The AM1 Kabini Motherboard Preview: Analyzing the Hardware
by Ian Cutress on April 19, 2014 2:00 PM ESTASUS AM1I-A
The more expensive ASUS Kabini motherboard comes in a smaller form factor and mirrors a lot of the functionality of the bigger sibling. We still have the trio of LPT/TPM/COM headers on the motherboard, although for the AM1I-A another COM port is on the rear panel. There is no extra USB 3.0 controller here, but the DRAM slots use a single latch system and the PCIe 2.0 slot is a true open-ended x4.
Both fan headers are 4-pin, and we again have a Realtek network/audio combination featuring the ALC887 codec for the audio. ASUS has interestingly chosen to place the TPM outside the DRAM slots rather than the SATA ports, with the latter ending up just to the left of the DRAM and above the PCIe slot. Somewhat confusingly while there is a diagram showing the front panel connectors, it ends up being a good inch away from where the front panel actually is.
With this $50 motherboard ASUS offers both PS/2 ports and a full array of four USB 2.0 ports on the back panel. Three video outputs are given (VGA, DVI-D and HDMI), along with the two USB 3.0 ports from the chipset. We get the Realtek ALC887 audio jacks as well.
| ASUS AM1I-A | |
| Price | Link |
| Size | Mini-ITX |
| CPU Interface | FS1b |
| Chipset | Kabini |
| Memory Slots |
Two DDR3-DRAM slots, suporting 32GB Single Channel, 1066-1600 MHz |
| Video Outputs |
VGA (2046x1536 at 60Hz) DVI-D (1920x1200 at 60 Hz) HDMI (4096x2160 at 24 Hz or 1920x1080 at 60 Hz) |
| Onboard LAN | Realtek 8111GR (10/100/1000) |
| Onboard Audio | Realtek ALC887 |
| Expansion Slots | PCIe 2.0 x4 |
| Onboard SATA/RAID | 2 x SATA 6 Gbps |
| USB 3.0 | 2 x USB 3.0 (Chipset) [back panel] |
| Onboard |
2 x SATA 6 Gbps 2 x USB 2.0 Headers 2 x Fan Headers TPM Header LPT Header COM Header Front Audio Header Front Panel Header |
| Power Connectors |
1 x 24-pin ATX 1 x 4-pin CPU |
| Fan Headers |
1 x CPU (4-pin) 1 x CHA (4-pin) |
| IO Panel |
1 x PS/2 Mouse Port 1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port VGA DVI-D HDMI 1 x Gigabit Ethernet 2 x USB 3.0 Ports 4 x USB 2.0 Ports 1 x COM Port Audio Jacks (ALC887) |
| Product Page | Link |
Users may notice that this is the first Kabini motherboard in our line up with a heatsink over the power delivery. This may aid users in warmer climates to prevent the CPU throttling under stress.
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Chrispy_ - Saturday, April 19, 2014 - link
The whole concept of an expensive AM1 motherboard is ridiculous, because as metioned in the article, once the CPU+platform cost reaches about $80 you could buy an FM2 solution which would be significantly more powerful and have many more features.Asus, in this case, completely misses the point.
silverblue - Saturday, April 19, 2014 - link
Yet it would be a dual core, with a much higher TDP. None of these Kabini boards are full ATX, either, so you're not forced into a large form factor.Admittedly, I would go FM2/FM2+ as I would want the performance, but I could make a much smaller and quieter PC with Kabini for obvious reasons.
johnny_boy - Monday, April 21, 2014 - link
Exactly (about the TDP). There's still reason to go AM1 over FM2(+) purely for thermal/wattage reasons. I was eyeing a super small ITX case with 60W pico PSU for HTPC use that could also serve for NAS purposes and be always on. I wouldn't run a 65-100W FM2 chip 24/7 or for HTPC use unless I wanted to do some light gaming.Ortanon - Monday, April 21, 2014 - link
This actually insinuates that a low-energy/low-heat desktop solution has a price premium the same way a high-performance desktop solution does. That kind of makes sense on the surface, but when you think about it things don't add up. A lower-TDP solution is necessarily less performant, but higher-TDP solutions aren't necessarily loud, and the differences in power draw are often negligible in terms of energy costs.All in all, a weaker system should be cheaper. Plain and simple. When I saw that it'd be at least $75 for an AM1 CPU/mobo, I just shook my head and moved along. Also they REALLY should've figured out a way to squeeze dual-channel into the spec.
My fantasy is for an AM1 board that has nothing but RAM slots and two full mini-PCIE slots. That's it. You slide a board full of cards into a tiny-ass case and boom. No stupid cables, no nothing. Hell, there's your under-$40 mobo right there. How difficult is that? I've been waiting for that for SO MANY years, and yet...
RoboJ1M - Tuesday, April 22, 2014 - link
You forgot no daft ATX+12 connector rubbish.You just want a DC jack on the back plate and some switched converters on board.
And an HDMI and a USB port on the back.
But yeah, that's what I'm looking for as well.
Case + Mobo + CPU + Ram + Laptop PSU = Internet PC.
Ortanon - Tuesday, April 22, 2014 - link
There are already SFF PSUs so that doesn't bother me as much. It just confuses me that after so many years of having mini-PCIe/mSATA, so few mini-ITX (!) motherboards have it, and far fewer than that have two (for your WiFi + SSD scenarios).Stand-alone cases could get a LOT smaller if that one change was made, not to mention the elimination of at least two cables from the build.
Really, I'd be looking to use full-speed mSATA storage on ANY size setup. The cards don't cost extra anymore.
solos - Friday, November 20, 2015 - link
Buy a notebook with broken screen (for next to nothing) , keep the bottom case and have your wish fullfilled ;)Flunk - Sunday, April 20, 2014 - link
If you don't produce things to hit different points of the market, how will you know they won't sell? It's worked for ASUS before.Samus - Monday, April 21, 2014 - link
Asus missed the point? ASRock is the one charging $60!ntgeralt - Saturday, April 19, 2014 - link
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