ASRock has joined the AM1 Platform fray with three of its own FS1B socketed motherboards: the AM1B-M, AM1B-ITX, and AM1H-ITX. The new motherboards come in Mini ITX and Micro ATX form factors that support all of Kabini’s I/O options including USB 3.0, SATA III, and PCI-E 2.0 connections.

The two mini ITX motherboards (the AM1B-ITX and AM1H-ITX) feature a FS1B SoC socket, two DDR3 DIMM slots, four SATA III 6Gbps ports, and a single PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot running at PCI-E 2.0 x4. ASRock is using two SATA III ports from the Kabini SoC and two SATA III ports from an ASMedia ASM1061 chipset. Both boards utilize the Realtek RTL8111GR NIC to provide gigabit Ethernet.

asrock-am1h-itxm.jpg

The AM1H-ITX board builds upon the features of the AM1B-ITX by adding a mini PCI-E connector. While the AM1B-ITX uses a 5.1 channel Realtek ALC662 chipset, the AM1H-ITX uses a 7.1 channel ALC892 chipset that supports both analog and optical S/PDIF outputs.

Beyond the mini ITX boards, ASRock is launching the micro ATX AM1B-M. This board features the FS1B Kabini SoC socket, two DDR3 DIMM slots (16GB @ 1600MHz), two SATA III 6Gbps ports, a PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot (running at x4), and a PCI-E x1 slot. The board further offers Gigabit Ethernet and 5.1 channel audio. Noticeably absent is the additional ASMedia chipset that adds two SATA III ports.

asrock-am1b-mm.jpg

Additionally, the three boards have internal headers for extra USB ports and TPM security chips (the exact configuration of which depends on the specific board). The table below breaks down the basic differences between the boards.

  ASRock AM1B-M ASRock AM1B-ITX ASRock AM1H-ITX
Memory 2 x DDR3 (16GB @ 1600MHz) 2 x DDR3 (16GB @ 1600MHz) 2 x DDR3 (16GB @ 1600MHz)
Expansion Slots

1 x PCI-E 2.0 x16 (@ x 4)

1 x PC-E 2.0 x1 (@ x 1)

 1 x PCI-E 2.0 x16 (@ x 4)

1 x PCI-E 2.0 x16

1 x mPCI-E
Storage 2 x SATA III

2 x SATA III from Kabini SoC

2 x SATA III from ASMedia ASM1061

2 x SATA III from Kabini SoC

2 x SATA III from ASMedia ASM1061
Networking Realtek RTL8111GR
Audio Realtek ALC662 Realtek ALC662 Realtek ALC892
Rear IO
  • 1 x PS/2
  • 1 x VGA
  • 4 x USB 2.0
  • 2 x USB 3.0
  • 1 x RJ45
  • 3 x analog audio
  • 1 x PS/2
  • 1 x Parallel
  • 1 x VGA
  • 1 x DVI
  • 1 x HDMI
  • 2 x USB 2.0
  • 2 x USB 3.0
  • 1 x RJ45
  • 3 x analog audio
  • 1 x PS/2
  • 1 x VGA
  • 1 x HDMI
  • 1 x DVI
  • 1 x DisplayPort
  • 2 x USB 2.0
  • 3 x USB 3.0
  • 1 x RJ45
  • 1 x Optical S/PDIF
  • 5 x analog audio

 

As with the other AMD hardware partners, ASRock has not released pricing or availability information. You can expect the micro ATX to be the cheapest of the bunch, with the two mini ITX boards commanding a slight premium for their reduced size and bolstered I/O options. The boards with four SATA III ports would make for great home server options by not requiring a PCI-E card to connect more than two SATA drives. The boards will support Athlon and Sempron branded AMD Kabini SoCs, and the combination of a board and SoC will cost approximately $60 according to AMD.

While the AM1 Platform is restricted to single channel memory (a Kabini memory controller limitation) versus Bay Trail's dual channel memory support, the AM1 Platform offers SATA 6Gbps and a GCN-based graphics part. Bay Trail may have a leg up in memory bandwidth and TDPs, socketed Kabini offers more storage bandwidth and graphics performance. I'm interested to see how the two platform stack up, and what the new boards are able to do.

Also read: AMD Releases the AM1 Platform: Socketed Kabini APU