This document defines Pico-ITX, the IT industry’s smallest mainboard form factor specification, developed by VIA Technologies, Inc. as part of its “Small is Beautiful” strategy of shrinking the x86 platform in order to inspire innovative system design and to make x86 accessible for a new generation of smaller computing and connecting devices.

In addition to describing the main features and applications for Pico-ITX form factor mainboards, this document also includes information about the VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX mainboard reference design, a working version of the board with suggested components and layout.

2. Pico-ITX Mainboard Form Factor Overview

2.1 Pico-ITX Mainboard Form Factor Features and Benefits

The new Pico-ITX mainboard form factor provides system developers and OEMs with a standardized, ultra compact yet highly integrated platform that can be utilized across multiple embedded PC, system and appliance designs. From car PCs embedded within dashboards and in-flight entertainment systems to industrial automation systems and even ultra portable devices, the Pico-ITX can enable the design of full x86 computing devices in previously impractical locations and applications.

Measuring just 10cm x 7.2cm, the Pico-ITX is currently the smallest complete x86 mainboard in the industry, smaller than all existing ATX, BTX and ITX form factors. It is the latest advance in mainboard design, and the third generation of platform size reduction from VIA:

VIA Form Factor

Mini-ITX

Dimensions

17cm x 17cm

Announced

November 2001

Nano-ITX

Pico-ITX

12cm x 12cm

10cm x 7.2cm

March 2004

April 2007

Remarkably, a board area reduction of exactly 50% has occurred at each stage of miniaturization, and the overall reduction in size over this period, between the Mini-

ITX and the Pico-ITX is greater than 75%.

Achieving these levels of miniaturization has been made possible by VIA’s principal product design strategy, which has focused on enhancing power efficiency, thermal management and feature integration across the silicon and the platform level. Only by developing smaller, cooler-running silicon components have these size reductions in board design become technologically feasible.

Principal among these advances has been VIA’s processor platforms, which has seen an area reduction of 82% over a five-year timeframe, from the Socket 370 package of

50mm x 50mm to the current nanoBGA2 package of the VIA C7 processor family of just 21mm x 21mm, while seeing significant increases in speed and performance. The

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VIA Pico-ITX Form Factor

Small is Beautiful

VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX mainboard reference design has been specifically developed to be powered by the energy efficient VIA processor platforms, such as the VIA C7 or fanless VIA Eden processor.

The VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX mainboard reference design also features another significant silicon miniaturization advance: one of the new breed of VIA’s system media processors, all-in-one digital media IGP chipsets with a powerful array of core logic, multimedia, connectivity and storage technologies within a very highly integrated single-chip package.

Table 1 provides a summary of the main features and benefits of the Pico-ITX mainboard form factor.

Table 1: Pico-ITX Mainboard Feature & Benefit Summary

Features

Ultra-compact 10cm x 7.2cm

Board Size

Rich I/O Integration

VIA Processor Platform

Slimline 30W Power Supply

Benefits

Enables small footprint system designs

Reduces overall system costs

Support for complete range of I/O standards:

USB, COM, DVI, LVDS, 10/100Mbps Ethernet, etc

Reduces overall system costs

Ultra low power consumption

Passive (fanless) cooling

Enables more compact system designs

Saves system space

Enables fanless silent PC designs due to its low heat characteristics

Reduces overall system costs

Enhances reliability

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VIA Pico-ITX Form Factor

Small is Beautiful

2.2 Pico-ITX Mainboard Form Factor Product Applications

The Pico-ITX mainboard form factor opens up a new world of possibilities for system design, with the potential for x86 device across the commercial, industrial, medical, retail, agricultural, travel, utility or personal space. Standard PC computing and communicating functionality for business, academic and personal use can be catered for in smaller than ever packages with the Pico-ITX, even into portable devices for the handbag or briefcase.

The Pico-ITX mainboard form factor was also designed to bring the performance of x86 to the very broad field of embedded design, which underpins almost every aspect of daily life. Automation, display, retail management, casino gaming, traffic management, productivity, signage and many more embedded information and entertainment applications can be given higher levels of intelligence, and can now be built into smaller chassis with the Pico-ITX.

The new Pico-ITX mainboard form factor has been specifically designed for integration in ultra small footprint chassis, including a growing number of embedded PC reference systems, such as that shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Embedded PC Reference Design

The Embedded PC reference design is a small, quiet and inexpensive entry-level computing platform spanning price points from US$299 to US$499. It is optimized for mainstream Internet applications and services as well as common productivity, education, storage and entertainment applications. The Embedded PC is fully compatible with standard x86 hardware and software, thus offering the advantage of flexibility, connectivity, upgrade-ability, and, with the VIA C7 processor, quiet operation.

