

Design and thoughtful

Sufficient number of seats for disks

Compatibility with air turrets

Compatibility with full-size video cards

The ability to install a two-section radiator

Excellent temperature mode

disadvantages

- non-removable disk mounting panel

May not arrange

* Presence of compartment 5.25 "(many do not like them)

* Reobeas on three fans from Node 304. Do not swore

* Absence of sound insulation and some noise

7. Award

According to test results, the case receives a well-deserved award - " Editor's Choice«.

8. Other materials

Promo video:

3DNews test laboratory three years ago that the leading Taiwanese producers seriously took up the creation of mini-ITX devices suitable gamers and overclockers. Today we will make sure of this once again, because comparative testing is devoted to the choice of motherboard for a small, but powerful game computer with a modern Intel Kaby Lake processor and a full-fledged discrete video card. In addition, on sale full of interesting miniature buildings, increasing popularity get powerful blocks Form factor SFX, and some manufacturers produce special short-circuit versions of 3D accelerators. The case remains as small: decide on the list of components and collect your game computer dream.

The Mini-ITX format is not as popular as the same MATX and ATX, but also there is something to "get used." I applied for help in the Rearth's computer store and took all mini-ITX boards based on the Z270 Express chipset, which were at that time on sale. All six devices are fully suitable for the task marked in the article - creating a productive, but compact game system unit. It remains to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each of the participants in testing.

MINI-ITX form factor board boards do not support AMD and NVIDIA video card arrays, as they are equipped with only one PEG port. Connector for drives (including Intel Optane) M.2, to which four PCI Express 3.0 lines are listed, there are all solutions based on the 200th logic. It turns out that the Z270 Express is interesting only due to overclocking and high-frequency RAM. In all other cases, the boards on the younger logic H270 Express will have absolutely identical functionality, but it is less. Maternally based on the Z170 Express chipset is also compatible with Kaby Lake processors and provide overclocking. The reasons why still be preferred to fee on the more modern 200th logic ,.

Built-in memory controller sKYLAKE processors And Kaby Lake supports up to 64 GB of RAM DDR4, but since MINI-ITX cards have only two DIMM ports, then the maximum RAM volume is 32 GB.

⇡ Specifications and equipment

All six devices have similar characteristics and functionality. For example, each board has a wireless Wi-Fi and Bluetooth module. Differences are among the number of such ports such as M.2, SATA 6 Gb / s, RJ-45 and USB. Full list The characteristics of the motherboard under consideration are given in the table.

CPU	Intel Core i7 / Core i5 / Core i3 / Pentium / Celeron Sixth and Seventh Generations Performance LGA1151 (Skylake-S and Kaby Lake-S)
Chipset	Z270 EXPRESS.	Z270 EXPRESS.	Z270 EXPRESS.	Z270 EXPRESS.	Z270 EXPRESS.	Z270 EXPRESS.
Memory subsystem	2 × dimm, up to 32 GB DDR4-2133-4000 (OC)	2 × dimm, up to 32 GB DDR4-2133-3733 (OC)	2 × dimm, up to 32 GB DDR4-2133-4266 (OC)	2 × dimm, up to 32 GB DDR4-2133-4000 (OC)	2 × dimm, up to 32 GB DDR4-2133-4000 (OC)	2 × dimm, up to 32 GB DDR4-2133-3800 (OC)
Expansion slots	1 × PCI Express X16 3.0	1 × PCI Express X16 3.0	1 × PCI Express X16 3.0	1 × PCI Express X16 3.0	1 × PCI Express X16 3.0	1 × PCI Express X16 3.0
Drive interfaces	4 × SATA 6 Gb / s 1 × SATA Express 10 Gb / s	1 × M.2 (Socket 3, 2230/2242/2260/2280) with support for SATA and PCI Express X4 6 × SATA 6 Gb / s	1 × M.2 (Socket 3, 2242/2260/2280) with PCI EXPRESS X4 4 × SATA 6 Gb / s	1 × M.2 (Socket 3, 2260/2280) with SATA and PCI Express X4 4 × SATA 6 Gb / s	1 × M.2 (Socket 3, 2260/2280) with SATA and PCI Express X4 6 × SATA 6 Gb / s	1 × M.2 (Socket 3, 2242/2260/2280) with SATA and PCI Express X4 4 × SATA 6 Gb / s
	Raid 0, 1, 5, 10	Raid 0, 1, 5, 10	Raid 0, 1, 5, 10	Raid 0, 1, 5, 10	Raid 0, 1, 5, 10	Raid 0, 1, 5, 10
The local network			1 × Intel i219v, 10/100/1000 Mbps	1 × Intel i219v, 10/100/1000 Mbps	1 × Intel i219V, 10/100/1000 Mbps 1 × Intel i211v, 10/100/1000 Mbps	1 × Intel i219v, 10/100/1000 Mbps
Wireless network		IEEE 802.11a / B / G / N / AC + Bluetooth 4.0	IEEE 802.11a / B / G / N / AC + Bluetooth 4.1		IEEE 802.11a / B / G / N / AC + Bluetooth 4.2	IEEE 802.11a / B / G / N / AC + Bluetooth 4.2
AudioSystem	REALTEK ALC1220 7.1 HD	REALTEK ALC892 7.1 HD	REALTEK ALC1220 7.1 HD	REALTEK ALC1220 7.1 HD	REALTEK ALC1220 7.1 HD	REALTEK ALC1220 7.1 HD
Interfaces on the back panel	1 × PS / 2 1 × DisplayPort. 1 × HDMI 1 × RJ-45 1 × Thunderbolt 3 6 × USB 3.0 Type A 1 × S / PDIF OPT OUT 6 × audio 3.5 mm 2 × SMA.	1 × PS / 2 1 × DVI-D 2 × HDMI 2 × RJ-45 6 × USB 3.0 Type A 2 × USB 2.0 TYPE A 3 × audio 3.5 mm 2 × SMA.	1 × DisplayPort. 1 × HDMI 1 × RJ-45 3 × USB 3.0 Type A 1 × USB 3.0 Type C 4 × USB 2.0 TYPE A 5 × audio 3.5 mm 2 × SMA.	1 × PS / 2 1 × DisplayPort. 1 × HDMI 1 × RJ-45 4 × USB 3.0 Type A 1 × USB 3.1 TYPE A 1 × USB 3.1 Type C 6 × audio 3.5 mm 2 × SMA.	1 × PS / 2 1 × DVI-D 2 × HDMI 2 × RJ-45 4 × USB 3.0 Type A 1 × USB 3.0 Type C 1 × S / PDIF OPT OUT 5 × audio 3.5 mm 2 × SMA.	1 × PS / 2 1 × DisplayPort. 1 × HDMI 1 × RJ-45 2 × USB 3.0 Type A 1 × USB 3.1 TYPE A 1 × USB 3.1 Type C 2 × USB 2.0 TYPE A 1 × S / PDIF OPT OUT 6 × audio 3.5 mm 2 × SMA.
Form factor	mini-itx, 170 × 170 mm	mini-itx, 170 × 170 mm	mini-itx, 170 × 170 mm	mini-itx, 170 × 170 mm	mini-itx, 170 × 170 mm	mini-itx, 170 × 170 mm
Price	~ 12 500 rubles.	~ 8 500 rubles.	~ 13 000 rub.	~ 12 500 rubles.	~ 9 500 rubles.	~ 12 500 rubles.

All tested models are packed in small cardboard boxes. Delivery set In most cases standard - plug on I / O-panel, SATA cables, antennas for a wireless communication module, waste paper (user manual, stickers, advertising brochures, beer stackers), as well as drives with drivers and software. Several sets of ASUS ROG STRIX Z270I Gaming, which, in addition to the above, there is a couple of really useful things: extension cords for connecting the controls of the case and RGB tape. It is worth noting the MSI Z270I Gaming Pro Carbon AC, which in the box also found an 800-mm splitter extension for connecting two LED tapes.

The ASRock Motherboard model range includes an impressive number of diverse series. Including the FATAL1TY series, named after the famous American cyberStatman Jonathan Wayndel and appeared in the company's assortment seven years ago.

I have already noted that all six devices have a similar arrangement of the main elements, so when analyzing the interface layout only remains to pay attention to all sorts of trivia. For example, in Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC, all three four-pin connector for connecting fans are located on one (top) side. If you use a fee in the Slim Desktop format (, SilverStone RVZ02, LIAN LI PC-O5X) such a layout may be inconvenient. For example, when installing a pair of 120-mm fans for an additional blowing of a graphics adapter in Fractal Design Node 202, you will need to look in the direction of models that have no hot wires 20 centimeters. Or connect them using an adapter connected to the Molex power connector. Unfortunately, this model does not know how to control the turnover of fans without PWM.

But on the printed circuit board, the internal interfaces of USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 are successfully planned. This location is convenient both in the application of the Slim Desktop form factor housing and mini-tower (, NZXT MANTA, PHANTEKS ENTHOO EVOLV ITX). In addition to the interfaces listed, it is worth noting the possibility of connecting 3.5 mm sound jacks on the front or top of the housing panel.

PCI Express X16 connector is additionally reinforced. This technology is applied in five motherboards. of the six considered. The manufacturer notes that the contacts of the PEG port and DIMM slots received a gold spray. The highlighting of the Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC is not provided, there is no and connector for connecting RGB-tape.

Intel I219V gigabit controller is responsible for the wired connection - a frequent guest in many Z270-cards is more expensive than 10,000 rubles. Intel Wireless-AC 7265NGW module is responsible for the wireless connection. In the Gigabyte and MSI boards, discussed in this material, the built-in Intel Wireless-AC 8265NGW card is used, it is also installed in a separate slot M.2 (Key E). Modules provide IEEE 802.11a / B / G / N / AC wireless connection with maximum bandwidth up to 867 Mbps. Differences lies not only in support of this or that bluetooth versions (Wireless-AC 7265NGW - Bluetooth 4.0, Wireless-AC 8265NGW - Bluetooth 4.2), but also in the spatial coding method of the MU-MIMO signal, which supports a more modern version of the Intel wireless adapter.

The layout of the elements in Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC is sufficiently dense, a lot of space occupies a chipset cooling radiator. Between him and DIMM nests are planted four SATA ports 6 Gbps - not a very successful solution, as not even the largest processor cooler will block the minimum of two blocks. As a result, the lack of space led to the fact that the slot M.2 for installation solid-state drive "Moved" to the opposite direction pCB - This is a common solution for mini-itx boards. SSD formats 2260 and 2280 are supported. When using M.2 in SATA mode, the SATA3_0 connector is turned off.

SSD is attached directly under the chipset. Taking into account the fact that modern NVME drives under a serious load be sucking sometimes up to 70-80 degrees Celsius (and the old so and at all up to 100 degrees Celsius), it turned out not the most successful solution. For example, in the Slim Desktop package, the processor cooling of the DOWN FLOW type will be used. Therefore, if there is an SSD on the reverse side, it will not additionally be blown up. In such conditions, the NVME drive may overheat, which will lead to a drop in its performance. And even consider that not all SSD with additional cooling (for example, Team TForce Cardea) will fit in the opening between the case and the board.

The board under consideration is the only test in which the SATA Express interface is used. The interface is dead, there is no running models on sale, and the need for them in the presence of M.2 with four PCI Express 3.0 lines disappears. So using SATA Express in 100% of cases will be as two simple SATA 6 Gb / s.

