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Difficulty: Very hardMotherboards Form Factors and Connectors

A technician is building a compact workstation using a Mini-ITX motherboard inside a small form factor (SFF) chassis. The system requires dedicated graphics and high-performance processing capability. Which of the following statements regarding motherboard power connectors and expansion slot characteristics are true for this build? (Select TWO.)

  1. Standard Mini-ITX motherboards feature exactly one PCIe expansion slot, typically a PCIe x16 slot.Answer
  2. B
    The main 24-pin ATX power connector supplies all necessary power to modern high-TDP processors without requiring supplemental power cables.
  3. The 8-pin EPS12V motherboard connector delivers supplemental +12V power dedicated to the processor VRM.Answer
  4. D
    Installing an M.2 SATA SSD into any motherboard M.2 slot will automatically force the drive to operate at PCIe x4 NVMe bandwidth.

Answer

Standard Mini-ITX motherboards feature exactly one PCIe expansion slot, typically a PCIe x16 slot, and the 8-pin EPS12V motherboard connector delivers supplemental +12V power dedicated to the processor VRM.
Mini-ITX motherboards have standardized physical dimensions of 6.7 x 6.7 inches which only allow room for one expansion slot (typically PCIe x16). Additionally, modern performance CPUs require dedicated +12V power delivered via an 8-pin EPS12V connector to supply power cleanly through the motherboard's voltage regulators.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Evaluate motherboard form factor physical constraints for Mini-ITX.
Confirm that the 17cm x 17cm (6.7 in x 6.7 in) Mini-ITX specification accommodates only a single expansion slot.
Physical board dimension restrictions prevent inclusion of multiple PCIe slots common on Micro-ATX or ATX boards.
2
Analyze CPU power delivery requirements and connector functionality.
Identify that the 8-pin EPS12V connector supplies dedicated 12V power to the processor power phases.
The 24-pin main ATX connector alone cannot safely provide the high amperage demanded by modern performance CPUs.
3
Assess distractors involving protocol bus speeds and power connector duties.
Reject statements claiming the 24-pin ATX connector is sufficient by itself or that SATA M.2 drives achieve NVMe PCIe transfer rates.
M.2 SATA drives are bound by SATA controller throughput limitations, and high-TDP CPUs require dedicated auxiliary power lines.

Key Concept

Motherboard Form Factors and Power Connectors
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Topics

Motherboards Form Factors and Connectors

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