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VIA Pico-ITX Form Factor

Small is Beautiful

2.3 Pico-ITX Board Dimensions

Table 2 below compares the dimensions of the Pico-ITX with those of other common mainboard form factors used in the PC and embedded industries. As can be seen, the

Pico-ITX is the smallest available form factor on the market.

Table 2: Mainboard Dimensions Comparison Chart

Pico-ITX

PC/104

ETX

Nano-ITX

Mini-ITX

FlexATX

PicoBTX

MiniATX

MicroATX

NanoBTX

MicroBTX

BTX

Maximum

Width (mm)

Maximum

Depth (mm)

Maximum Area

(mm

)

% Larger than

Pico-ITX

100 72 7,200 -

95.9 90.2 8,650 20%

266.7 203.2 54,193 652%

266.7 223.5 59,607 728%

266.7 264.2 70,441 878%

266.7 325.1 86,704 1104%

2.4 Pico-ITX Chassis Mounting

The Pico-ITX mainboard form factor was designed specifically for small footprint appliances such as the Embedded PC, Digital Signage, Thin Client, KIOSK, or Set Top

Box currently being promoted by VIA Technologies, Inc. It needs a new mounting mechanism for a new chassis design.

2.5 Pico-ITX Power Specifications

The Pico-ITX compliant power supply is designed with several space, energy and noise reduction features in mind. The typical physical dimensions (see Table 3 below) are very compact compared to other standard power supplies such as ATX. The options of

AC 100 – 240V and 50 – 60Hz auto switching are fully supported.

The onboard VIA processor in the nanoBGA2 package leverages its small die size and highly efficient CoolStream architectural design to deliver power consumption to below one watt when running in optimized low voltage mode.

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VIA Pico-ITX Form Factor

Small is Beautiful

2.6 Pico-ITX Power Supply Connector

The Pico-ITX power specification uses an industry standard 12-pin main connector to the power supply as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: 12-pin Pico-ITX Power Supply Connector

Power Cable

Pin 6

Pin 12

Pin 6

Pin 12

Pin 7

Pin 1

Pin PSU Connector

1 +3.3V

2 +5V_SB

3 +12V

4 +5V

5 +5V

6 PWR_GD

7 +3.3V

8 +3.3V

9 GND

10 PWR_ON-

11 GND

12 GND

Power Connector

Pin 1

Table 3: Pico-ITX Switching Power Supply DC Output

Output

Voltage

Load Range Peak 3

Sec.

Voltage

Tolerance

Ripple &

Noise

(p-p)

Min. Max.

Over

Voltage

Protection

5V_SB 0.1A 0.5A 0.8A ±5% 100mV 5.5V

+3.3V 0.5A 3.5A 4.0A ±5% 100mV 3.63V

+5V 0.1A 3.5A 4.5A ±5% 100mV 5.5V

+12V 0.01A

Total Power: Max 22W, Peak 25W

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VIA Pico-ITX Form Factor

Small is Beautiful

3. VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX Mainboard Reference Design

3.1 VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX Mainboard Reference Design Overview

The VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX mainboard reference design provides developers with a standard platform for designing and building truly cost effective, ultra compact, scalable mainboards incorporating a myriad of features not previously possible using such a small form factor. With an onboard processor and all essential components, the

VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX reference design is a complete system on motherboard.

Designed specifically for the energy efficient range of VIA processors such as the VIA

C7 processor, the VIA VT6047 is built around one of VIA’s highly integrated system media processors, the VIA VX700, an all-in-one digital media IGP chipset, and features one So-DIMM slot, as well as a combination of IDE and SATA connectors,

10/100Mbps Ethernet, and on-board LVDS and DVI interface to provide a highly flexible and cost effective platform that can be scaled to meet a range of product requirements and feature sets.

Figure 3: VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX Mainboard Reference Design

The VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX mainboard reference design is ideal for embedded systems, since the embedded market demands much higher levels of energy efficiency and miniaturization than the PC industry, as well as greater product reliability and compatibility. Like its forerunners, the Mini- and Nano-ITX form factors, the VIA VT6047 provides a standardized, off-the shelf platform with full hardware compatibility to minimize development and testing time and to speed time to market.

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VIA Pico-ITX Form Factor

Small is Beautiful

3.2 VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX Mainboard Reference Design Specification

The VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX mainboard reference design configuration specifies the combination of features as shown in Table 4 below.

