ASRock Intros A330ION mini-ITX Motherboard

btarunr · Dec 28, 2009, 03:09 PM

To build on the popularity of its NVIDIA ION based nettops, ASRock plans to release a new Intel Atom + NVIDIA ION motherboard based on the mini-ITX form factor, in 2010. The motherboard will be one of the first of its kind, with a stronger memory sub-system. The NVIDIA ION chipset will drive dual-channel DDR3 1066 MHz memory. The board makes use of dual-core Atom 330 processor which is passively cooled, while the NVIDIA ION chipset is cooled actively. The chipset embeds DirectX 10 compliant NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics. It gives out four internal SATA 3 Gb/s ports and two Power-eSATA (eSATA+USB combo) ports making use of all its ATA channels. The lone expansion slot is a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (full-bandwidth).

ASRock-exclusive features include Dura-Cap Japanese solid-state capacitors, Instant Boot, Instant Flash, OC DNA, and Night LED. Connectivity includes 8-channel HD audio with optical SPDIF driven by VIA VT2020 CODEC, gigabit Ethernet, six external and four internal USB 2.0 ports, and display connectivity which includes DVI-D, D-Sub, and HDMI. While the motherboard supports up to 4 GB of memory, the graphics processor supports full-HD display resolutions including smooth playback of HD video. It passes Windows 7 compatibility. ASRock is yet to reveal pricing and availability.

Source: ASRock

NastyHabits · Dec 28, 2009, 04:28 PM

Very interesting. A standard P/S connector and PC-X 2.0X16 slot. Wheels beginning to spin. Could this be the foundation for my next project?

btarunr · Dec 28, 2009, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NastyHabits

Very interesting. A standard P/S connector and PC-X 2.0X16 slot. Wheels beginning to spin.

It isn't uncommon for today's motherboards to have PS/2 connectors.

NastyHabits · Dec 28, 2009, 06:23 PM

I was refering to the Power Supply connector. Most mini-itx boards use an external brick.

lemonadesoda · Dec 28, 2009, 07:23 PM

Atom 330, DDR3, ION. Very interesting. Shame they can't reorganise the board so they can have a larger passive heatsink for the ION. In fact, it already looks well laid out. Perhaps they could improve the chipset heatink before launch. Add a couple of months and perhaps we will see an ION2 passive. Nice.

EnergyFX · Dec 28, 2009, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NastyHabits

I was refering to the Power Supply connector. Most mini-itx boards use an external brick.

Most of the ones I have looked at use a regular 20 or 24 pin connector on the MB. The external brick is just where the conversion to 12Vdc occurs. There is usually another board inside the case that splits the voltage off to the proper pins, further converts the 12Vdc to 5Vdc and regulates the voltage(s) as needed.

I'm not saying this isn't worth consideration for your project... it looks like a hot little Atom MB. Just understand that there are a lot of cases out there that come with a little ~60w psu that includes an external brick and an internal card with all the normal plugs you would expect to see. Some MiniITX cases come with a full blown 300-400w psu capable of powering nice mid sized video cards like the GT250. You also have PicoPSU out there with their impossibly tiny power supplies up to 150w that isn't much bigger than the 24pin MB plug it is attached to (they also utilize an external brick).

I just built a MiniITX system using Zotac's GF9300 and a 150w PicoPSU. The Gigabyte case I put it all in came with a 65w psu that wasn't quite powerful enough to run the system with an E8500. It would probably have done fine with an Atom board like this one. Compared to other processors, Atoms like to sip electrons rather than go into electron gluttony.

LittleLizard · Dec 28, 2009, 09:17 PM

wondering if u can replace the ion cooler with, lets say, a thermalright hr-01 ifx. That would be awesome

Error 404 · Dec 28, 2009, 10:55 PM

You could probably find a nice aftermarket Northbridge cooler for a 775 motherboard and put that on the ION! Would the 9400M be capable of hybrid SLI?

Jizzler · Dec 29, 2009, 01:38 AM

^ Haven't seen it done yet, but I've read that ION does support Hybrid SLI.

jmcslob · Dec 30, 2009, 05:27 PM

Thanks BTA

I've been tossing around an ATOM project and was leaning towards an ECS board for the PCI-E, but now seeing this board I have to think it all over.

I like the Ion over the 945, guess it's gonna come down to price and case size....

