Mini-ITX Motherboard: Intel DQ45EK (LGA 775)
Intel also offers its own small form factor platform called the DQ45EK, which centers on the company's vPro-enabled Q45 and ICH10DO chipset combination.
Unlike iBase, Intel’s board accepts DDR2 (instead of DDR3) memory, and the maximum capacity is limited to 4GB rather than 8GB. Intel chose to put a one-lane PCI Express expansion slot on the motherboard, while its three competitors all offer different kinds of connectivity for add-on cards. Since PCIe x1 doesn’t provide a lot of bandwidth, it doesn’t make much sense for graphics, but could be useful for adding a storage, sound, or networking controller.
This board only has a three-phase voltage regulator, hence the specification allows only for LGA 775-based processors that stay within a 65W thermal envelope. Effectively, this limits your CPU choices to the Core 2 Duo family and the power efficient Core 2 Quad S models, which are rather expensive. Intel’s platform offers a Gigabit Ethernet port, six USB 2.0 ports, audio jacks for the built-in HD audio system, and one eSATA port powered by the ICH10DO southbridge.
Lastly, we’re glad to see that the board comes with two DVI outputs, allowing for perfect dual-display setups. Once again, overclocking wasn’t on the specification, not do we expect that it'll be missed.