The most notable port located on the I / O-panel is Thunderbolt 3. It also acts as USB 3.1 Type-C, and the display can be connected to it. The interface is implemented using Intel JHL6240 and Texas Instruments TPS65982 controllers. Otherwise, the set of I / O ports is quite standard for the Z270 Express boards. I will only note that next to the SMA connectors to which the antennas from the Intel wireless module are connected, the BIOS reset key is located.

The audio subsystem is based on the Realtek Alc1220 chip. The audio power supply device is improved according to all contemporary canons: the printed circuit board is shielded from the remaining components of the non-conductive current layer of textolite; The path included Japanese capacitors Nichicon and operational amplifier TI NE5532; Left and right channels are divorced in different layers of PCB.

The Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC feed subsystem has eight phases. Each channel consists of a throttle withstanding the load to 60 A, and the field transistor TI 87350D. Six phases are designed for a central processor, two more - for embedded graphics. CPU power management is carried out by the IR35201 PWM controller. It is planted on the back of the printed circuit board.

The chain of six field transistors, allocated to operate the computing part of the processor, is cooled by a sufficiently massive radiator of red. However, with large coolers, the protruding part of passive cooling is in no way contact. When using the FATAL1TY Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC in the MINI Tower size housing, the "Towers" are suitable as with 120- and with 140 mm fans.

The key feature of passive CO is the use of heat pipe. Well, under load, without the use of additional blowing, cooling perfectly copes with its task. The chokes are warmed up to 68 degrees Celsius, which is very important for the conditions in which MINI-ITX motherboards are commonly used.

High-quality converter and efficient cooling make their job. Under the load in LINX 0.7.0, the processor's frequency studs are not observed. At the same time, in the default mode, the Core i7-7700k does not work at a standard frequency of 4400 MHz when loading all four nuclei, but at a frequency of 4544 MHz - the multiplier is set at the X45 value, and the BCLK parameter is increased from 100 to 100.9 MHz. I will say right away: like this, if you can put it, not only ASRock engineers are used by cunning.

ASRock_uefi.

As a rule, in boards based on one platform (in our case - LGA1151), manufacturers use similar BIOS firmware. Depending on the model, only functionality varies. For example, the manufacturer allows the user to more flexibly change the voltage of the processor, memory and chipset. The Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC uses exactly the same BIOS as in. Therefore, I will not repeat once again.

Some functions directly associated with Kaby Lake chips. First, in all Z270-cards there is an item that allows you to lower the processor multiplier when executing the AVX instruction. It is this set of teams that the CPU loads the strongest. ASRock this option is called AVX Ratio Offset. Secondly, the BCLK Aware Adaptive Voltage feature appeared. With it, when changing the BCLK frequency, the processor voltage is adjusted, which eliminates the input voltage when the CPU is working at a high frequency of the clock generator.

	Min. / Max. Value, B.	Step, B.
CPU Core Voltage.	0,9/1,5	0,005
Dram Voltage.	1,1/1,5	0,05
DRAM Activating Power Supply	2,5/2,7	0,2
CPU Vccio Voltage.	0,85/1,2	0,01
Vccst voltage.	0,9/1,2	0,05
VCPLL Voltage.	1,1/1,5	0,01
CPU System Agent Voltage	0,95/1,35	0,05
Pll Termination Voltage.	0,9/1,185	0,015
CPU Graphics Voltage.	0,9/1,51	0,005
PCH Core Voltage.	0,9/1,2	0,01
Internal Pll Voltage.	0,9/1,2	0,015
	5	—

ASRock UEFI has everything you need to overclock the processor and memory. The CPU voltage is set in two modes: applied Fixed Mode and adjustable Offset Mode. In the second case, the user can adjust the voltage relative to the nominal range from -100 to + 200 mV in 5 mV.

In the case of FATAL1TY Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC, we can monitor the temperature of the central processor and behind the motherboard temperature.

The firmware involves several modes of automatic increasing frequency: from, in general, the everyday acceleration of the chip to 4.6 GHz and to a serious 5.0 GHz (with a decrease in frequency up to 4.7 GHz when performing a vector command set). Unfortunately, none of the modes work as conceived. In most cases, drawdowns are observed, and we are dealing with a very busy situation: in nominal mode, the system is faster than in the overclocked.

Nothing surprising is that the function of automatic overclocking does not work properly, no. Independent overclocking most often gives the best result. For example, in the case of FATAL1TY Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC, it is enough to add 150 mV in Offset mode mode and set the fourth level of Load Line Calibration so that Core i7-7700K consistently earned at a frequency of 4.8 GHz, even under load in the form of LINX 0.7 .0

Increasing the frequency of the clock generator of motherboards on the Z270 Express chipset is not always applied in practice. Unfortunately, in the case of the 200-series chipsets and the LGA1151 platform, exclusively processors with an unlocked multiplier are accelerated, and therefore the presence of a free multiplication ratio is quite enough for the chip overclocking at home. Nevertheless, I got a full-worthy result - 300 MHz over the tire.

Immediately, we note that the Z270M-ITX / AC model has a twin - this is the H270M-ITX / AC board. Of course, the use of the H270 Express chipset instead of the Z270 Express imposes its limitations. When choosing a younger model, we lose the possibility of any acceleration of the processor and using high-frequency RAM. The rest of the Z270M-ITX / AC and H270M-ITX / AC are absolutely the same characteristics.

Against the background of the FATAL1TY Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC considered, the Z270M-ITX / AC looks easier. The absence of massive cooling for the power converter is affected, as well as changes in the location of some interfaces. Please note that the processor socket is located somewhat higher and, therefore, further from the PCI Express X16 (by the way, the manufacturer decided to do without so popular reinforcement). The shift was possible due to the lack of batteries at the top of the board and allowed the M.2 connector and the "landing band" for the storage devices 2230, 2242, 2260 and 2280. When using SSD in SATA mode, the SATA3_0 port will turn off.

On the board there are only two connector with four contacts for connecting fans - this is usually for budget systems. They are located at the top, and, like in the case of the FATAL1TY Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC, the ability to adjust the fans without latitude-pulse modulation. CHA_FAN1 / W_PUMP marking connector, as seen from the name, intended to connect the liquid cooling pump to it. According to the manufacturer, it gives the current by force to 1.5 A.

Pads for connecting housing USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 are divorced in the right part of the board, next to SATA connectors. Among the internal ports, TPM and HD Audio connectors are additionally present.

On the back of the motherboard, nothing is planned, the presence of highlighted elements is not provided.

The Z270M-ITX / AC design does not use the SATA Express 10 Gb / s connector, but there are six SATA ports 6 Gb / s. In my opinion, they are more successfully located than the Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC.

The presence of two RJ-45 at once hints - the board is intended for assembly including the network storage. Gigabit ports are implemented using Intel I219V and Intel I211V controllers. Also on the I / O panel, eight USB-type USB ports are divorced (two USB 2.0 and six USB 3.0), but not a single USB 3.1 standard connector.

Z270M-ITX / AC is the only fee in the test, which uses the Realtek ALC892 sound chip. In all the remaining devices discussed in the article, a more modern model REALTEK ALC1220 was applied. In addition, the audio system is deprived of the operational amplifier, but there are four "audio philistic" condenser produced by Nichicon. All together elements are separated from the remaining components of the board of the non-conductive current of the textolite.

The Z270M-ITX / AC power converter has six phases. Each channel accounts for one throtsel and TI 87350D transistor. As a result, four phases are intended for a central processor, and two - for embedded graphics. The power subsystem is controlled by a 6-channel ISL95824 PWM controller from Intersil.

The processor socket is maximally distinguished from the PCI Express X16 connector, so the coolers with 120- and even 140-milimmeter fans will not interfere with the installation of the discrete video card.

Field transistors are cooled with a tiny aluminum radiator. The presence of such a frankly inefficient element adversely affects the work of the board. So, under load, some components of the chain are warmed up to 111 degrees Celsius.

Overheating VRM zone affects the operation of the central processor. First, the Core i7-7700K frequency is reset from 4400 to 4000 MHz. After a couple of minutes, there are noticeable drawdors - up to 800 MHz, associated with the fact that the frequency of the clock generator is briefly reduced from the standard 100 MHz to 24 MHz. However, it is necessary to install an additional cooling fan in front of the power converter, an additional cooling fan, as the processor begins to keep the nominal value for Core i7-7700K 4400 MHz. We once again convinced the need for a high-quality blowing of the VRM zone. Moreover, the Mini-ITX boards are installed mainly in compact "shielding".

Asrock_z270m-itx_uefi.

The ASRock UEFI firmware in the Z270M-ITX / AC does not differ conceptually from that bIOS versionused in Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC. As it should be, the difference is enclosed in detail.

	Min. / Max. Value, B.	Step, B.
CPU Core Voltage.	0,9/1,52	0,005
Dram Voltage.	1,2/1,55	0,005
CPU Graphics Voltage.	0,9/1,51	0,005
PCH Core Voltage.	1,05/1,2	0,05
Internal Pll Voltage.	0,9/1,2	0,015
Vccst voltage.	1,02/1,2	0,04
CPU Load-Line Calibration (Levels)	4	—

It mainly concerns the voltages that are allowed to change the user. The set of parameters is perhaps the most meager - according to this indicator Z270M-ITX / AC is inferior to all other motherboards who participated in the test. The device, for example, is not possible to adjust the voltages of VCCIO and System Agent - the absence of these parameters, in particular, may affect the acceleration of Mattakes on the bus. Or not "heads" fast RAM. However, the set of G.skill Tridentz F4-3200C14D-32GTZ has earned with the use of an XMP profile without any problems. And also at the Z270M-ITX / AC in comparison with Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC there are fewer levels of Load Line Calibration.

However, the amounts of stresses indicated in the table above are quite enough to overclock the central processor. CPU voltage is adjustable in two modes: Fixed and Offset. In the second case, the user can change the potential difference relative to the nominal indicator in the range from -100 to +500 mV in 5 mV increments.

Due to the fact that the power converter under load overheats, it would not be superfluous to have several temperature sensors at once. But the Z270M-ITX / AC controls only the temperature of the central processor and the motherboard.

The Z270M-ITX / AC has four automatic overclocking modes: from 4.6 to 4.9 GHz (with 100 MHz increments) when the frequency is reduced to 4.2 GHz under the load in programs using AVX instructions. In the case of a test central processor, no one of them did not work properly - under the load, the chip frequency was constantly decreased to 4 GHz.

To dispersed manually Core i7-7700K using Z270M-ITX / AC also turned out to be not easy. Many attempts to raise the supply voltage of the processor led to the fact that the frequency of the quail in Linx 0.7.0 fell below the standard 4.4 GHz. The best result I managed to achieve is 4.4 GHz for AVX applications and 4.6 GHz for other programs. To achieve such a frankly weak result, it was necessary to set the value of 1.3 V in the CPU Core Voltage parameter and the second level of Load Line Calibration. It turns out that overclocking in the case of Z270M-ITX / AC is, but it is very conditional.

As I have already noted, the inability to adjust such voltages as VCCIO and System Agent has led to the fact that the frequency of BCLK the motherboard accelerates only to 280 MHz. However, this is not the worst result among tested motherboards.

ASRock A-Tuning

Overclocking functions for FATAL1TY Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC and Z270M-ITX / AC are available in A-Tuning brand application. The program in a visual form displays the basic parameters of the system, including frequencies, voltages, fan and temperature speed, and monitors the update of the drivers.

