I am looking for a Micro Atx motherboard with a fanless, onboard cpu for a silent htpc. All those I found, however, are using a cpu based on the atom architecture (braswell or the slightly newer goldmont variant), which are 6-10w tdp processors with 2-4 cores; each core is a pretty basic dual issue in order cpu.
Having recently assembled an htpc for a friend with a Pentium N3700 (four core braswell, 2.4 Ghz) I've a good idea of what these cpus are capable of. They're not bad cpus but a bit limited for anything than old games (with an external video card) and media playing.
Among Skylake and the newer Kabylake CPUs, there are some low power variants for tablets and embedded systems with a TDP of 7.5-15w. These cpus are found in some tablet PCs and in set top boxes, but I cannot find a standalone motherboard for assembling a small silent pc around it. I'd like to avoid using a 35w CPU, which would require a more sophisticate (or noisy) cooling solution, but it seems I've no choice.
Before giving up, as a last resort, I ask here if somebody knows of a mATX or ITX motherboard with a Core Y / U low power processor and eventually a full length PCIe slot for an external video card.
Having recently assembled an htpc for a friend with a Pentium N3700 (four core braswell, 2.4 Ghz) I've a good idea of what these cpus are capable of. They're not bad cpus but a bit limited for anything than old games (with an external video card) and media playing.
Among Skylake and the newer Kabylake CPUs, there are some low power variants for tablets and embedded systems with a TDP of 7.5-15w. These cpus are found in some tablet PCs and in set top boxes, but I cannot find a standalone motherboard for assembling a small silent pc around it. I'd like to avoid using a 35w CPU, which would require a more sophisticate (or noisy) cooling solution, but it seems I've no choice.
Before giving up, as a last resort, I ask here if somebody knows of a mATX or ITX motherboard with a Core Y / U low power processor and eventually a full length PCIe slot for an external video card.