Asrock Z68M-ITX-HT and Asrock A75-ITX Square Off
I enjoy reading motherboard reviews, even when I’m not in the market for a new system. However, when I am planning a new build, my favorite kind of motherboard review is a good old-fashioned platform showdown.
Today we’re looking at a new breed of Mini-ITX motherboards from Asrock called the Z68M-ITX/HT and A75M-ITX. The former is an Intel Z68 board that supports Intel’s second-generation Core processors (Sandy Bridge), while the latter utilizes AMD A75’s chipset to support Socket FM1 processors, namely the new Fusion A-series desktop APUs.
Take two boards from the same manufacturer that target the same market and have similar feature sets, mix in comparable processors from Intel and AMD, and you have a great comparison of the two major platforms. If you are looking at building a new HTPC and haven’t decided between the A75/Llano combo or the Z68/Sandy Bridge combo, a showdown like this will serve to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each platform.