ZOTAC H55ITX-C-E Mini-ITX Motherboard Review

Input/Output: USB and SATA

Bandwidth and frequencies favor the path of least resistance. Here, the smaller ITX board seems to benefit both in USB and SATA performance. Of course, unliked the USB3< SATA3 performance really hasn’t produced any real jaw dropping performance differences with today’s standard components.

Wireless 802.11n

I compared the wireless throughput couple different 802.11n wireless devices to the AsureWave mini-PCIE device that comes installed by ZOTAC. The Realtek (8191SE) and DLink wireless adapters are two typically found in capable laptops. ZOTAC’s solution is noticeably faster and will handle 1080p streaming.

RightMark Audio Analyzer

RMAA has been pretty instrumental in detecting the very small variances that normally effect integrated audio processors found on today’s motherboards. Tests revealed that the m-ITX platform offers audio quality somewhere between that of budget notebooks and regular ATX boards.

When testing the board at typical 16/24-bit at 48Hz, THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) was a little higher than I’m accustomed. But, the platform actually produces better audio quality at 24-bit at 92 and 192Hz. The bottom line here is that chances are you won’t ever notice and that it’s got something extra up top, especially if you use the SPDIF (optical) out cable instead.

Final Thoughts

It might be really small, but it can obviously keep up with any ordinary full sized system. It doesn’t come up short when it comes to onboard IO expansion options either. There’s enough USB and SATA to go around. Plus, this the only ITX solution on the market that integrates ZOTAC’s signature WiFi option. Granted, it doesn’t offer SATA3 expansion. But, 6Gb/s hard drives haven’t offered the same kind of performance increases that cheaper USB 3.0 offers.

The ZOTAC H55ITX-C-E can do just about anything because it’s completely scalable, meaning users can use any choice of Intel Core i5/i7 processor, DDR3 memory, and PCI Express 2.0 video card. While this test system was a bit overkill, it doesn’t take much to create your own flawless HTPC to end all HTPCs, or even a kick a$$ gaming system. Ultimately, this SFF motherboard dares to stand against the larger ATX and mATX variants.

The best about this board is pricing. With the onslaught of Sandy Bridge boards driving down prices of previous P55 parts, the ZOTAC should be seeing some mark downs making it a great choice for people looking to snap up a deal on one of the finest mini-ITX boards out there to date.

Pros