ITX form factor
ITX is a form factor for motherboards that is characterized by high compactness. ITX motherboards have dimensions of only 191 mm x 215 mm. ITX comes in Mini-ITX variants with 170 mm x 170 mm, Nano-ITX (120 mm x 120 mm) and Pico-ITX (100 mm x 72 mm) with even smaller dimensions.
The smaller ITX variants, where the processors are soldered directly onto the mainboard, can be used wherever the systems are in continuous operation and do not require as much computing power. Since the mini and nano variants equipped with lower processor power produce lower waste heat, these ITX versions can often do without fans for heat dissipation.
Mini-ITX boards also fit into super-slim cases with small, piggybacked expansion boards, as the add-on cards have their connectors in the ATX bezel area. These boards have a size of 170 mm x 170 mm and are used in netbooks and nettops, among others, but also in industrial computers. The solid-state drives are usually connected via Mini PCI Express( MiniPCIe).
The next smaller ITX version are the Nano-ITX boards. These motherboards have a size of 120 mm x 120 mm and are characterized by extremely low power consumption. These boards are used in personalvideorecorders( PVR), media centers, set-top boxes and in small devices.
The Pico-ITX board is about half the size of the Nano-ITX. Its dimensions are only 100 mm x 72 mm. As a processor, Pico-ITX uses a VIA processor, with clock speeds of up to 1.5 GHz. It is also equipped with a graphics processor. Even smaller than Pico-ITX is the Mobile-ITX motherboard with dimensions of 75 mm x 45 mm. This motherboard has no computer ports and is used as an embedded board in medical devices and transport technology equipment. The smaller ITX variants below Mini-ITX have the advantage that they only require a single supply voltage.