EPIA

This article is about embedded motherboards. For the European association, see European Photovoltaic Industry Association.

Computer form factors	PCB Size (mm)
WTX	356×425
AT	350×305
BTX	325×266
ATX	305×244
LPX
NLX	254×228
DTX	244×203
FlexATX	229×191
Mini-DTX	203×170
microATX	171×171
Mini-ITX	170×170
EPIC (Express)
Nano-ITX	120×120
COM Express	125×95
EBX
ETX / XTX	114×95
Pico-ITX	100×72
PC/104(-Plus)	96×90
microETXexpress
nanoETXexpress
mobile-ITX	60×60

VIA EPIA (VIA Embedded Platform Innovative Architecture) is a series of mini-ITX, nano-ITX and pico-ITX motherboards with integrated VIA processors. They are small in size and consume less power than computers of comparable capabilities, so are particularly popular in the embedded market.^{[citation needed]}

There are several types of VIA EPIA motherboard: Nano-ITX versions, based on the VIA CoreFusion processor series, and Mini-ITX form factor featuring VIA CPUs and northbridges in separate packaging. They were originally built for industrial applications but came to have a wide range of applications in the consumer market, such as carputers, firewalls, HTPCs, and Small File servers.^{[citation needed]}.

Model codes

The VIA EPIA motherboards have the following designators:

Code	Definition
A	Configured without TV-out
E	Fanless configuration
G	RoHS-compliant
L	Configured with Gigabit LAN (where this is optional)
T	With TPM

Criticism

Although VIA EPIA motherboards are very efficient in terms of space, they are sometimes criticized for being too expensive for the processing power that they provide. It has been commented that other manufacturers, such as PCChips and ASUS, provide more affordable solutions based on the same technologies, namely VIA's low-power processors.[1]

Via has failed to provide support for some claimed features of EPIA boards. For example, although the chipsets support hardware H.264 decoding, no driver for Windows was available as of 2008; only an outdated version of mplayer on Linux supported this feature.^{[citation needed]}

External links

• VIA EPIA motherboards
• Epiacenter Mini-ITX Reviews, Support Forums, FAQ, etc.
• VIA EPIA EN12000E: Today's most efficient CPU & mainboard
• VIA EPIA ME6000 Mini ITX Review