iBase Embeds Ryzen V1000 APU Into Mini-ITX Motherboard

By Zhiye Liu
published

iBase, an industrial motherboard and embedded system manufacturer, has introduced its new MI988 motherboard, which sports AMD's latest family of Ryzen Embedded V1000 APUs.

Leaving a footprint of 170 x 170mm, the iBase MI988 is a Mini-ITX motherboard rocking an old-fashioned green PCB. An AMD Ryzen V1000 APU is embedded into the center of the motherboard. The APU is the product of combining the chipmaker's Zen CPU and Vega graphics architectures into a single package. The entire Ryzen V1000 family is produced under the 14nm FinFET manufacturing process. iBase currently offers the MI988 in three different forms.

(Image credit: iBase)

The first option consists of the quad-core, eight-thread AMD Ryzen Embedded V1807B processor. It clocks in at 3.35GHz, with a boost clock speed of 3.8GHz. This model employs Radeon Vega 11 graphics with 11 compute units operating at 1,300MHz.

The second option features the AMD Ryzen Embedded V1756B, which is also a quad-core part with eight threads. However, the V1756B runs at a 3.25GHz base clock and a 3.6GHz boost clock. This model in particular utilizes Radeon Vega 8 graphics consisting of eight compute units clocked at 1,100MHz.

Lastly, the MI988 is available with the dual-core, four-thread AMD Ryzen Embedded V1202B, which has a 2GHz base clock and 3.6GHz boost clock. The V1202B makes use of Radeon Vega 3 Graphics and has three compute units running at 1,100MHz.

Sporting a total of two DDR4 SO-DIMM memory slots, the iBase MI988 is capable of housing up to 32GB of memory and supports frequencies up to 2,666MHz. However, what's really remarkable with the motherboard is that it comes with support for ECC (Error-Correcting Code) memory modules. The motherboard also has a M.2 2230 slot for M-key NVMe SSDs and two SATA III ports for conventional hard drives and SSDs. There's even a mini PCIe socket present. Expandability is very limited with a single PCIe x8 slot. As for power, the iBase MI988 employs a single 4-pin power connector.

(Image credit: iBase)

Display connectors on the iBase MI988 come in the form of one HDMI 2.0a port, one DisplayPort 1.4 output and one Embedded DisplayPort (eDP) or a 24-bit dual channel low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) port. The remaining connectors on the motherboard's rear I/O panel include four serial ports, two USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gbps) ports, two USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5Gbps) ports, dual GbE Ports coming from Intel's I211-AT Ethernet controller and three 3.5mm audio connectors. The audio system on the MI988 is powered by the Realtek ALC662 codec and subsequently comes with support for 5.1 channel audio. 

iBase didn't publicly reveal the MI988's pricing or availability; however, interested shoppers can request a quote from the manufacturer's website for more information.

Zhiye Liu
Zhiye Liu
RAM Reviewer and News Editor

Zhiye Liu is a Freelance News Writer at Tom’s Hardware US. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.

8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • epobirs
    Need a version with at least two more NICs instead of so many serial ports. While the serial ports are inexpensive items by comparison, they just have as much use these days. I can't recall the last time I needed more than one for a console port.
    Reply
  • 1_rick
    From the picture, that sure looks like the m.2 slot is on the right, below the com ports, and it sure looks like a 2280 mounting hole, not a 2230. (Yes, I know their site says it's a 2230, too, but I bet it's a typo.

    Here's the link, since I didn't see it in the article.
    https://www.ibase.com.tw/english/ProductDetail/EmbeddedComputing/MI988
    Reply
  • drtweak
    Damn would love to see a guy like this with a single 10Gbps port on it. Don't need the come, don't need dual nicks, only need 1 USB 3.0 port and I am golden. the Single 8x PCIe is fine for a single RAID card.
    Reply
  • mikewinddale
    "However, what's really remarkable with the motherboard is that it comes with support for ECC (Error-Correcting Code) memory modules."

    That IS remarkable. And lovely! Kudos! I wish everyone supported ECC! It's such a small thing, and it ought to be so easy for every Ryzen board to support ECC, and yet so many don't.
    Reply
  • Gh0stWalker
    why can't manuf's put a golden wish page together where ppl vote for features they actually want. Then pricing could be a function of putting the components together divided by some fraction of demand - so that the majority gets what they wishes, and still the long tail can be catered for too, at a price reflecting demand and component and assembly costs. Democratic for the ppls...
    Reply
  • mamiller2322
    Still bigger then the UDOO Bolt.
    Reply
  • stdragon
    21366613 said:
    Need a version with at least two more NICs instead of so many serial ports. While the serial ports are inexpensive items by comparison, they just have as much use these days. I can't recall the last time I needed more than one for a console port.

    It's not for home / office use, rather industrial where SCADA is used; hence the need for four RS232 (serial) ports. So, it's perfectly suited for the application and market it's intended for.

    That said, yeah, I would love to see an office version with multiple DP ports.
    Reply
  • bunnymaid
    As a heavy iBASE user, (^^) these are not consumer boards and the price will frighten most people. As such, most Tomshardware readers will not be buying these. These are long life industrial boards and have certain features that make them desirable in those sort of markets.

    You can probably get them in onesy/twosies from mouser / digikey / Farnell / RS and those sort of places but fundamentally, these are not the boards _you_ are looking for. They are the boards _I_ am looking for.
    Reply