At the time of writing an article for ASUS, only one MINI-ITX Motherboard on the Z270 Express chipseet was listed. But what!

In case of a similar splitting of the main components (processor socket, DIMM, PCI Express), the naked eye is noticeable that several original developments are applied to ROG STRIX Z270I Gaming. In the lower right corner there is an internal port of USB 3.0, and in the upper left - USB 3.1. The ASMEDIA ASM2142 controller is responsible for its implementation. In addition to the pad to connect the case control buttons, 13-pin TPM, HD Audio and T_Sensor are present among integrated interfaces to connect an external thermocouple.

Please note that there are no USB 2.0 among the internal connectors. The manufacturer considered that in the case of the ROG device there is no need for them. A strange solution, since this internal port is required not only to connect enclosure interfaces, but also, for example, to control the elements of the maintenance-free water cooling system. Here in Corsair Hydro Series H110i GT via the Corsair Link connector, connecting to the motherboard on the internal USB 2.0, monitored, the mode of operation of the pump (quiet or productive) changes and the fan rotation frequency is set. There is nothing critical in the absence of this connector, but it deprives the user with the opportunity to use the entire set of functions provided for by the creators of the device.

The entire right side of the board is equipped with LED backlight. There is a four-pin connector for connecting RGB-tape. The type of glow and color are configured in the Aura Appendix.

The four-contact connections for fans (three pieces) are scattered at different parts of the motherboard. This is a more successful and flexible arrangement that is suitable for both Slim Desktop enclosures and mini-tower. ROG STRIX Z270I Gaming deftly controls the frequency of rotation of the fans both with PWM and without it. As a quit - the AIO_PUMP connector is not very good. It is literally squeezed between the wireless module and the cooling radiator. As a result, it's not so easy to get to him. The port itself, as can be seen from the title, is suitable not only for connecting fans, but also for pumps.

PCI Express X16 connector received an additional metal frame called SafeSlot. According to ASUS, it increases the strength of the port by 1.8 times with a load on the break and 1.6 times when pulling out. Q-LEDs color indicators are located in the upper right corner. They successfully replace the POST signal indicator and are very clearly demonstrated on which element system loaded loading: on the processor, memory or graphics adapter.

One of the main "chips" ROG STRIX Z270I Gaming is the presence of two M.2 connectors at once, to which four PCI Express 3.0 lines are connected. They are located on both sides of the printed circuit board. One port works including in SATA mode, both allow you to use Form factors 2242, 2260 and 2280. For sets SSD. 43 mm long will need to use the adapter that comes in the kit.

I have already noted that some flagship SSDs are noticeably warm under the load, and the trottling of the controller. In ASUS, this problem was solved as follows: the radiator, cooling chipset, got a compartment for installing a solid-state drive. The user simply sets the SSD in the M.2 slot and covers it with a lid, which comes into contact with the elements of the drive using thermal staples. The manufacturer declares that this cooling is capable of reduced the temperature of the drive by up to 20 degrees Celsius. In addition to M.2-ports, the board provides four SATA 6 Gb / s connectors.

I already mentioned that ROG STRIX Z270I Gaming received an internal USB 3.1 connector, which is useful when connecting the corresponding ports on the front panel of the computer case. While such models are not too common, and compact - so more. But at the I / O-panel USB 3.1 is not provided. In stock Only four USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 (one of the connectors 3.0 - C-type).

Wi-Fi Wireless Module! (QCLCOMM ATHEROS QCNFA364A) installed in the M.2 connector with the "E key" supports 802.11a / B / G / N / AC standards and Bluetooth 4.1 and provides a connection with a bandwidth up to 867 Mbps.

The SUPREME FX sound subsystem is based on the Realtek Alc1220A chip. The manufacturer claims that he gets "exclusive versions" of this audio processor, therefore the second letter "A" is present in the title. Compared to the "standard" REALTEK ALC1220, the "Signal - noise" ratio is higher - 113 against 108 dB. Traditionally, high-quality Nichicon capacitors and RC4580 and OPA1688 operational amplifiers from Texas Instruments are included in the audio content. Audiochip itself is shielded, and all elements sound system Separated from the remaining components of the table of a strip of a textolite, which does not conduct a current.

And the Rog Strix Z270i Gaming differs from other Matthews, which I studied, the fact that the subsystem of the power supply is equipped with two aluminum radiators. The cooling system was high. It can be seen that the manufacturer tried to "clear" as much space around the processor nest as possible, but it is possible to provide a decent cooling converter. I state that the ASUS engineers managed to do both. During the test, I installed the following coolers: Noctua NH D15, Thermalrigh Archon SB-E X2 and Deepcool Assassin II - all three models were quietly fitted in the allotted for with place.

The converter has eight phases, and the voltage regulator is the Digi + ASP1400BT controller. Each channel includes field transistors NTMFD4C86N on Semiconductor.

Under the load with the hottest elements ROG STRIX Z270I Gaming turned out to be inductance coils. 89 degrees Celsius - this is a completely working parameter. Using the cooling air system, additionally blowing space near the processor, the temperature will be even lower.

The most important thing is that the system behaved absolutely stable throughout the tests. I did not notice a drop in the frequency of the processor, nor turning off Turbo Boost, neither more so tripttling. When installing the BIOS standard settings, the processor operates at a higher frequency of 4.5 GHz. The default system sets the SYNC All Cores parameter - it increases the frequency of 100 MHz. Manually set this parameter to AUTO mode, and Core i7-7700K functions in multi-threaded applications on a standard 4.4 GHz. I observe such specifics to the work of the ASUS Matthew on the chipsets of the 200th series is not the first time.

Asus_uefi_BIOS_UTILITY.

ASUS UEFI BIOS UTILITY, Used in the Strix series Matplattes. Firmware ROG STRIX Z270I Gaming has all necessary settings To overclock the central processor and memory. Asus does not "cut" under the root. Those or other options even in budget decisionsAlthough there is some subordination between some fees. For example, the Maximus series devices, in which the prepared processor and memory acceleration modes are located.

The board numbers two sensors, but you can control the temperature of the processor, motherboard and PCH. Plus, as we have already found out, it is possible to connect the thermocouple to the T_Sensor connector.

	Min. / Max. Value, B.	Step, B.
CPU Core Voltage.	0,9/1,52	0,005
Dram Voltage.	1,2/1,55	0,05
CPU Graphics Voltage.	0,9/1,51	0,005
PCH Core Voltage.	1,05/1,2	0,05
Internal Pll Voltage.	0,9/1,2	0,015
Vccst voltage.	1,02/1,2	0,04
CPU Load-Line Calibration (Levels)	4	—

The user is available multiple CPU CORE / CACHE voltage control modes:

• Manual, in which values \u200b\u200bare applied explicitly;
• Offset when the voltage is added to the nominal value;
• Adaptive, combination combining the capabilities of the two previous methods.

In the second case, we can add voltage in the range of 0.005-0,635 V in increments of 0.005 V.

Like many other Asus boards, the ROG STRIX Z270I Gaming model received smart automatic acceleration technology EZ TUNING WIZARD. When you press the F11 key on the Wizard keyboard, first prominently in the user, for what purposes the computer is used, and then prompted several options depending on the type of cooler installed in the system unit: 12% processor acceleration and 9% memory acceleration cooling option; 15% - and 11% for the tower cooler; 17% - and 14% for its. If you do not know which cooling system is used in your PC, the EZ TUNING WIZARD will simply turn off the CPU by 12%.

For a stand with the "Water" NZXT KRAKEN X61, I chose the corresponding OC mode. Core i7-7700K processor was overclocked without use of AVX Instruction Core Ratio Negative Offset up to 4.95 GHz, and memory is up to 3000 MHz. EZ TUNING WIZARD settings led to overheating chip and subsequent trottling. Oversal hands turned out to be much more productive.

I managed to install 4.8 GHz without any special problems and additional cooling, on which Core i7-7700K worked stably in all programs. It was necessary to increase the CPU CORE / CACHE parameter to 1.33 V and activate the fourth level of Load Line Calibration.

As for the overclocking of the tire, the board without any problems accelerated to 295 MHz.

Asus_ai_suite_3

Enlarge functionality ROG STRIX Z270I Gaming allows a whole complex software. For overclocking, monitoring frequencies, temperatures and settings of the system components in Windows, the AI \u200b\u200bSuite Utility 3. The Sonic Radar III application sets up sound subsystem SUPREME FX. The backlight is adjusted in the AURA program, and the GameFirst IV utility, as seen from the name, optimizes Internet traffic and puts priorities for running games and applications.

We consider the fourth motherboard and see the fourth variant of the elements of the device within, in general, a very conservative form factor.

In the case of GA-Z270N-Gaming 5, the Intel Wireless-AC 8265NGW wireless module is set to the M.2 horizontal connector, unlike the ASRock and ASUS boards, in which the vertical port is used for this.

Otherwise, the component layout at GA-Z270N-Gaming 5 in many ways is similar to the one that is used in the previously considered Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC. For example, all three connector for connecting fans are placed at the top of the printed circuit board. All three are four-contact, the fee can control the turnover of imperts as with pulse modulation, and without it. The fans are maintained up to 24 W.

Internal interfaces USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 are disappeared in the lower right of PCB. There is also a 4-pin port for connecting RGB-tape. Among the internal connectors on the printed circuit board, it is worth noting HD Audio to connect the housing 3.5 mm mini-jacks, an optical S / PDIF output, a connector for connecting the hull opening sensor, a four-pin port for connecting the LED tape and OC Touch Header to this port With the help of a flexible loop, the same board is connected, which will probably climb overclockers.

GA-Z270N-Gaming 5 received four highlighted zones at once: the first is the bottom of the board and the PCI Express X16 slot; The second is chipset; The third is a power converter; The fourth is a band of textolite, framing the elements of the sound subsystem. The type of glow and color are configured in the RGB Fusion application.

PCI Express X16 port is additionally reinforced. The manufacturer claims that the presence of the so-called AORUS PCIE SHIELD enhances the connector by 1.7 times with the load on the break and 3.2 times when pulling out. The video card installation jack is additionally equipped with a double fixation system that again increases its reliability.

As a result, the only M.2 engineers Gigabyte were located on the back of the motherboard. Exceptionally supported Formats 2260 and 2280 are supported.

The board has only four SATA 6 GB / C pads, however, when SSD is connected in SATA mode, the SATA3_0 port will turn off into the M.2 connector.

GA-Z270N-Gaming 5 is devoid of USB 2.0 ports on the I / O-panel, but there are two USB 3.1 and C-types connections at once. They appeared on the board through the use of the Asmedia ASM2142 chip.

The audio path includes the Realtek Alc1220 chip and the headphone operational amplifier.

The power converter consists of eight phases. On each channel accounts for one inductance coil and the IOR 3553 field transistor. Controls 8-channel PWM-controller IOR 35201. It turns out that six phases are designed for the computing part of the processor, and two more - for embedded graphics.

Radiator, cooling VRM zone, small. There will be no problems with the installation of large tower coolers.

Cooling the supply subsystem is in the same way as in Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC, - radiators for MOSFET and chipset are connected by copper heat pipes. Well, cooling is very effectively coping with its task. The height of the radiators is small, so almost any processor cooler will fit.

And again in the default mode, the motherboard only accelerates a bit cPU. Apparently, this is a branded feature of expensive devices on the Z270 Express chipset. Again, under load, all four Core i7-7700K cores operate at 4.5 GHz.