Dec 28, 2009, 03:09 PM	#1
btarunr Editor & Senior Moderator Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Hyderabad, India Posts: 14,983 (7.29/day) Thanks: 788 Thanked 12,911 Times in 5,655 Posts System Specs	ASRock Intros A330ION mini-ITX Motherboard To build on the popularity of its NVIDIA ION based nettops, ASRock plans to release a new Intel Atom + NVIDIA ION motherboard based on the mini-ITX form factor, in 2010. The motherboard will be one of the first of its kind, with a stronger memory sub-system. The NVIDIA ION chipset will drive dual-channel DDR3 1066 MHz memory. The board makes use of dual-core Atom 330 processor which is passively cooled, while the NVIDIA ION chipset is cooled actively. The chipset embeds DirectX 10 compliant NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics. It gives out four internal SATA 3 Gb/s ports and two Power-eSATA (eSATA+USB combo) ports making use of all its ATA channels. The lone expansion slot is a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (full-bandwidth). ASRock-exclusive features include Dura-Cap Japanese solid-state capacitors, Instant Boot, Instant Flash, OC DNA, and Night LED. Connectivity includes 8-channel HD audio with optical SPDIF driven by VIA VT2020 CODEC, gigabit Ethernet, six external and four internal USB 2.0 ports, and display connectivity which includes DVI-D, D-Sub, and HDMI. While the motherboard supports up to 4 GB of memory, the graphics processor supports full-HD display resolutions including smooth playback of HD video. It passes Windows 7 compatibility. ASRock is yet to reveal pricing and availability. Source: ASRock

System Name:	Blackbox
Processor:	Intel Core i7-950
Motherboard:	Intel Extreme Series DX58OG
Cooling:	Xigmatek Aegir SD128264 with IC Diamond 24 Thermal Compound
Memory:	12GB ADATA Premier (3x 4GB) DDR3-1333 MHz
Video Card:	Palit GeForce GTX 680 JetStream 2GB outfitted with IC Diamond 24 TIM
Hard Disk:	Samsung 840 Series 250GB, Random 8 TB storage
Optical Drive:	HT-LG DVD-RW
CRT/LCD Model:	ViewSonic VX2450wm-LED
Case:	Cooler Master CM690 Window
Sound Card:	Creative SB Recon3D
PSU:	Corsair HX850W
Software:	Windows 8 Pro 64-bit

Dec 28, 2009, 04:28 PM	#2
NastyHabits Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 983 (0.50/day) Thanks: 447 Thanked 570 Times in 322 Posts System Specs	Very interesting. A standard P/S connector and PC-X 2.0X16 slot. Wheels beginning to spin. Could this be the foundation for my next project? __________________ Rig 2: P-35, E6750 @ 3.6 GHz, Geil PC-8500, 4850, water Rig 3: P-45, E8400 @ 3.6 GHz, Corsair PC-6400, 2 X GTX 460, air Rig 4: Z77, i3-3225 @ 3.6 GHz, Gskill Ripjaws-X, HD7850, air

System Name:	Fido
Processor:	Intel i7 930
Motherboard:	ASUS Rampage Gene II
Cooling:	Swiftech XT
Memory:	6 GB OCZ DDR3 PC3-12800 / 1600MHz
Video Card:	EVGA GTX 260
Hard Disk:	WD 36 GB Raptor (2 in Raid 0)
Optical Drive:	Benq DVD LightScribe DW1655, Samsung DVD-ROM
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung SyncMaster 205BW
Case:	Gigabyte GZ-X2
Sound Card:	AuzenTech Xplosion
PSU:	Corsair HX650
Software:	Windows 7 64 ibit

System Name:	Blackbox
Processor:	Intel Core i7-950
Motherboard:	Intel Extreme Series DX58OG
Cooling:	Xigmatek Aegir SD128264 with IC Diamond 24 Thermal Compound
Memory:	12GB ADATA Premier (3x 4GB) DDR3-1333 MHz
Video Card:	Palit GeForce GTX 680 JetStream 2GB outfitted with IC Diamond 24 TIM
Hard Disk:	Samsung 840 Series 250GB, Random 8 TB storage
Optical Drive:	HT-LG DVD-RW
CRT/LCD Model:	ViewSonic VX2450wm-LED
Case:	Cooler Master CM690 Window
Sound Card:	Creative SB Recon3D
PSU:	Corsair HX850W
Software:	Windows 8 Pro 64-bit

