ZOTAC IONITX-F-E Intel Atom 330 (1.6GHz, dual-core) MCP7A-ION Mini ITX Motherboard / CPU Combo

Pros: The layout of this board is great, and it plays 1080p full-bandwidth videos at 39 degrees C without a hiccup (stock fan, ambient temperature 64 degrees F, vented case on, no case fans). I had no problems installing anything, finding drivers, etc. Dual boots to both Windows 7 and Linux (Mythbuntu 9.10) no problems. Video playback test was in Linux, using the VDPAU extension. The mini-ITX formfactor is refreshingly small, if you're replacing micro-ATX you will find you now have oceans of space to play in.

Cons: The power plug is a 20-pin ATX plug, not 24-pin, and there are jumpers on one side of it, and a capacitor on the other. For this reason a 24-pin plug from a power supply WILL NOT FIT! (normally you can plug a 24-pin male plug into a 20-pin female socket, you just leave 4 of the male plugs hanging over the edge). Make sure your power supply has a 20-pin (or 20-pin + detachable 4-pin) type connector, not a full 24-pin connector, or else you will need an adapter. Also, there is no firewire on the board. If you want to use this as an HTPC motherboard you will not be able to get video from a set-top cable box via firewire AND get video from a PCIe tv-tuner card... unless you can find a TV tuner card with an onboard firewire port (and i don't think they make those, do they?)

Overall Review: Only 2 memory slots might not be enough for some people, however I do not consider this a "con" for such a small board, clearly intended for HTPC's. Since when does an HTPC need more than 4GB of memory?

Pros: Quiet, low heat, Runs Win7/XMBC/1080p no problem. Great board for an HTPC as long as you don't need an RMA.

Cons: No advanced RMA option. You need to send in your item, wait several days for processing then days more for return shipping.

Overall Review: No advanced RMA? Really? Even if I pay a free? No? Wow, even Dell does that! You're not going to repair my board, so just ship me my replacement the next day and let me use that packing material to return the defective one back. Bill me the price of the board and shipping now, credit back the board charge when you get the defective unit back. Simple. Just ask any of your competitors.

Seriously, this is the first piece of PC tech that I could not get an advanced RMA for... and I've worked in hardware support for years. Having a system down for over a week just isn't acceptable service these days.