Gigabyte_bios.

Recently, the laboratory tested the motherboard. The devices use a similar firmware.

	Min. / Max. Value, B.	Step, B.
CPU Core Voltage.	0,5/1,8	0,005
Dram Voltage.	1,0/2,0	0,01
CPU Vccio Voltage.	0,8/1,4	0,005
CPU System Agent Voltage	0,8/1,3	0,005
CPU VCC IOSA.	1,4/1,8	0,01
CPU Graphics Voltage.	0,5/1,8	0,005
Core Pll Voltage.	—	0,015
Vccpll.	1,4/1,8	0,01
VCCPLL OC.	0,81/3,01	0,02
Vccvtt	0,8/2	0.01
VCC Substained	0,8/1,5	0,01
Vccdmi_peg.	0,8/2	0,01
PCH CORE.	0,8/1,3	0,02
Dram Trainig Voltage.	1,0/2,0	0,01
DDRVPP Voltage.	1,98/3,02	0,04
Dram Termination.	0,75/1,666	0,008
CPU Load-Line Calibration (Levels)	7	—

The voltage of the central processor varies in two ways. In Dynamic Vcore mode, we can adjust the voltage in the range from -0.3 to +0.4 V in increments of 0.005 V. In Auto mode, the voltage is specified explicitly. For a more flexible voltage adjustment CPU, seven modes Load Line Calibration: Normal, Standard, Low, Medium, High, Turbo and Extreme.

The board monitors the temperature in four sensors: CPU, PCH, System 1 (located next to the internal USB 2.0 connector) and VRM.

The CPU Upgrade AutoSgon feature has several templates for Core i5-6600K processors, Core i7-6700K, Core i5-7600K and Core i7-7700K. For the eight-step kaby lake there is an overclocking mode to 5 GHz, but in the case of our CPU, the system simply rebooted with any attempt to load the chip. The second preset exhibits 4.8 GHz for all four cores without reducing frequency in applications using AVX instructions. With it, the system has stably kept 4.8 GHz, but after a few minutes the overheating came, and the processor frequency decreased to 4.5 GHz.

To get a stable 4.8 GHz, even in LINX 0.7.0, it took just something without turning off the CPU Upgrade functions, to reduce the voltage to 0.05 V in offset mode, and the Load Line Calibration parameter is set to Medium.

The BCLK frequency fee accelerated to the standard 300 MHz characteristic of our Core i7 sample.

Immediately, we note that the tested model GA-Z270N-WiFi has a twin brother - GA-H270N-WiFi. Naturally, the use of the H270 Express chipset slightly changes the functionality of the device - we lose the opportunity to overclock the central processor and use high-frequency RAM.

The wireless module in Ga-Z270N-WiFi is installed in the vertical slot M.2. As in the GA-Z270N-Gaming 5, the Intel Wireless-AC 8265NGW extension board is used, and this is Wi-Fi according to IEEE 802.11a / B / B / G / N / AC standard with maximum bandwidth up to 867 Mbps and Bluetooth 4.2.

GA-Z270N-WiFi and GA-Z270N-Gaming 5 have many common features. Let the four-pin connectors that fans are connected to, only two, but the board can control the frequency of rotation of any models, since the modes of operation of the PWM and DC are provided. The white connector connects the impeller of the processor cooler, and to the black - any cabinet "Carlson". Another technological similarity is the PCI Express X16 port received a PCIe Shield's protective cover.

But otherwise planned internal connectors USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. In addition, GA-Z270N-WiFi has no contacts for connecting RGB-tape, among the modding elements there is only the backlight of the sound subsystem. Another internal port is HD Audio.

On the reverse side of the board is the slot M.2, the mounting holes provide for the installation of drives with a length of 60 and 80 mm. When using the connector in sATA mode Turns off the port with the marking SATA3_0.

In total, Ga-Z270N-WiFi is planned six SATA 6 Gbps ports - more than the previously considered GA-Z270N-Gaming 5.

USB 3.0 Type-C connector combined with DISPLAYPORT 1.2 video output. And there are two HDMI and DVI-D, switching between which is performed using the ASMEDIA ASM1442K pair of controllers. Network gigabit ports are implemented by the forces of Intel chips I219V and I211V, respectively.

In the design GA-Z270N-WiFi, similar components are used in the sound subsystem. This is a Realtek Alc1220 chip, CHEMICON audible capacitors and headphone operational amplifier.

Power supply to the central processor is made through the four-pin ATX_12V port, that is, we can transfer to it a maximum of 192 W electricity. In some cases, the dispersed Core i7-7700K is very capable of reaching this mark, so it is necessary to overclock the processor carefully, in order not to burn the connector. On the other hand, the presence of 4-pin ATX_12V seems to hint that GA-Z270N-WiFi was not created for epic overclocker accomplishments.

The converter has five phases, each channel accounts for two field transistors and one choke. NTMFS4C06N and NTMFS4C10N manufactured by ON SEMICONDUCTOR and PWM Controller Intersil ISL95858 are used.

The absence of radiators around the processor jack allows you to install almost any cooling system on the fee.

At the same time, the absence of any cooling leads to the expected sad consequences: MOSFET and coils under load are heated to 126 degrees Celsius - this is a very high figure, and it is good that high-quality components are applied as part of GA-Z270N-WiFi.

On the example from Linx 0.7.0, we see that in the resource-intensive tasks, the VRM zone overheating leads to a constant dropping of the Core i7-7700K frequency, but the additional blowing of the power converter partially solves this problem. In the screenshot above, small failures are noticeable even after installing the fan opposite the VRM chain.

Gigabyte_GA-Z270N-WiFi_BIOS

GA-Z270N-WiFi uses a similar BIOS firmware. At least, the number of functions coincides with what we have seen in Gigabyte GA-Z270N-Gaming 5 and GA-Z270-Gaming K3 motherboards.

	Min. / Max. Value, B.	Step, B.
CPU Core Voltage.	0,6/1,8	0,005
Dram Voltage.	1,0/2,0	0,01
CPU Vccio Voltage.	0,8/1,4	0,005
CPU System Agent Voltage	0,8/1,3	0,005
CPU Graphics Voltage.	0,6/1,5	0,005
Core Pll Voltage.	—	0,015
VCC Substained	0,8/1,5	0,01
PCH CORE.	0,8/1,3	0,02
Dram Trainig Voltage.	1,0/2,0	0,01
DDRVPP Voltage.	1,98/3,02	0,04
Dram Termination.	0,746/1,658	0,008
CPU Load-Line Calibration (Levels)	3	—

There are differences in the number of voltage available to the user and in ranges that change them. For example, GA-Z270N-WiFi has only three levels of Load Line Calibration, and GA-Z270N-Gaming 5 is seven. In any case, this is enough to overclock the central processor and memory at home. The voltage of the central processor in the Dynamic Vcore mode is shifted relative to the nominal value in the range from -0.3 to +0.4 V in increments of 0.005 V.

For GA-Z270N-WiFi and GA-Z270N-Gaming 5 there are two automatic acceleration features. The first option was named EZ OC. When installing the Performance mode, our Core i7-7700k for some reason began to work under the load at 4.3 GHz, that is, below the TURBO Boost's regular indicator when loading all four cores. The second function - CPU UPGRADE - offers to set 4.8 GHz, but in fact in Linx 0.7.0 the processor frequency is immediately reset to 3.8 GHz. We once again make sure that the options of the authorum used in various motherboards are far from always working correctly. Personally, I do not consider it a minus, because overclocking is to some degree creativity. Open the processor manually, competently selecting the parameters - that's what's most interesting!

True, a five-phase nutrition subsystem, high heating VRM and lack of cooling for the hottest elements at GA-Z270N-WiFi imposed its mark. After a long selection of parameters, I managed to achieve a stable 4.5 GHz in LINX 0.7.0 and in applications that use AVX instructions, as well as 4.8 GHz in other programs and games. I had to set the CPU Vcore voltage in the amount of 1.295 V and use the Standard level for the Load Line Calibration function.

The GA-Z270N-WiFi tire acted as well as GA-Z270N-Gaming 5.

Gigabyte_EasyTune.

Together with gigabyte payments A comprehensive App Center program comes, which includes a large number of all kinds of utilities. For example, using the SMART FAN 5 application, the operation of the fans connected to the board are configured. And at the expense of the EasyTune program, the processor and memory is accelerated. Total App Center has over 20 applications.

Z270I Gaming Pro Carbon AC is the only MSI motherboard mINI-ITX Form FormBuilt on the Z270 Express chipset.

Power chain elements are displaced at the top of the board. Because of this, all four-pin connectors for connecting fans (just three pieces) "moved" to the left edge, closer to the I / O-panel. The ports automatically determine the operation mode of the systems connected to them - DC or PWM, which allows you to adjust the frequency of rotation of the fans as with PWM and without it.

DIMM sockets, as well as a connector for connecting the PCI Express X16 video card reinforced. As the manufacturer declares, the MSI PCI Express Steel Armor port received more soldering points on PCB, which avoids damage to the board when installing massive video cards. Protected connectors for installing RAM protects the motherboard both from mechanical damage and from current overloads thanks to additional grounding points. Electrical circuit The memory is completely isolated by a strip of non-conductive textolite, which, according to MSI, guarantees excellent stability and performance of RAM.

The fee received several indicators that help when diagnosing the system. For example, when activating the XMP mode, the corresponding LED lights up for RAM. And there is also an EZ Debug LED unit, showing, at what stage of the download is the computer.

Once they spoke about the LEDs, then I will note the presence of backlight throughout the right side of the motherboard. Configuring this modding element is performed using the MSI Gaming App program. 4.8 million colors are provided, as well as 17 visual effects. The board contains a four-pin connector for connecting RGB-tape, and the Z270I Gaming Pro Carbon AC includes an 800-mm splitter extension cord for connecting two more LED tapes.

Among the internal connectors there are USB 3.0 and USB 2.0, as well as an audioort for the front panel of the case, the connector for the TPM module and the connector for connecting the housing opening sensor. In general, the distribution of components at the Z270i Gaming Pro Carbon AC is successfully completed.

The only port M.2 is located on the back of the printed circuit board. The storage devices of Formats 2242, 2260 and 2280 are supported.

Pads for connecting hard drives and SSDs with SATA connectors are closer to the right side of the printed circuit board. For example, we see that all manufacturers use this PCB specifically.

USB 3.1 Type A and USB 3.1 Type C ports are implemented using the ASMEDIA ASM2142 controller. Additionally, I / O-panels have full-format video outputs HDMI and DisplayPort. The 3.5-mm mini-jackie and optical yield got a gold spraying. Under the SMA connectors there is a BIOS Reset Key.

Audio Boost 4 sound subsystem is based on Realtek Alc1220 chip. It consists of high-quality CEMI-CON capacitors and an amplifier that allows you to connect headphones with resistance up to 600 ohms. The tract is isolated from other elements of the motherboard, and each channel is divorced on a separate packet layer.

In comparison with the rest of the boards, discussed earlier, the MSI Z270I Gaming Pro Carbon AC connector for powering the processor is planted to the right of the VRM zone. However, there is nothing critical in such a wiring of the port - neither in the case of the use of the Slim Desktop form factor housing, nor in the case of using the MINI TOWER case.

The board freely accommodates any processor coolers both from 120- and with 140 mm fans.