Dec 28, 2009, 06:23 PM	#4
NastyHabits Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 983 (0.50/day) Thanks: 447 Thanked 570 Times in 322 Posts System Specs	I was refering to the Power Supply connector. Most mini-itx boards use an external brick. __________________ Rig 2: P-35, E6750 @ 3.6 GHz, Geil PC-8500, 4850, water Rig 3: P-45, E8400 @ 3.6 GHz, Corsair PC-6400, 2 X GTX 460, air Rig 4: Z77, i3-3225 @ 3.6 GHz, Gskill Ripjaws-X, HD7850, air

Dec 28, 2009, 07:23 PM	#5
lemonadesoda Eligible for custom title Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 5,337 (2.17/day) Thanks: 749 Thanked 960 Times in 710 Posts System Specs	Atom 330, DDR3, ION. Very interesting. Shame they can't reorganise the board so they can have a larger passive heatsink for the ION. In fact, it already looks well laid out. Perhaps they could improve the chipset heatink before launch. Add a couple of months and perhaps we will see an ION2 passive. Nice.

System Name:	ICE-QUAD // ICE-CRUNCH
Processor:	Q6600 // 2x Xeon 5472
Memory:	2GB DDR // 8GB FB-DIMM
Video Card:	HD3850-AGP // FireGL 3400
CRT/LCD Model:	2 x Samsung 204Ts = 3200x1200
Sound Card:	Audigy 2
Software:	Windows Server 2003 R2 as a Workstation

System Name:	n.audBl
Processor:	E8500 @ 3.80GHz
Motherboard:	ASUS Striker Extreme
Cooling:	Full liquid (everything except power supply)
Memory:	4Gb OCZ DDR2 PC9600
Video Card:	Dual EVGA GTX 280 SSC Edition
Hard Disk:	Dual WD Raptor in RAID 0 (300Gb), Dual WD 1Tb Cavair in RAID 1
Optical Drive:	ASUS CD/DVD Burner
CRT/LCD Model:	Dell 2407 24" HD+ Widescreen
Case:	Theraltake Tai-Chi
Sound Card:	X-Fi Fata1ty (bleh!)
PSU:	Ultra X3 1000W
Software:	Win 7 64bit

Dec 28, 2009, 09:17 PM	#7
LittleLizard Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Latin America, Uruguay Posts: 3,380 (2.06/day) Thanks: 339 Thanked 584 Times in 516 Posts System Specs	wondering if u can replace the ion cooler with, lets say, a thermalright hr-01 ifx. That would be awesome __________________ "oh no, i make a very good person. I eat poop and sleep just like everyone else. My sense of humour just happens to fall under the DnD category of Chaotic Evil." - Mussels "I was expecting a line of EVGA FTW condoms or something like that." - DrPepper "I like my sex like my basketball, one on one, and with as little dribbling as possible" - Robert-The-Rambler

System Name:	The Lizard
Processor:	Intel Core 2 Duo E4600
Motherboard:	Zotac G41 MAT-A-E
Cooling:	Intel Stock Fan
Memory:	2GB Kingston Value DDR2 @ PC2 5300
Video Card:	XFX GeForce 8600 GT 512mb DDR2
Hard Disk:	160GB Samsung F1 Sata
Optical Drive:	Samsung WriteMaster DVD R/RW
CRT/LCD Model:	AOC 917Sw 19' LCD
Case:	Generic Black Case
Sound Card:	Onboard Realtek
PSU:	Biswal 500W
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate x64

Dec 28, 2009, 10:55 PM	#8
Error 404 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: South Australia Posts: 1,330 (0.71/day) Thanks: 166 Thanked 178 Times in 157 Posts System Specs	You could probably find a nice aftermarket Northbridge cooler for a 775 motherboard and put that on the ION! Would the 9400M be capable of hybrid SLI? __________________ Third rig: PC Express Invader. C2D E6400 2.13GHz, 4GB DDR2-800, 320GB HDD, Intel 945, Asus 9600GT 512MB, 550W PSU, W7 HP 64-bit. Fourth Rig: Dell Optiplex 170L, P4 Prescott 2.8GHz, 512MB DDR266RAM, 80GB HDD, FX5200PCI 128MB, 250W PSU,XP Pro Fifth rig (Laptop): Dell Inspiron 4000, 14.1", PIII 850MHz, 384MB RAM, 9.3GB, XP Pro. Now with passive cooling! “I could make a better looking computer case with a bucket of Lincoln Logs.” -lemode

