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All right lets talk about what this board has to offer the prospective user and what benefits make it worth grabbing your interest. First off its space saving design sizes in at a very modest 17cm X 17cm, the board is based on the Mini-ITX Form Factor being roughly the size of a hard cover book. Built on VIA's CLE266 NB and VVT8235 SB that includes the integrated CastleRock VGA chipset which supports MPEG 2 and DVD playback capabilities. The video shares the memory bus and takes a minimum of 16MB of your total memory allocation in the overall scheme of things.
There is only one PCI slot for your inline peripherals but since the board has so many feature options available that should not pose any significant problems. I mean everything including the proverbial kitchen sink came loaded on-board this thing. I did think it a bit strange that a product line that spouts the ability to run without an active heatsink comes equipped with one but maybe it is just there for added cooling when used in the confines of a small enclosure. There is also a heatsink that covers the NB and SB chipsets for increased heat dispersion across all the chipsets for added stability.
The rear panel I/O is the place where most people will interface the most with after their system is built and this is additionally where everything connects as well. There are both IEEE 1394 and USB 2.0 connections available as well as S-Video and RCA TV-Out (NTSC & PAL) and 10/100 Ethernet via an RJ45 connector for simple broadband connectivity. The EPIA M-Series also offers support for the latest LVDS embedded LCD panels. There is only one memory slot provided but the chipset allows you to use up to 1GB modules which should prove adequate support for most desktop needs. The customary PS2 mouse/keyboard inputs are available as is the parallel port and one COM port.
Everything you actually need to have a fully functioning system is included on the EPIA-M series of motherboards. The EPIA M- Series' VIA Apollo CLE266 chipset features an embedded MPEG-2 decoder for excellent DVD playback, and integrated 2D/3D graphics completing the multimedia experience. With the substantial memory bandwidth performance of DDR266 SDRAM and the high data transfer speeds of the ATA/133 controllers, the EPIA M-Series helps your system keep up with today's demanding applications and software. The overall digital media experience is further enhanced by support for 5.1 surround sound coming by way of the onboard VIA VT1616 6 Channel AC'97 codec.
I do not yet know how to truly judge if the layout is really good or not as I would have to find a case that supports this new Form Factor in order to really gauge my opinion in that area. The only thing that might be a problem is that the floppy connector is located in the center of the board, beyond that everything seems to be up to par and as ergonomically well placed as feasible in such a small footprint of area. The layout should prove to be a winner though as VIA does have many years of expertise going into this design. For its relative size this board is one feature packed product that has enough built-in power to be a viable product in the lower spectrum of the market. So far this is the best embedded motherboard package I have played with yet; it actually has more raw performance power and features than most laptops available today. VIA has done a good job bringing this product to market and I hope it pans out well for them. VIA EPIA-M Mainboard Specification
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