The power converter has five phases. Each channel accounts for one throttle and field transistor. Unfortunately, the marking of the MOSFET used in the device was missed. Three phases are responsible for the operation of the CPU computing unit, and the remaining two are for the built-in processor schedule. Manages the VRM system six-phase controller Intersil ISL95855.

The image of the thermal imager clearly demonstrates that the power converter Z270I Gaming Pro Carbon AC is not very hot - today the temperature of the throtters under 76 degrees Celsius does not scare anyone.

On the one hand, it seems that small aluminum radiator Enough for cooling the power subsystem Z270I Gaming Pro Carbon AC. On the other hand, we see the following picture: Under the LINX load, the Core i7-7700K frequency is constantly reduced to 4.2 GHz - and the additional cooling of the converter in the form of aimed at chokes and the fan transistors does not correct the situation. Obviously, the current limit is triggered.

Msi_click_bios_5

Click BIOS 5 used in all maternal mSI boards For Skylake and Kaby Lake processors, studied in detail. I draw your attention that the firmware for the Z270I Gaming Pro Carbon AC is functional than that that is used in the newly studied. Yes, for overclocking the processor, there is only one level of Load Line Calibration, and among the sensors following the temperature of the system unit components, only the sensors of the central processor and the System are available. But the CPU Core voltage can be set immediately in five types: Adaptive Mode, Offset Mode, Overdrive Mode, as well as Adaptive + Offset and Overdrive + Offset combinations.

	Min. / Max. Value, B.	Step, B.
CPU Core Voltage.	0,6/1,52	0,005
Dram Voltage.	0,6/2,2	0,01
CPU Vccio Voltage.	0,6/2	0,01
CPU System Agent Voltage	0,6/2	0,01
CPU Graphics Voltage.	0,6/1,55	0,005
PCH Core Voltage.	0,6/2	0,01
Core Pll Voltage.	0,6/2	0,01
Internal Pll Voltage.	0,9/1,5	0,015
CPU Load-Line Calibration (Levels)	1	—

In Offset mode, the processor power supply voltage is adjusted relatively nominal value in the range from -0.99 to +0.99 V in increments of 0.01 V.

The automatic overclocking function of the Game Boost for the firmware number 1.40 has only one mode for Core i7-7700K: 4.2 GHz for applications using a vector command set, and 4.6 GHz for other programs. However, under load, the processor frequency was constantly decreasing to 3.7 GHz.

As a result, I did not manage to force the central processor to work at a frequency above 4.3 GHz in LINX 0.7.0. Various voltage settings and power limit have not caused due results, although in games and benchmarks, the test Core i7-7700k has steadily worked at a higher frequency. In the stress test AIDA64 (assembly 5.90.4200) the frequency of the chip was kept at a mark of 4.5 GHz throughout the entire time without sidelines, departures and hangs. In the case of the Z270i Gaming Pro Carbon AC, we are dealing with a hardware restriction that does not allow the motherboard to be seriously overloaded.

And the clocking frequency of the clock generator is blocked at the Z270i Gaming Pro Carbon AC. The maximum rate for the board is 270 MHz, and it is simply impossible to set more in Click BIOS 5.

Test stand, technique and software

As I said, on the basis of MINI-ITX Motherboard Maternally, it is quite realistic to collect a very productive gaming configuration. If the test devices can be cope with Core i7-7700K, then with the younger overclocker chips, the problems will not be completely experienced.

Test Stand Configuration
CPU	Intel Core i7-7700K, 4.2 (4.5) GHz
motherboards	ASRock Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC (BIOS 2.10); ASRock Z270M-ITX / AC (BIOS 1.60); ASUS ROG STRIX Z270I GAMING (BIOS 0704); Gigabyte GA-Z270N-WiFi (BIOS F3); MSI Z270I GAMING PRO CARBON AC (1.4)
RAM	G.SKILL TRIDENTZ F4-3200C14D-32GTZ, DDR4-3200 (14-14-14-34), 2 × 16 GB
Storage device	Samsung 850 Pro.
Video card	NVIDIA GeForce GTX. 1080 Ti, 11 GB GDDR5X
Power Supply	Corsair HX850i, 850 W
Processor cooler	NOCTUA NH-D15
	NZXT KRAKEN X61.
Housing	Open test stand
Monitor	Acer S277HK, 27 ", Ultra HD
Operating system	Windows 10 Pro x64 14393
For video cards
NVIDIA	GeForce Game Ready Driver 381.65
Additional by
Removing drivers	DISPLAY DRIVER UNINSTALLER 17.0.6.1
FPS measurement	FRAPS 3.5.99
	Frafs Bench Viewer.
	Action! 2.3.0
Acceleration and monitoring	GPU-Z 1.19.0
	MSI Afterburner 4.3.0
Optional equipment
Thermal imager	Fluke Ti400.
Noiseomer	Mastech MS6708.
Wattmeter	watts Up? Pro.

A set of applications, games and benchmarks looks like this:

• 3DMark Professional Edition 2.2.3509. TIME SPY test, DirectX 12. The total score is indicated.
• "Witcher-3: Wild Hunting." Permission of Full HD, maximum quality, HBAO +, AA, NVIDIA HairWorks incl.
• GTA V. Permission of Full HD, DirectX 11, maximum quality, FXAA + 4 × MSAA, 16 × AF.
• Battlefield 1. Permission of Full HD, DirectX 12, Quality Quality Mode, TAA.
• Blender 2.76. Determining the speed of the final rendering in one of the popular free packages to create three-dimensional graphics. The duration of building a final model from Blender Cycles Benchmark Rev4 is measured.
• x265 HD BENCHMARK. Testing the video transaction speed into a promising H.265 / HEVC format.
• Cinebench R15. Measurement of the speed of photorealistic three-dimensional rendering in the Cinema 4D animation package.

The speed of test systems was measured in two modes: nominal and after manual acceleration. In the first case, I collected the booth, updated the BIOS firmware to the current version, installed regular settings and made all the tests. In the second case, the maximum stable frequency of Core i7-7700K was selected, achieving in the LINX 0.7.0 program. The maximum stable frequency for our processor in the bundle is considered to be 4800 MHz. Next - overheating and trottling. Since not all boards, the power converter provides stable work core i7-7700K even in nominal mode, then the VRM zone was additionally cooled with a cabinet 140 mm fan.

⇡ clock frequencies and power consumption

The process of overclocking Core i7-7700K on each of the six cards is described in detail in previous parts of the article, and the results are shown in the summary table below. Since in some cases I used the AVX Ratio Offset function, then depending on the application, the chip worked at different frequency. LINX 0.7.0 - this is perhaps the most serious load tool for modern intel processors.

Processor - Intel Core i7-7700K, RAM - G.SKILL TRIDENTZ F4-3200C14D-32GTZ
Processor clock frequency, nominal mode, MHz	LINX 0.7.0.	4544	4400	4500	4500	4400	4300
		4544	4400	4500	4500	4400	4400
	Other applications	4544	4400	4500	4500	4400	4400
RAM operational memory, nominal mode		DDR4-2133	DDR4-2133	DDR4-2133	DDR4-2133	DDR4-2133	DDR4-2133
Processor clock frequency, acceleration, MHz	LINX 0.7.0.	4800	4400	4800	4800	4500	4300
	Applications using AVX instructions	4800	4400	4800	4800	4500	4500
	Other applications	4800	4600	4800	4800	4800	4800
RAM mode, acceleration		DDR4-3200.	DDR4-3200.	DDR4-3200.	DDR4-3200.	DDR4-3200.	DDR4-3200.

It is best to accelerate the CPU. ASUS ROG STRIX Z270I GAMING, ASROCK FATAL1TY Z270 GAMING-ITX / AC and GIGABYTE GA-Z270N-Gaming 5. These boards worked stably and kept the manually set frequency of 4.8 GHz even in LINX 0.7.0. But we see that there are motherboards that are not suitable for overclocking the processor, is ASRock Z270M-ITX / AC and GIGABYTE GA-Z270N-WIFI.

Another potential problem Matthew on Z170 / Z270 Express chipsets is an unstable work with high-frequency memory. To check, we used the DDR4-3200 modules (the built-in XMP profile loaded). It's nice that all six devices calmly earned with this set of RAM.

As is known, several factors affect the level of electricity consumption. For detailed description Each motherboard has already noted that even in normal mode under load in the LINX 0.7.0 program, the established Core i7-7700K installed at different frequencies. With different efficiency, the power converters are functioning. All this affects the overall level of power consumption of the system unit.

It is not at all surprising that the motherboards that the processor showed themselves when the processor is accelerated, as a result, turned out to be the most "voracious" - this is ASUS ROG STRIX Z270I GAMING, ASRock Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC and Gigabyte GA-Z270N-Gaming 5. Among this Trinity The energy efficient was "Fataliti", but the difference is only a few watts.

⇡ Speed \u200b\u200bin applications

These same boards - ASUS ROG STRIX Z270I GAMING, ASROCK FATAL1TY Z270 GAMING-ITX / AC and GIGABYTE GA-Z270N-Gaming 5 - in normal mode, slightly accelerate the central processor. The ASUS and Gigabyte chip operates at 4.5 GHz with a load on all four kernels. The ASRock Core i7-7700K functions at 4.54 GHz.

That is why Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC is leading in Cinebench R15 and X265 HD Benchmark. When overclocking up to 4.8 GHz, test configurations demonstrate similar results, and a small difference is easily written off on the measurement error and the fluctuations in the BCLK frequency fluctuations.

When studying results in applications that use AVX instructions, a clear division of boards into two groups is visible. The first category includes ROG STRIX Z270I GAMING, FATAL1TY Z270 GAMING-ITX / AC and GA-Z270N-Gaming 5 - these devices with acceleration are all right. All other motherboards fell into the second group.

⇡ Speed \u200b\u200bin Games and 3DMark

Using the example of the stand with ROG STRIX Z270I Gaming, it can be seen that the acceleration of the processor for 300 MHz and the use of the DDR4-3200 RAM4-3200 set instead of DDR4-2133 gave an increase of 3.2% in the 3DMark Time Spy benchmark.

In real games, the FPS gain turned out to be more significant: 5% in the third "Witcher" and 14.4% in GTA V. Battlefield 1 demonstrates that a processor operating at a regular frequency is quite enough for the GEFORCE GTX 1080 TI level video card even in full FULL resolution HD.

Fortunately, almost all modern computer games do not use AVX instructions. Therefore, for game configurations, a function that allows you to reduce the processor multiplier when the vector set of commands is performed, it turns out very by the way.

I hope this article proved that MINI-ITX form factor motherboards are excellent for assembling a productive gaming system unit. They have everything you need to create a configuration with one powerful video card. Some devices are not inferior to their larger brethren even in such moments as overclocking.

In my opinion, all six system Plastepsdiscussed in this review are quite suitable for the creation of a gaming PC. True, with some reservations. ASROCK Z270M-ITX / AC and GIGABYTE GA-Z270N-WIFI immediately two gigabit network controllers implies their use including in the assemblies of productive network storages. In the gaming systems, they also have a place, but I do not see the point of taking these cards under the acceleration of the processor. The circuits of the power of both devices are designed with an extension sight (and it is displayed at the price of devices), but in normal mode with Kaby Lake and Skylake processors, if there is high-quality cooling, no problems will arise. Moreover, with the usual use of a computer (Gamersky - in games), MatPlames will not experience such a load, which they are subject to testing in the 3DNews laboratory.

