Mini-ATX is a 15 x 15 cm (or 5.9 x 5.9 inches) motherboard form factor developed by AOpen Inc.

AOpen

AOpen is a major electronics manufacturer from Taiwan that makes computers and parts for computers. AOpen used to be the Open System Business Unit of Acer Computer Inc. which designed, manufactured and sold computer components. It incorporated in December 1996 as a subsidiary of Acer Group with an...

 Mini-ATX is slightly smaller than Mini-ITX

Mini-ITX

Mini-ITX is a 17 x 17 cm low-power motherboard form factor developed by VIA Technologies in 2001. Mini-ITX is slightly smaller than microATX. Mini-ITX boards can often be passively cooled due to their low power consumption architecture, which makes them useful for home theater PC systems,...

. Mini-ATX motherboards were designed with MoDT (Mobile on Desktop Technology) which adapt mobile CPU for lower power requirement and less heat generation, which makes them ideal for home theater PC (HTPC) and car PC for consumer and application PC for industrial.

Compact

With dimensions of 15 x 15 cm (or 5.9 x 5.9 inches), a Mini-ATX motherboard can be placed into a 1 DIN

Din

DIN or Din or din can have several meanings:* A din is a loud noise.* Dīn, an Arabic term meaning "religion" or "way of life".* Din is one of the ten aspects of the Ein Sof in Kabbalah ....

 space for standardized application conditions such as a car, rack mount, tower case, wall mount, etc. which is impossible for a Mini-ITX form factor. The smaller form factor Nano-ITX

Nano-ITX

Nano-ITX is a computer motherboard form factor first proposed by VIA Technologies at CeBIT in March 2003 , and implemented in late 2005. Nano-ITX boards measure 120 × 120 mm , and are fully integrated, very low power consumption motherboards with many uses, but targeted at smart digital...

 motherboard lacks a CPU socket module which limits its flexibility for different applications.

Silent

Due to the mobile CPU having lower power requirements, there is less heat generated by the CPU and internal components, and the thermal design is more efficient. With its passive cooling design, it is typically noiseless and the manufacturing costs and overall operating power requirements are lower relative to active cooling designs

Stable

Mini-ATX motherboard adapts with SMT

Surface-mount technology

Surface mount technology is a method for constructing electronic circuits in which the components are mounted directly onto the surface of printed circuit boards . An electronic device so made is called a surface mount device...

, solid state capacitors and 8 layers PCB

Printed circuit board

A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...

 design to maximize MTBF. The SMT can reduce internal transmit interruption; and 8 layers PCB enable best signal Return-Path.

Flexibility

The DC

Direct current

Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...

 to DC solution design removes the power supply unit from Mini-ATX case. This will reduce the interference between power supply unit and internal device, reduce the system size and the external power supply unit bring more possibilities when deploying system.

History

With the MoDT concept, AOpen research the way to combine desktop motherboard with mobile CPU to realize a compact and low power requirement desktop PC and this concept gain Intel’s support and help. For two years of development, the first product with Mini-ATX motherboard was introduced, the AOpen XC mini MP915 series. This series was original named mini PC

Mini PC

Mini PC is short for “minimized personal computer” and is also called small form factor PC."Mini PC", referring to traditional desktop PC's, refers to the Mini-ITX form factor, which is a 17 x 17 cm motherboard...

 since 2005, but renamed to XC mini in 2007 since “mini PC” could not be registered as a trademark. With the Mini-ATX motherboard, the size of the XC mini series PC - 165(W) x 50(H) x 165(D) mm - makes it the smallest desktop PC systems (1.3L volume) in the world.

In 2006, AOpen release the world’s first application Mini-ATX PC the Digital Engine (DE-945FX) series. With 1 DIN size and powerful Intel CPU, the Digital Engine became the popular application PC in various industries including Car PC (Mitsubishi Motors Taiwan), Flight Information Display Systems pc (SFO, U.S.A.). Today, Digital Engines with Mini-ATX motherboard are widely adopt by KIOSK, digital signage

Digital signage

Digital signage is a form of electronic display that shows television programming, menus, information, advertising and other messages. Digital signs can be found in public and private environments, such as retail stores, hotels, restaurants and corporate buildings.Digital signage Displays are most...

 solutions, POS, medical and security PCs.

External links

• AOpen XC mini products:http://global.aopen.com/Products.aspx?id=74
• AOpen application platform official site http://vip.aopen.com
• AOpen's latest Product shown in Computex Taipei 2010 https://www.logicsupply.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/aopen_i57qmx_01.jpg