Zotac Releases Tiny WiFi-Enabled Motherboard

For times when even micro-ATX motherboards are just too big, Zotac’s newly released mini-ITX motherboard could come in handy, featuring Nvidia’s Geforce 8200 mGPU and built-in WiFi.

The new Zotac Geforce 8200-ITX WiFi motherboard looks like a decent choice for anyone planning to build a tiny media center PC, although serious gamers will look elsewhere. The main highlight of the motherboard is that it measures just 6.7-inch by 6.7-inch in size, considerably smaller than the 9.6-inch by 9.6-inch dimensions of many micro-ATX motherboards.

One of the highlights of the motherboard is the integrated Geforce 8200 graphics solution, which supports Nvidia CUDA technology, DirectX 10 and hardware video acceleration. The Geforce 8200 mGPU also supports Nvidia’s Geforce Boost technology and HybridPower technology; both useful features if a discrete graphics card were to be added to the system. However, since the Zotac Geforce 8200-ITX WiFi motherboard lacks a x16 PCIe slot, instead opting for just a single x1 PCIe slot, most users will probably stick to using just the integrated graphics.

The motherboard supports AMD processors using the AM2+ socket, which might mean some of the upcoming AMD Phenom II processors could be supported, although that is not stated. While AMD may not quite offer the fastest processors around, they do offer excellent value. For example, the AMD Althon 64 X2 3800+ is currently rated as the best bang for the buck on Futuremark’s YouGamers.com. The motherboard also has support for HyperTransport 3.0 and includes two DIMM slots for up to 8 GB of DDR2-800/1066 memory.

The Zotac Geforce 8200-ITX WiFi motherboard has both VGA and DVI outputs, with HDMI available via a dongle. It also includes six external USB ports, gigabit Ethernet, PS/2 ports, four SATA 3.0 ports, 5.1-channel HD audio and built-in 802.11g WiFi. According to the product images, there appears to be no chipset fan, which should help keep the system noise down.

Pricing for the new Zotac Geforce 8200-ITX WiFi motherboard has yet to be revealed, but the following chart of comparable motherboards may help provide an idea of pricing. Going with a micro-ATX motherboard that includes a x16 PCIe slot may be the better choice for gamers, but for a media center PC, the Zotac Geforce 8200-ITX WiFi seems like a great choice.