ASUS ROG STRIX Z270I GAMING, ASROKK FATAL1TY Z270 GAMING-ITX / AC and GIGABYTE GA-Z270N-Gaming 5 is, if you use sports terminology, another division. The listed devices are all in order with acceleration, and the functionality is at the highest level for mini-ITX-boards. Honestly, I will say: to choose the best motherboard among this trinity it is very hard for me. In addition, the difference in price between them fluctuates at the level of 500 rubles. Therefore, choose the one that more liked you, best suits the concept of your compact PC project and is responsible for one or another level of functionality. ASUS ROG STRIX Z270I Gaming has two ports M.2 at once for connecting NVME drives and the availability of a cooling system for SSD looks quite by the way - in the case of asus board The speed of the disk subsystem is definitely not injured from possible overheating drive However, on the background of competitors, he is possession of the absence of ASUS ROG STRIX Z270I Gaming uSB connectors 3.1 On the I / O panel. Yes, there is an internal port, but so far there are very few buildings on sale with USB 3.1 on the front wall. Gigabyte GA-Z270N-Gaming 5 is just two such ports on the I / O-panels, the ASRock Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC has even Thunderbolt 3. In the rest, the functionality of these solutions is quite comparable.

Motherboards ASRock Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITX / AC, ASUS ROG STRIX Z270I GAMING and GIGABYTE GA-Z270N-Gaming 5 receive the "Editor's Choice" award. These are the best solutions on the market to create a compact, but productive game computer.

Between ASRock Z270M-ITX / AC, GIGABYTE GA-Z270N-WiFi and three boards marked in the previous paragraph, located MSI Z270i Gaming Pro Carbon AC. On the one hand, testing showed that the device has no problems with the overheating of the power subsystem. In addition, according to the functionality of the board, it is not inferior to competitors: it has USB ports 3.1, the possibilities of connecting RGB-tapes, as well as advanced network and audible controllers. On the other hand, in the acceleration of MSI Z270I Gaming Pro Carbon AC showed itself not so bright, although BIOS fees and has all the necessary settings.

Introducing the next couple of years we are increasingly seeing a rather curious phenomenon: to replace the familiar motto "faster, above, stronger", pushing to all great gigahertians and terabytes, the expression "small, yes delete" comes. It is perhaps it is perhaps the easiest way to describe what happened in the computer equipment market. Many were surprised to find that power modern computers It has grown to such a level when it is enough for everyday tasks a very weak system unit. At first it resulted in a very loud and impressive invasion of netbooks to the market mobile devices - People accounted for these compact and lightweight devices, the power of which is quite enough to wander over the network or watch the movie on the trip. Now the table brothers of netbooks, called "Nettops", are becoming increasingly distribution.

In principle, compact desktop systems existed quite a long time, however, for a long time any widely known only as thin clients - network computersoperating under the control of a single server operating system. It was on the server that all operations took place and programs were performed, and the thin client was only a small local device that ensures the connection required external interfaces: as data entry (keyboard, barcode scanner) and output (monitor, printer). Also received some popularity compact computers Apple Macmini were much more versatile and relatively powerful, but also the roads - the manufacturer had to use components intended for laptops. And only the appearance of Intel Atom processors radically changed the situation - they turned out to be quite productive so that they themselves, without the participation of third-party computing capacity, cope with various "household" tasks, while they were very inexpensive and with such a low heat release that made it possible to use them with Passive cooling. At the same time, with other typical components, the situation was as pretty successful: the prices for compact optical drives significantly decreased, 2.5-inch hard drives It was noticeably grown in volumes, increased speeds and reduced the cost of data storage. The manufacturers did not remain aside and the manufacturers of motherboards, activating the release of those in the MINI-ITX form factor. Let me remind you that this format implies the location of all the necessary chips and connectors on a square textolite substrate with a side of only 170 mm.

However, it is not necessary to think that the world of compact system blocks is limited exclusively by low-power platforms: in our previous article dedicated to compact buildings We have shown that on the basis of the Mini-ITX boards of the ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi boards, you can build a small one, but at the same time a fairly powerful game system, using it is not the most powerful, but still a four-core processor for Socket 775 connector. Want something more recently? No question: do you already exist similar boards and for Socket 1156 processors.

However, we this time decided to be more modest and limited to the assembly of compact systems based on Intel Atom - and speaking more specifically, on the Pine Trail platform, represented by the Intel D510MO motherboard. If you are not satisfied with the modest possibilities of built-in graphics in Intel chipsets, but it does not need a more expensive processor, "well, you can always change the platform on NVIDIA ION 2.

So, it's about the buildings that at our disposal today already have five pieces.

Antec ISK300-150

Full-sized enclosures of Antec have repeatedly been in our test laboratory and consistently received very flattering estimates, to take at least the same NSK1380 - a compact "Cube" for MicroAtx format boards. Well, let's see that the company can offer us in such a market segment as the ultra-compact models to which it came out with the new ISK300 series.

Take out the case out of the box, you take in your hands ... And with difficulty you believe that you have a future system unit in your hands. The size of the housing is so small that it can easily calculate it with an external optical drive, not the external drive for a pair of 3.5-inch hard drives. The rest does not represent something particularly impressive - we have a black metal "brick" with a glossy front panel. Compactness and predisposition to passive processor radiators requires appropriate ventilation, which we see on the side panels.

Fans of saving seats will surely appreciate the fact that the case can be installed and vertically - for this, a special stand is attached. Frankly, it seemed to us that in this position the case and looks more winning. Perhaps the ISK300 managed to keep a certain charm inherent in many models Antec - it looks simple, strictly, but at the same time attractive. Perhaps this is a sign of the talent of designers?

The plastic stand, by the way, is not attached to the body - it holds on it solely due to the force of friction and two small protrusions. However, you should not be afraid: the corps will protect special linings on the stand. Despite the fact that even in the collection, the system unit will have a very small weight, it will not drive on the table - there will be a special lining on the stand, at the same time reducing vibration transmission (if those in the MINI-ITX system will arise). Randomly drop the housing standing on the stand is almost impossible - the stand has quite widely separated supports. What is interesting, on the one hand, the support is significantly wider than on the other.

All controls are located on the front panel. Square power on the power supply is easy to notice, but guess that the slightly thin strip in the slit is the button of the reboot - not so simple. Of course, it provides excellent protection against random clicks (if only you have no one who seeks to shy a nail to any gap), but it is impossible to say that it was very comfortable.

It was pleasant to please the set of connectors: besides the usual two USB and pair of audio parts, one port of E-SATA appears to our view. It's funny, but we have nowhere to connect it - the case supports up to three drives, two we are going to install, on our motherboard just two SATA connector - where to connect an external port? However, any problem can be solved, there would be a desire - many mini-ITX fees are not two, but four SATA ports, again, you can always install a low-profile (full-sized to this body simply will not fit the extension fee with two more ports.

The third embodiment of the connectors is the refusal of an optical drive. Fortunately, his tray is located behind the folding lid, which means that the lack of actuator will not affect appearance Cases. It is quite unusual that the lid is made by pressing on it - the drive itself is not able to open it. Obviously, it is done because the button on thin drives is located on the retractable tray itself, and the usual designs with the lever, pressing this button, would be inoperable.

Most of the rear panel occupies a hole under the connectors block - in such a small case, the board connectors occupy more than half the area of \u200b\u200bthe rear panel. One slot for a low-profile extension board, connector for connecting the power, and without signs of the block itself, the switch and a single hole.

This hole, apparently, was originally assumed as a landing place for some buttons. Perhaps it was here that it was planned to first place the reboot button, as in the SilverStone enclosures, but it is only our assumption. But the three-position switch will recognize anyone who came across Antec products - it is such switches that they are used in the Tricool branded fan series to select the rotational speed. Moreover, it seems that the creators of the hull, without being causing a fadavo, took the finished block for two switches from some of the older buildings - otherwise it is impossible to explain what two seats in it are, but only one switch.

Before switching to an internal body of the case, I propose to look at a very elegant embodiment of the extension board, applied in this case - this function performs one simple folding bracket located on the very edge of the case, without any covering frame. Despite the simplicity, with its function he copes quite successfully. It is worth noting that the plug on the slot is removable, which we do not expect from such a simple case.

After the release of the housing from the P-shaped cover, it appears its insides. More precisely, only a small part of them, since the scope interferes with the frameworks intended for installation of drives. Well, we get rid of them by reloading the necessary cogs, and look at a really empty case.

And watch, by and large, and nothing. The chassis of the case consists of a minimum number of elements and does not even have a solid upper frame - the P-shaped lid sits right on the front and rear panels that have small ribs. On the top of above, these panels fastened only the same frame for drives, from which we just got rid of. However, it cannot be said that the construction of the housing is not sufficiently rigid - the use of 0.7 mm steel with small overall sizes provides sufficient torsion resistance. And after putting on the upper cover, made of the same steel, the body assembly and becomes a pleasant and solid "brick" at all.

Unusual, from the point of view of the layout of the standard case, is the location of the power supply - it is immediately behind the front panel, under the optical drive, and the feed wire is reached on the rear panel to it through the entire case. As it usually happens with such small sizes, the power supply in it is used non-standard: in this case, we see a rather curious M-shaped structure, in which the fan is hidden in the protrusion, which only approximately half of the area of \u200b\u200bwhich runs on the cooling of the power supply. It seems that in such a difficult way, Antec decided to do without using very small fans, whose noise characteristics are traditionally far from comfortable. All this Mr. has the name ANTEC FP-150-8, it is capable of providing up to 150 W (as well a small studyThis is more than enough for compact systems with built-in video drives) and has the following set of connectors:
Loops:

power supply of the motherboard with 20 + 4-pin connector, 25 cm long;
cPU power supply with a 4-pin connector, 25 cm long;
the loop with two PATA-hard drive and one-drive power connectors, 25 + 20 + 20 cm long;
pin with two SATA-hard drive power connections and one mini-SATA connector, 25 + 20 + 20 cm long;
pin with two SATA-hard drive power connectors, 25 + 20 cm long.

Well, the range is more than an exhaustive and overlapping with a margin of all possible options. The length of the wires is also quite sufficient, perhaps, some of them could be shorter, yet, the places in the case are not so much. However, running forward, immediately let's say that thanks to the successful design of the case of any problems with the styling of the wires, we did not arise.

A small note: you are two power connector. The left is the standard SATA-hard drive power connector, and the right is the so-called mini-SATA power connector. It is easy to notice that it is noticeably more compact and only the line 5 V. It is such connectors that you will find on all modern thin optical drives, which is not surprising - they are used in laptops, where the place is extremely expensive, and the 12-in line is practically not applicable Outside the motherboard, so reducing the connector is quite meaningful. And in this case, we can only notify with respect that Antec does not forget about this feature when creating a power unit.

In the photo above you probably noticed a special frame that the Tricool fan is installed. The speed of rotation used in this housing of the 80 mm model using the switch is selected from the values \u200b\u200bof 1500, 2000 and 2600 rpm. Usually, the fans of this series can be called very quiet on minimal revs and rather noisy - on the maximum. No exception and our case. What is interesting, on the frame two seats for fans, so you can put the second or rearrange the first. In any case, you will have to remove the frame from the body, and here you will have to suffer a little. The fact is that the frame must be moved to raise from special small brackets, and this interferes with the power supply. So, first it will have to remove it, but it is not so difficult - it is attached to several screws and the same small brackets, but already located across the case.

