Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Mini STX

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Mini-STX (aka Intel 5x5) is a motherboard form factor that supports upgradable processors. Size-wise, it's in between Intel's NUC (next unit of computing) motherboards and Mini-ITX boards that are popular in small form-factor builds.

Contents

Benefits of this form factor

  • Mini-STX boards have processor sockets allowing for users to upgrade or replace processors
  • Larger size than NUC boards, meaning that they're more accessible for large-handed computer hardware enthusiasts
  • Being a fully-fledged computer and yet smaller than a Mini-ITX board means that computers can continue to grow smaller.

    • Drawbacks of this form factor

  • There's no full-size expansion slot (although there is space for a Mini PCI-e or M.2-type slot).
  • Less space for I/O on the back of the board compared to other motherboards.
  • The lack of space on the motherboard itself means that less features will be able to be packed in or the board will be more expensive.
  • The boards generally only support SO-DIMM memory slots which is a disadvantage over Mini-ITX
  • Finding spare parts may prove difficult in the future because the form factor is relatively new.

    • References

    Mini-STX Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA