Mini-ITX motherboard launches with four full-sized RAM slots in the middle of a RAM shortage — support for up to 256GB of glorious DDR5 on a tiny PCB

Maxsun has proudly announced its new MS-PC Farm B860I. The mini-ITX motherboard features Intel's B860I chipset and includes four DDR5 memory slots, enabling the best RAM performance and supporting up to 256GB of memory.

One limitation of mini-ITX motherboards is the constrained space available to manufacturers. Nevertheless, where there is a will, there is a way; Maxsun has ingeniously incorporated up to four full-sized DDR5 memory slots into the MS-PC Farm B860I. Few mini-ITX motherboards feature four memory slots; those that do are typically restricted to SO-DIMM memory modules, similar to those used in laptops. Although there have been efforts to integrate four standard memory slots into compact motherboards, these are generally larger and include models such as deep mini-ITX or mini-DTX motherboards, which are primarily designed for server applications.

The MS-PC Farm B860I is among three models in Maxsun's Farm series, alongside the MS-PC Farm B760I and MS-PC Farm H770I D5 V2. Notably, the MS-PC Farm B860I is the sole model equipped with four DDR5 memory slots, thereby garnering significant attention. It's the first mini-ITX motherboard to feature four DDR5 memory slots.

The MS-PC Farm B860I utilizes Intel's B860 chipset, indicating compatibility with the LGA1851 platform for Core Ultra 200S (codenamed Arrow Lake) processors. It is reasonable to assume support for Intel's forthcoming Arrow Lake Refresh chips through a minor firmware update. Maxsun has not specified the maximum supported data rates for the MS-PC Farm B860I. However, based on Intel's specifications, DDR4-4400 is guaranteed, whereas higher data rates depend on the quality of the processor's integrated memory controller (IMC), as with any overclocked memory kit.

The 90-degree rotated orientation featuring the LGA1851 socket and memory slots purportedly enhances system airflow. Maxsun asserts that this design decreases processor temperatures by as much as 10 degrees Celsius and allows for clock speeds increased by up to 400 MHz. However, the company has not specified the processor utilized for the testing procedures.

Apart from the render of the MS-PC Farm B860I, Maxsun has not disclosed any detailed specifications. However, based on available observations, the motherboard seems to feature an 11-phase power delivery system. It includes at least one M.2 slot and four SATA III ports. Although it has an expansion slot, it is a PCIe x4 interface, not x8. Assuming it adheres to PCIe 5.0 standards, it should be equivalent to a PCIe 4.0 x8, thus any potential performance reduction would likely be imperceptible, even when paired with the best graphics cards.

In fact, Maxsun does not market the MS-PC Farm B860I towards gaming or workstation markets. Instead, the company promotes the motherboard within the "cloud esports hardware ecosystem.' However, it is plausible to construct an exceptional gaming PC or a capable workstation utilizing the MS-PC Farm B860I. Notable features of the MS-PC Farm B860I include support for IPMI 4.0, the integration of an MCIO interface for PCIe 5.0 expansion, and a 5 Gigabit Ethernet connection.

Maxsun hasn't shared the pricing and availability details for its Farm series of motherboards yet.

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