And to rearrange the fan in our case was very useful - on our board, the processor under the radiator was located farther from the edge than usual, and the fan in the default position would blew past it, which we obviously did not want.

The final assembly stage in this case is to install drives. First put on the big frame optical drive. By the way, for this operation you will need a cross screwdriver with a very subtle stale - for fastening thin drives, very small screws are used. Hard drives are attached to a separate small frame, which, in turn, is installed on a large frame and attached to the front panel over the optical drive. Please note that only hard drives of standard thickness can be installed in this case - three-plastic models with a thickness of 12.5 mm in it simply will not fit.

In general, the housing assembly passes without any problems, and even laying of extra wires does not cause serious difficulties - there is enough free space. In conclusion, it is worth mentioning that if you are going to use in this case board with more powerful processors And, accordingly, individual coolers, then you will be limited to 80 mm heights. Well, if your cooler is wide enough (or the processor connector will be unsuccessfully positioned on the board) to get under the frame for the drives, then its height should not exceed 50 mm.

Delux DLC-MS126

Our review continues Delux Corps. This manufacturer does not boast of broad fame, and yet, perhaps, some will remember the inexpensive housings encountered under this brand.

As with the previous participant, the appearance of this body clearly implies use and in horizontal, and in a vertical position. Moreover, judging by the inscriptions on the front panel, it is the vertical calculated by its creators as the main one. Again, it is in a vertical position that the housing looks a little successful due to the fact that the silver inserts on the front panel look most appropriate. It must be said that despite its modest pedigree, the body looks very pleasant - a person who does not devoid of feelings of taste worked on his appearance (although spoiled by a brilliant, but it seems to be a defense person who has struck by many companies in recent years).

The impressive cover of the 5.25-inch compartment is immediately attracted, accompanied by a characteristic button - it is obvious that this case, unlike many competitors, uses full-size drives.

Nearby is a lonely power button - the creators of the housing are considered to be rebooting to anything. The inclusion button leaves about himself a somewhat unpleasant impression: she has a very big move, it must be dried into the housing about the centimeter, which is somewhat annoying and may be uncomfortable for people with thumbs.

Additional connectors are located on the edge of the front panel, under the sliding lid. Their set is absolutely standard: two USB ports and two audio connections.

The rear panel demonstrates to us that the case is used in the case of the power supply of the familiar rectangular shape, the 40-mm fan of which is immediately alarming: usually they turn out to be very noisy. This is a DELUX DLP-260IP4 block. As it often happens with complete power supplies, it is not worth prolonged by the name - 260 W is a peak power, while the nominal long-term is 200 W. However, this is more than enough for those systems that will be collected in so compact buildings.
Set of plumes at the block such:

power supply of motherboard with 20 + 4-pin connector, 33 cm long;
cPU power cable with 4-pin connector, 33 cm long;
pin with two SATA-hard drive power connector, 24 + 26 cm long;
loop with two PATA-hard drives and one-drive power connections, 33 + 15 + 15 cm long.

Please note that the housing has two caps of the extension boards that are attached, by the way, which protrudes the rear panel with a small strip with a screw. This very clearly tells us that initially the body was created under a little-known DTX format, developed by AMD, and in it on boards 203 x 170 mm can be just up to two slots. For us, with mini-itx fees, it only means that we will have a small margin of free space.

After removing the top of the top panel, our view opens the extremely modest interior of the case. First of all, you pay attention to the case of the chassis of the corps - the steel is 0.6 mm thick, which is characteristic of low-cost tin brilliages. Usually, products from such steel have very mediocre rigidity, but in this case the case is saved by its small dimensions - it was not possible to see any special problems with increased flexibility of the case.

Optical drive, and it is really full of size in this case, installed in special removable sleds, which are attached to the screws to the metal part of the front panel below the removable plastic lining. They are needed and to open access to a hard disk basket, and to free the space for the motherboard, over which these most salazzas, not to mention the drive, are pretty hung.

As for the hard disk, it can be installed in this case only one, but a large, 3.5-inch. A disk basket - it's easier to nowhere, but still it is worth noting the presence of small rubber washers on it in the places of the disk mounting to the basket, which is obviously reducing the transfer of vibration.

On this, perhaps, all interesting in the housing ends, and we proceed to the assembly.

The assembly passes quickly - you put the board with the memory installed on it, connect the loops (it is better to do it now, while everything is in sight), attach the disk, then the optical drive - and everything remains only to decompose the wires. But this also does not constitute problems - the wires are very successful along the side panels, and all unnecessary loops are well hiding in a blind corner behind the power supply. Just ensure that the vent holes on the block are completely blocked. If you come to use a fee with a more powerful processor, then at your disposal there will be a rather impressive space for a cooler, which can reach 85 mm height, so there should be no particular problems with the arrangement of cooling.

HKC 003.

The housing under the HKC brand continues. However, you can meet with another name, for example, Morex Cubid 3388. Honestly, we did not work out which of the options is initial, it is possible that the true manufacturer is at all some third, a little-known factory - with the products supplied From China, it happens quite often: if you contact the plant with a fairly large order, it will make you a housing with any marking of your desire.

Be that as it may, we must pay tribute to this unfortunate manufacturer - with all its simplicity, the body looks like a videos. Of course, if you have a design in the style of "High-Tech" in the apartment with the patient kingdom of polished aluminum, but it may not really come to the yard, in the other cases the pretty front panel of this thin flat body will serve as an interior decoration. Even the ubiquitous ventilation holes made not a simple rectangle, but wavy, reminding the logo of one well-known operating system. Alas, but the front panel of glossy black plastic with a pretty pattern slightly spoil the connectors located on it and not covered with nothing, and the chrome-plated strip around the power button here is perhaps superfluous.

Frontal connectors consisting of a traditional dialing in the form of two USB ports and the two same audio connections are simply located in a small niche at the right side of the panel. Above them is a rather solid inclusion button framed by two LEDs. But the reboot buttons we are again deprived.

The rear panel is boring. Perhaps the only thing that attracts on it is the presence of three characteristic emptyings intended for installation in them, if necessary, serial port connectors (COM ports, remember such?). Of course, these connectors are sometimes used in industrial equipment, but somehow hard to imagine this beautiful housing somewhere in the workshop. It seems that we are just a heritage of old times.

Although the housing does not have fans, some other than the zero circulation of air in it seems to be. Responsible for it will be a small 60mm fan on the side panel 150-W power supply unit MGP MX-150 installed in this case. Set of connectors from this block, in general, standard for small power supplies:

power supply of the motherboard with a 20 + 4-pin connector, 32 cm long;
purpose of the processor power with a 4-pin connector, 32 cm long;
the cable is two SATA-hard drive power connectors, 32 + 14 cm long;
pin with one SATA-hard drive power connector, one PATA-Winches and One-Drive connector, 32 + 14 + 14 cm long.

After removing the upper frame designed to attach drives, an impressive free space appears to our attention. Perhaps in this case it would be possible to place the Micro-ATX fee, whether it is a little longer in length. Case material - steel, thickness of only 0.5 mm. It does not really affect the stiffness of the housing itself, since it has an explicit "desktop", that is, horizontal, execution, but taking into his hands the top panel, this small thickness is already feeling on a characteristic "game" of the metal in hand.

As already mentioned, the drives in this case are attached to a special removable frame, which at the same time provides an increase in the transverse rigidity of the body. At first we are dripping to it from below one 2.5-inch hard disk, opposite which the thin optical drive is located on top.

When viewing the first building in this article, we have already told that thin drives have its own special power connector. In the Antec case, it was implemented on the power supply, and the HKC included a special adapter.

What is most impressive when assembling this building, it is a huge unoccupied place next to the motherboard. Yes, the hard disk is located above it and the optical drive, but the space is still used very irrational: if desired, it would be possible to organize the placement of a whole array of 2.5-inch hard drives.

A somewhat inconvenient was the process of laying wires in the housing. It seems to be a lot of places, but the need to somehow hide them under an impressive frame, overlapping all access, spoils the whole process.

In the case of potent boards with powerful processors, you can easily consider enough overtook-width coolers as the cooling system options, but remember that at least 55 mm at your disposal.

HKC 007.

And one more housing with the HKC logo. Like him just considered the fellow, this building can also be found under other name - MOREX CUBID T-3320.

We have one of the most compact buildings that can only be created. In the package of compactness, 5,25-inch compartments are completely removed from it (yes, no optical drives, and the power supply is made external. As a result, the size of the body has become really small - by and large, they are determined by the overall dimensions of the board installed in it. Most of all, it looks like the most subtle clients who were discussed at the beginning of the article. This case will be more than appropriate on the tables next to the monitors in all kinds of offices, shops and institutions. He and the appearance of the corresponding is a neutral mixture of gray and black plastic, smooth, not attracting attention to the line. In principle, the housing can be placed both vertically, on the stand and horizontally (and I want to add: "Having made a stand for the monitor from it"), but still, it looks just in a vertical position. Note that its side panels are, in fact, a solid ventilation grid - and it is absolutely correct, because the removal of the power supply unit from the case does not only reduce the dimensions of the latter and slightly reduce the heating of the system unit, but also completely deprives all the components of the or active ventilation. Everything that is in this case will cool exceptionally passively, all possible air flows will be only convection.

Briefly back to the topic of the stand of this building. On the one hand, it is made as simple as possible, one plastic part. And on the other - tell me, you know a lot of supports for enclosures that would not only be attached to them with a screw, but also were an integral element of the case of the housing? But this is the case in our case - the silver part of the front panel smoothly goes into the stand if the housing is used with it.

Since we were somewhat distracted from the body, let's finish immediately with his external elementsto which in this case refers not only the stand, but also a power supply having external execution. SEASONIC SSA-0651-1 became such a building, with a capacity of 60 W, which fall into the housing solely as a line of 12 V. Further necessary transformations occur already on a small board inside the case, from which we will see only two wires. : CPU power cable, 22 cm long, and a rather unusual loop with a 20 + 4-pin power connector, followed by one in turns along one PATA-Winchester power connector, SATA-hard drive and floppy disk drive. The length of this single feeding cord is 22 + 9 + 9 + 9 cm.

And now we will return directly to the housing, or rather, to its front panel, which is located a typical set of connectors from two USB ports and two audio connections. At the corner of the housing, a low-cost, albeit rather large inclusion button.

The rear panel of the case in general is missing as such - it makes up small bending edges of two side panels. Yes, and the size of the case is such that the landing platform of the rear panel connectors takes almost all the place - there was only a connector for connecting the power supply unit. By the way, the fact that it turns out to be at the top of the case when installing it vertically, is a somewhat unsuccessful point - going down the cord at any distortion will try to dump the housing on the side.

The side panels in this case are also somewhat unusual - not only that the ventilation holes are almost larger than the material, so they are also mainly consisting of plastic, which is attached to a metal basis. It is difficult to say that a similar solution was dictated: Most likely, this option was slightly cheaper than completely metal panels, but at the same time preserved sufficient rigidity. The last of this hull is sufficient high level: A small amount of metal in designs with more than compensated by minimal sizes and using 0.7-mm steel.

Inside the case is almost empty - besides racks and strips for attaching drives, it has only a small board with power supply voltage converters. And how doesn't he be empty, with such sizes?

