ASRock has introduced two motherboards for use with Intel N100 processors. If until now we had seen this Alder Lake N platform in laptops and mini-PCs already assembled, the boards offer the possibility that users build their own table tops for multiple uses, consumer desktops, offices, kiosks or home theater computers.
The Intel N series are the processors of lower consumption and more economical from the chip giant, which to begin with is already a relevant feature for those looking for this type of product. They are intended to cover the entry-level range of personal computers and replace the gap left by Celeron and Pentium solutions that were discontinued.
They are built on the latest process technology, Intel 7, and under the new Gracemont microarchitecture. Faced with the hybrid architecture of its older brothers (Alder Lake or Raptor Lake) that combine P and E cores, these only use E cores (efficient) in quantities of 4 or 8 cores/threads of native processing and are accompanied by an integrated Intel UHD graphics capable of outputting video on up to three screens.
These processors support Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 wireless standards, can be equipped with type RAM memories DDR4, DDR5 and LPDDR5 to increase the flexibility of use of hardware partners. They are also compatible with various types of internal storage, UFS, eMMC and SSD. It is on this basis that ASRock has built a couple of very interesting boards.
The first is the N100M in micro-ATX format. It uses Intel N100, the most modest CPU in performance in the series, but which allows us to get rid of annoying fans since it works with a passive cooling system. Highlight:
- One DDR4 DIMM slot (up to 32 GB)
- 1 PCIe 3.0 x16 (x2 mode), 1 PCIe 3.0 x1
- 1 M.2 Key E for Wi-Fi
- 1 M.2 (PCIe Gen3x2)
- Realtek Gigabit LAN
- 2 SATA3
- 1 USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C, 4 USB 3.2 Gen1
- Realtek ALC897 7.1CH HD Audio Codec
The second board is the N100DC-ITX, which as the name suggests uses an ITX form factor. It uses the same Intel N100 processor, the DDR4 memory slot and somewhat less connectivity than the previous one.
These plates are very interesting for those who want to create their own cheap desktops for any use.
