Although they will probably be overpriced and I doubt the "thermal armor" really actually does anything, unless to make the motherboard stiffer which is good.
But wow, I really, really want to build something with that mITX. That would be sweet.
The "armor" is actually pretty nice. Trying to seat a card or stick of RAM in a tight slot can be a butt puckering moment when you feel your mobo flexing. Not to mention how big some vid cards are getting. Heck, my CPU heatsink is a big damn piece of metal hanging off my mobo. As for the "thermal" part of it.... eh... If I had to guess it'll help transfer heat from some hotspots and spread it around, but ultimately under prolonged loads it'll just make sure the entire mobo is the same temperature. From what I'm seeing there's just nothing there that will really improve heat transfer enough to lower the temperature by 20 degrees C. Unless you've got a set up that will let you duct a fan to blow between the armor and the mobo itself.
Still, I like the reinforcement. I'd guess when it goes on sale either of those boards will likely be $400 to $500.
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