Plank attachment drives remained for us some mystery. It showed an impressive set of holes in it, but we never managed to arrange more than one drive on it. Then why the rest of the holes? However, it is possible that there are no 2.5-inch drives on the fee, and some others?

The assembly of the system unit with all its simplicity and minimum number of operations suddenly rests in an extremely funny moment. The case is so small in size that going inside the wire from the connectors on the front panel interfere with enter the motherboard into the case. This problem is solved simply - the wires first need to pull out from the hole through which they are entered into, install the fee, and only then enter them back.

Laying of wires passes quite calmly: they are extremely small, therefore, it is possible to gently spread them without any problems at the corners of the body.

If you suddenly decide to use a board and processor with a separately installed cooler in this case, then when you select the latter, you will have to proceed from the fact that its height should be no more than 45 mm. Yes, yes, less than five centimeters, I did not get sealed, so it's better to immediately count on fees with an integrated processor and passive cooling.

THERMALTAKE RSI H SD100

The miniature corps of the company that has long been known in this market is completed, is true, mainly due to its large models in which you can accommodate almost a dozen participants of our current review - we are talking about thermaltake.

Perhaps that Thermatake has always managed to give the body a great appearance due to the front panel. Their corps are often very controversial from the point of view of internal design and cost, but their appearance in the overwhelming majority of cases are out of competition. So the SD100 looks just great. It seems to be anything special: a solid black color, a glossy lacquered metal (in press releases, varnish is called "piano" - and though, some kind of similarity in appearance is observed), the glossy plastic front panel, collecting all the dust and fingerprints, neat round silver Buttons and strip along the front panel - individually everything is well acquainted and often occurs on other housings, and in the amount it turns out to be a very attractive appearance.

The connectors and buttons are separated by the angle of the front panel: a standard set of two audio parts and two USB ports left left, and the power and reset buttons noticeably differ in size, ran to the right, taking with it the only available LED.

In principle, you can use a pair of special plastic supports and install the housing vertically. But, in our opinion, it is better not to do - in this position, the SD100 looks not so far from so winning, and not least this happens due to the fact that the right side panel (formerly with the horizontal position of the bottom housing) demonstrates us four glued To her softening supports. Of course, they are not so terrible, but the charm of the glossy corps disappears completely.

It is worth noting that only the upper and right (for horizontal position of the case) panels have air holes on themselves - those panels that can be lowered are solid.

The rear panel demonstrates to us that the case was created exclusively under the mini-itx boards, carrying everything in themselves - no expansion caps are not in risen. The power supply is pre-warning about a possible high noise level, demonstrating a 40mm fan. The name of this unit is Thermaltake TT-120AL5NH, it has 120 W, and the set of loops is as follows:

power supply of the motherboard with a 20 + 4-pin connector, 33 cm long;
purpose of the processor power with a 4-pin connector, 33 cm long;
loop with one SATA-hard drive power connector, two PATA-hard drives and one-drive power connections, 13 + 5 + 19 + 5 cm long.

Attention immediately appear two points. First, it attracts a view of a 60-mm fan at the right sidebar. Of course, we are only glad to welcome the active cooling of the body, but why it is installed opposite the drives, and not opposite the motherboard, where would the fan blunt the processor radiator?

The second point is the somewhat uneconomical spending of the space of the case, which led to the fact that the impressive piece of the case before the power supply is simply disappeared.

Before installing a fee in the case, it is necessary to remove the frame for fastening drives, which has a very cordless form in this case. In addition to the fact that it carries the drives, it also serves as an increase in the hardness of the body, connecting the front and rear panels in it, which for SD100, made of 0,6-mm steel, is not at all.

The installation of drives requires a strict sequence - the 3.5-inch hard disk is attached first, and small shock absorbing pads are used, and then exactly opposite it is installed optical drive, overlapping access to the drive screws.

In general, the build assembly passes without special adventures and is unlikely to require some special comments - everything, in my opinion, is extremely simple and understandable without words. Some difficulties cause only laying of wires, but in the end they still manage to bring them to a compact form, collecting most of the "worthless" space in front of the power supply.

In case, if you use individual coolers, we warn that this body leaves only 55 mm in height for them.

Cooling testing technique

Testing is carried out in a closed and fully assembled housing at a constant external temperature, the maintenance of which is responsible for air conditioning. We usually test at a room in a room of 23 degrees Celsius, but the exempted year-in-the-year-old, the hot summer has made its own adjustments, complicating the process of testing the temperature in the room to 29 degrees.

As a test bench, we used the next set of components:

intel D510MO motherboard;
the processor is integrated on the Intel Atom D510;
rigid discs Western Digital. Raptor WD740GD;
Seagate Momentus 5400.4 ST9250827AS;
2 GB of DDR2 Memory Kingston Valueram KVR800D2N6 / 2G with a frequency of 800 MHz;
Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2 operating system.

To remove the temperature of the processor and temperature of the integrated video recorder, the Speedfan program was used, the temperature of the processor was considered the temperature of the hottest from the cores. The temperature of the hard drives was measured using the HDD Thermometer program. To measure the rotational speed of fans, Velleman DTO2234 optical tachometer was used.

Testing is carried out in the following modes:

Idle - computer idle mode;
Iometer. - ACCESS TIME test is simultaneously running at the same time from the iOMter program that provides maximum discs on the discs;
Prime95 - Prime95 program is running in In-Place Large FFTS mode, providing maximum loading of both processor cores;

Our regular readers probably noticed that we abandoned testing under the load 3DMark. And the point here is not even that we did not want to watch the slideshow, but in the fact that we are absolutely incomprehensible, why so perverted way to load the system, if the most typical load for it will be the load on the processor, due to the weakness of the built-in in Motherboard video cards

All temperature readings are removed at least half an hour of operation in the appropriate mode, after their values \u200b\u200bstabilized.

The noise level estimate was carried out only by the subjective method in the process of testing the described configurations.

As an initial point for comparing systems, we chose the results obtained on an open bench:

Separately, it is worth noting that the temperatures of the 2.5-inch disk are indicated here. The 3.5-inch model is basked a little more, up to 38 degrees in the "IDLE" mode and up to 45 degrees under load.

Test results

Immediately I want to say that in addition to one test, we will talk about particularly, with the cooling of the components, all the buildings coped without noticeable problems, even with an increase in the ambient temperature increased to 29 degrees. Thanks for this, of course, it is damn cost-effective ATOM processors (glory, thank more and more subtle process!). The fact that all the buildings successfully coped with the cooling of 2.5-inch hard drives were not a sudden discovery for us: all their consumption is very small, but the fact that both the housings with 3.5-inch discs inside did not hit the face in Mud, frankly, has become a pleasant surprise.

So now we will mainly talk about noise, and there are tablets with temperature values \u200b\u200bfor the most curious readers.

Antec housing is pleasantly pleased with its low noise. Unfortunately, we can not call him quite silent, yet, some noise from the fan in the power supply could not be heard, but he did not prescribe at all, and was only a slight addition to the background noise (honestly, in the conditions of our laboratory such " Quiet noise "Usually still need to try to hear, because there are almost always loud sound sources around). The Tricool fan, as expected, was almost silent on minimal revolutions, and the cooling in the case was able to ensure on very good level. In general, the case deserves solid "good".

But the Delux case after the previous participant sounded extremely unprecedented. And the point here is not at all in the use of a 3.5-inch hard disk, which is noticeably louder than its smaller fellow, especially with an active search. The main source of very annoying noise was, as expected, the power supply fan. He published so characteristic for highly coherent small fans the opposite buzz that the body was lost with every minute of work and lost its charm.

As you remember, in the HKC 003 power supply, we use a relatively large fan, which gave us hope to a low noise level. Unfortunately, it turned out not so, and it seems to low quality Fan. When turned on, it began to crack, and quite loud. After some time, the cracks have slightly decreased, but then another moment came out on the scene: probably the temperature in the power supply has increased significantly, and to reduce it, the fan speed has been increased. And he loose, quite clearly, but the level of an inexpensive 120-mm fan model rotating at a speed of 1200-1400 rpm. No matter how sad, but this noise pretty spoiled the final impression of this cute body.

The next to the queue was HKC 007. Perhaps only exceptionally sensitive nature will be able at all without looking at understanding that the computer in this signable body works, because hear a 2.5-inch disk, especially if it does not move the head, it is very difficult. But unfortunately, and in this case there was a spoon of tar. A look at the testimony of thermal sensors, touching the top of the top ventilation panel - and you are already starting to worry. Any serious serious load on the processor leads to the fact that its temperature begins to grow, in case of serious loads leaving 80 degrees. This, of course, is not a catastrophe, but a rather unpleasant situation, and the hull itself cannot cope with it.

As curiosity, we tried to organize at least some cooling in this case, which turned out to be very difficult, because the dimensions of HKC 007 with difficulty allow you to accommodate the fan somewhere somewhere. And yet, under the hands of the old cooler under the socket 370, from which it was possible to get a 60-mm fan with a thickness of 13 mm. I was attached to the help of folk methods directly to the processor radiator, after which it was hardly, but still closed the lid and spent re-testing.

Well, just quite another thing! Temperatures are great, but, unfortunately, even a 60-mm fan, if it rotates at a speed of 3000 rpm, it turns out at all quiet.

In principle, there is nothing terrible and in the usual mode of functioning of this building, you just need to choose the most economical processors, do not put the system unit in rooms with high temperatures, and not engage in 12-hour video recoding. And then it is quite possible that this system unit will serve you for many years faithfully, and on its top panel you will warmly warm your hands warm at night ... Otherwise, it is better to immediately take care of a thin maintenance (10 mm) and at the same time quite quiet Fan in order to install it on the processor radiator.

Unfortunately, a small high-breasted fan in the power supply spoiled the impression and the thermaltake body. The 60-mm body fan turned out to be almost silent, but this small, but the fierce beast made a rather characteristic and very unpleasant noise with an abundance of high tones.

In conclusion, I propose to compare cooling efficiency in the housings of each other.

In all modes, we have a clear winner and explicitly loser. The first was the Antec building, and thank for it it costs a 80 mm fan, which can be extremely effectively installed opposite the processor radiator. Well, the loser has become extremely passive cooling HKC 007 - in it even the temperature of the 2.5-inch hard disk turned out to be higher than the competitors have a temperature of 3.5-inch discs.

Summarizing

Antec ISK300-150 has become an explicit favorite of today's review. This case once again confirmed the reputation of its manufacturer and turned out to be not only the coldest, but also the most quiet. So if you do not frighten the need to use 2.5-inch hard drives and thin drives - take a look at it, it is unlikely to disappoint you.

Approximately with an equal result, came to the finish of HKC 003 and ThermalTake RSI H SD100, speaking in the "horizontal" enclosures sector. On the side of the first - perhaps a smaller noise level, if a housing is coming with a more successful fan in the power supply. But the second is a little more advantageous looks outwardly and uses cheaper and volumetric 3.5-inch hard drives.

HKC 007 demonstrated a strange duality, which, however, explains its essence. Yes, in its disadvantages, the high temperature components caused only by passive cooling. On the other hand, it is the most compact of all, and if installing SSD, it will become absolutely silent, because it will be completely deprived of any moving parts.

As for Delux DLC-MS126, this case does not stand out by some special merit on the background of competitors. But it will certainly appreciate corporate buyers, because it is based on its basis that you can collect the most inexpensive, due to the use of ordinary, and not compact components, but still quite modest on the overall dimensions of the nettop.

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