System Name:	B!tch \ Inspiron 15
Processor:	Intel i7 2600K (3.4 GHz, 8 threads) \ Pentium DC M T4300 2.1 GHz
Motherboard:	Asus P67P8-V3 \ Intel GM45
Cooling:	Xigmatek Balder 120mm (4x120,1x140mm case)\ Dell stuff
Memory:	Patriot 2 Viper Sector 5, 8GB DDR3 1600 MHz\ 4 GB DDR2-800 6-6-6-18 SoDIMM
Video Card:	VTX3D 6970 2GB \ Intel 4500MHD
Hard Disk:	1TB Samsung SATA, WD 500GB SATA (16MB cache), 1TB Seagate \ 320 GB Samsung 5200 RPM
Optical Drive:	LG SuperMulti w/ever \ DVD-RW Multi
CRT/LCD Model:	Dell Ultrasharp U2311h 23" (so sexy) \ 15.6" Dell LCD 1366x768
Case:	CoolerMaster Gladiator RC-600 \ Inspiron 15 chassis
Sound Card:	Onboard 5.1 \ Onboard Stereo
PSU:	Antec 850w with yellow racing stripes \ Dell power brick
Software:	Windows 7 HP 64 bit \ Windows 7 HP 64 bit (Dell OEM)

Dec 29, 2009, 01:38 AM	#9
Jizzler Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Geneva, FL, USA Posts: 3,010 (1.42/day) Thanks: 567 Thanked 606 Times in 487 Posts System Specs	^ Haven't seen it done yet, but I've read that ION does support Hybrid SLI.

Processor:	AMD FX-8120
Motherboard:	ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Professional
Cooling:	Scythe Ninja 3
Memory:	G.Skill DDR3-1866 8GB x 2
Video Card:	Gigabyte GTX 660 2GB
Hard Disk:	Crucial M4 128GB, WD 640GB x 4, 2TB Seagate
Optical Drive:	Asus SATA DVD-RW
CRT/LCD Model:	Asus 24" HD+ (1920x1200)
Case:	Lian Li PC-A17B
Sound Card:	Onboard
PSU:	OCZ GameXtreme 700w
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate

System Name:	CoolCow/Measly Cow
Processor:	Intel I5-3570AMD/Phenom X4 B60
Motherboard:	MSI Z77A-G45/Gigabyte 78LMT-S2P
Cooling:	Xigmatek Gaia/Scythe Katana 3
Memory:	G.Skill Ripjaws Z Unknown still tweaking/Kingston 2x4gb DDR3 1600
Video Card:	6950 unlocked/ Sapphire HD4830 512mb 575/700
Hard Disk:	2 Sandisk Extreme SSD in RAID0/2 WD BLACK 500GB 500AALS in raid0
Optical Drive:	Lite on Blu Ray/ same
CRT/LCD Model:	24" LCD 1920x1080/22" LCD 168x1050
Case:	Xigmatek Utguard/ B.Gears B Envy
Sound Card:	Reaktek 7.1/same
PSU:	Xigmatek 700w/ Rosewill 500w
Software:	Windows7 Pro x64/ Windows 7 pro x64

Dec 30, 2009, 05:27 PM	#10
jmcslob Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Internet Heaven Posts: 2,707 (1.77/day) Thanks: 783 Thanked 422 Times in 326 Posts System Specs	Thanks BTA I've been tossing around an ATOM project and was leaning towards an ECS board for the PCI-E, but now seeing this board I have to think it all over. I like the Ion over the 945, guess it's gonna come down to price and case size.... __________________ Where to get Wireless drivers Solve Sleep Issues

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Foxconn Intros Pine Trail Based Mini-ITX Nettop Motherboards	btarunr	News	1	Dec 28, 2009 02:14 PM
[WTB][US] Mini-ITX 775 Motherboard	BrooksyX	Buy/Sell/Trade/Giveaway Forum	0	May 1, 2009 01:33 AM
ZOTAC Expands Mini-ITX Lineup, Introduces New nForce 630i-ITX WiFi Mini-ITX Mainboard	malware	News	4	Oct 31, 2008 12:38 AM
[FS/FT][US] Mini-Itx 479 Motherboard + Pentium M 1.6	ascstinger	Buy/Sell/Trade/Giveaway Forum	18	Sep 14, 2008 10:06 AM
Mini ITX Core Duo Motherboard	POGE	News	15	Apr 26, 2006 09:40 PM