Well, this makes a lot of sense to me. I have been thinking about building a small Server/Workstation based on Ryzen ever since they came out. My intention was to build my own case so that the Server would fit into my briefcase. Believe it or not, I had done so. It had a ITX motherboard, a 120mm AIO Cooler, a rack of 4 exchangeable 2.5in Drives, a short 170mm GPU and an SFX Power Supply. I was intending to drive it using Remote Desktop from a PC when at home or a Tablet when I was out and about.
The problem with a Ryzen CPU for this purpose was since they do not have on-board graphics I had to have a GPU that took up considerable space inside the case. Since it's a Server/Workstation 1080p graphics is fine. So really any GPU is a dramatic waste of space. I realise I could use an APU, but I did not want to give up those cores, as the main application it will run is MS SQL Server and a bunch of virtual PCs.
I was also cencerned about the fact that an ITX Motherboard is limited to only 2 motherboard slots. I did not want to max out the Memory with 64 GB in two cards to start with. Nor did I like the idea of buying smaller DIMMs to start with, only to have to chuck them out to upgrade the Memory. (SQL Server will use as much Memory as you have. It obviously performs much better with more.)
A MicroATX Motherboard with built in graphics, therefore makes a lot of sense, as it solves both of my main problems. I won't need the space for a GPU and I can start with 32 Gb of memory and add another 32Gb later. I should have more room for a bigger AIO Cooler too. I just don't know what I'll use those PCIe slots for - perhaps one for WiFi and another for a Digital TV Tuner. The obvious drawback is increased motherboard size.
The other issue I need to know about is PCIe4 support. Will it become available on this board or perhaps a future similar X570 board.
Anyway it's back to the drawing board for the case design.
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