Table 4: VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX Mainboard Reference Design Specification

Item

Processor

Description

VIA C7/VIA Eden V4 bus processor

• NanoBGA2 package up to 1.5GHz

• 128K L1 and 128K L2 cache

Core Logic

Main Memory

Graphics

VIA VX700 all-in-one system media processor

• 1 DDR2 400/533 So-DIMM socket

• Up to 1GB memory size

• Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro II 3D/2D AGP graphics with

MPEG-2/4 and WMV9 video decoder

• Integrated LVDS and DVI interface

• VIP port for video overlay function

Storage (ATA)

Audio System

Ethernet (LAN)

TV Out

On-board

I/O Ports

Rear I/O Ports

• UltraDMA 133/100/66/33

• One 44-pin right-angle IDE connector

• One SATA connector

VIA VT1708A

• 7.1 channels high definition audio codec

• 7.1 channels audio out and SPDIF in header

• Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro compatible

VIA VT6106S

• 10/100Mbps Ethernet Controller

VIA VT1625M TV Encoder integrated (optional)

• Integrated Macro Vision 7.01

• High quality scaling and filtering

• S-Video or Composite video output

• Support NTSC/PAL TV

• One USB header for four USB 2.0 ports.

• One Front audio header for 7.1 audio, Line-in, and Mic-in

• One LVDS and DVI connector

• One PS/2 mouse/keyboard header

• One COM port header

• One Pico-ITX power connector

• One optional multi-media connector for HDTV and capture port expansion

• One RJ45 Ethernet port

• One CRT connector

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VIA Pico-ITX Form Factor

Small is Beautiful

3.2 VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX Mainboard Power Requirements

The VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX mainboard reference design can support both ITX and ATX compliant power supplies. The VIA 60W DC to DC converter PWB-N550 daughterboard is recommended to support 12V output. There is an AC adapter, which is popular in the market place.

3.3 VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX Mainboard Reference Design Layout

Figures 4 and 5 outline the basic placement of components on the VIA VT6047 Pico-

ITX mainboard reference design layout, while Figure 6 specifies the board dimensions.

Figure 4: VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX Mainboard PCB Layout: Top

CRT

Ethernet

LAN

1 J1

CMOS Reset

CN1

CN2

COM Port

6 12

CN3

VIA

Advanced All-in-One

System Processor

VT6106S

VX700

LPC

BIOS

U10

Front Audio

USB x4

PS/2

6 2

Front Panel

CN6

5 1

Multi Media

J4 17

CN7

LVDS

CN5

CN4

FAN1

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VIA Pico-ITX Form Factor

Small is Beautiful

Figure 5: VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX Mainboard PCB Layout: Underside

Battery

CR2032

DDRII SO-DIMM 200pin 1.8V

CN8

U25

Super IO Lite

VT1212

HD Audio Codec

VT1708A

U29

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VIA Pico-ITX Form Factor

Small is Beautiful

Figure 6: VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX Mainboard Mechanical Specifications

CRT

LAN

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VIA Pico-ITX Form Factor

Small is Beautiful

4. Conclusion

The introduction of the Pico-ITX form factor builds on VIA’s tradition of technology leadership at the platform level. VIA’s Mini-ITX form factor, which celebrated its 5 th anniversary of commercial availability as the first VIA EPIA mainboard in February of this year, has been enthusiastically adopted by both developers and hobbyists alike and fostered a whole community dedicated to small form factor design, with multiple vendors offering this form factor in both the PC and embedded industries, and a broad and mature infrastructure in place for chassis and other accessories. The Nano-ITX is following in its footprints, having been well received by the embedded market. Now, the Pico-ITX takes over the mantle as the smallest x86 platform for innovation.

Figure 7: VIA Technology Leadership in Mainboard Design

5. Contacts

For more information on the Pico-ITX form factor specification, please contact Richard

Brown or Robert Kuo, VIA Technologies, Inc, or access the VIA corporate website at www.viatech.com

1) Marketing Contact: Richard Brown, [email protected]

2) Technical contact: Robert Kuo, [email protected]

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User manual | pico-itx_form_factor..

VIA Pico-ITX Form Factor

“Small is Beautiful”

Ultra Compact Mainboard Form Factor for a New Generation of Small Footprint

Embedded PCs, Systems and Appliances

Mainboard Specification

White Paper

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Pico-ITX Mainboard Form Factor Overview

2.1 Pico-ITX Mainboard Form Factor Features and Benefits

2.2 Pico-ITX Mainboard Form Factor Product Applications

2.3 Pico-ITX Board Dimensions

2.4 Pico-ITX Chassis Mounting

2.5 Pico-ITX Power Specifications

2.6 Pico-ITX Power Supply Connector

Power Cable

Power Connector

3. VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX Mainboard Reference Design

3.1 VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX Mainboard Reference Design Overview

3.2 VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX Mainboard Reference Design Specification

3.2 VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX Mainboard Power Requirements

3.3 VIA VT6047 Pico-ITX Mainboard Reference Design Layout

4. Conclusion

5. Contacts

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