GIGABYTE Goes Slim with ‘Thin Mini-ITX” Intel Motherboards

Those looking to build a small PC that utilizes desktop components have made the mini-ITX form-factor a popular choice. It’s for good reason, too, because companies like ASUS and GIGABYTE have been offering some seriously attractive mini-ITX motherboards that skimp on nothing but size. But you’re someone who needs to go lower. Be it a super-small chassis that catches your eye, or a server farm in the works. Where do you go?

You take a turn into the GIGABYTE aisle, it appears. The company has just released two motherboards that fall under the “Thin Mini-ITX” form-factor (6.69″ x 6.69″), which designates boards about 43% thinner than standard Mini-ITX. This doesn’t involve the PCB of course, as that being slimmed down wouldn’t make much of a difference. Rather, it’s the components that sit on the board that have to be whittled down. As the stock photos below illustrate, there is much flatness to be had.

GIGABYTE H77TN Thin Mini-ITX

GIGABYTE B75TN Thin Mini-ITX

Both boards are almost identical, with the biggest difference being the chipset and the fact that the B75 model loses a SATA 6Gbit/s port but replaces it with a 3.0Gbit/s. The B75TN is best-suited for business environments that can take advantage of Intel’s suite of IT-friendly tools.

Specs include support for <77W processors, up to 8GB of DDR3 (SO-DIMM), 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort, 1x Realtek Gbit/s LAN, 1x PCIe x4 slot, 1x mini PCIe x1 slot, 2x SATA 6Gbit/s (1x on B75), 2x SATA 3Gbit/s (3x on B75), 1x mSATA, 4x USB 3.0, 5x USB 2.0 (internal) and finally, input and output audio ports (no surround here).

Both boards are available right now, with the H77TN carrying a $125 price-tag, and the B75TN slotting in underneath at $110. To learn more about the boards and ideas surrounding them, check out GIGABYTE’s microsite.