In the past, most Mini-ITX boards used very low power CPUs, such as Intel Atom chips, or similar designs from AMD or VIA. While those chips were able to deliver the precisely defined performance levels of many targeted applications, often they just didn't have enough punch for more complex projects. The AIMB-215 addresses that issue by offering a trio of available Intel "Bay Trail" Celeron processors.

As far as Intel's "Bay Trail" processor platform goes, it's based on a heavily overhauled Atom processor architecture, but that's where the similarity to older Atoms ends. Bay Trail includes Atom, Celeron and even Pentium branded chips. That's a bit confusing as Intel traditionally used the Atom brand for its barest entry level processors, and the Celeron and Pentium brands as the low end of its Core processor lines.

A particular weakness in earlier Atom chips was their sluggish graphics performance. That's changed in Bay Trail, too, as the platform includes GPUs that use the same Intel execution units (EUs) as the HD 4000 graphics in Intel's 3rd generation "Ivy Bridge" Core processors. This gives them support for most of the same APIs and features — DirectX 11, OpenGL 3.X, and OpenCL 1.2 are all present on the API side, as is dual-display support.

Available CPUs (see full specs)	Intel Celeron	Intel Celeron	Intel Celeron
Model	J1900	N2930	N2807
Lithography	22nm	22nm	22nm
Cores/Threads	4/4	4/4	2/2
Base Clock Speed	2.00 GHz	1.83 GHz	1.58 GHz
Burst Frequency	2.42 GHz	2.16 GHz	2.16 GHz
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	10 watts	7.5 watts	4.3 watts
L2 Cache	2MB	2MB	1MB
Integrated graphics	HD Graphics (6 EUs)	HD Graphics (6 EUs)	HD Graphics (6 EUs)
Graphics base speed	688 MHz	313 MHz	313 MHz
Graphics max speed	854 MHz	854 MHz	750 MHz
Intel Wireless Display	No	Yes	Yes

The three processors available for the AIMB-215 are the Intel Celeron J1900, N2930, and N2807. Sometimes there is a very substantial difference between available processor options, but here things aren't so clear.

The dual-core Celeron N2807 is clearly the low end, and is the choice for projects where the lowest possible heat dissipation matters, and performance requirements will not exceed what the chip can offer.

The difference between the J1900 and the N2930 is more difficult to assess. Both are quad-core designs, but whereas the J1900 is part of Intel's Bay Trail-D low-end desktop chip lineup, the N2930 is classified as a Bay Trail-M chip for mobile duty. The J1900 runs a little faster both in CPU and GPU clock speed, which results in a higher thermal design power of 10 vs. 7.5 watts, and in some projects that can make a difference. One difference shown in Intel's spec sheets (which aren't always comprehensive) is that the N2930 supports Intel WiDi (Wireless Display) whereas the J1900 does not. WiDi permits wireless streaming of audio and video data to flatscreens.

Advantech considers this mini-ITX board as offering significant CPU and graphics performance improvements over their earlier mini-ITX offerings, such as the AIMB-210 or AIMB-213. Between the higher performance and the very low board profile, the AIMB-215 is clearly a prime candidate for numerous space-constrained applications such as panel PCs and digital signage boxes in ATMs, kiosks, point-of-sale systems, gaming, automation and similar.

Dual displays are supported via standard rear I/O VGA and DisplayPort connectors, as well as an internal LVDS connector on the board itself. If display resolution matters, note that the maximum resolutions vary between output method (see specs).

There is a single PCIe expansion slot, and also two mini-PCIe slots. RAM is provided via two 204-pin Non-ECC SODIMM slots that accommodates up to 16GB of DDR3L 1333 SDRAM.

The AIMB-215 board supports dual 10/100/1000Base-T gigabit Ethernet channels, and there are two RJ45 jacks on the rear I/O panel, both using Realtek 8111E controllers.

For storage, the AIMB-215 offers two onboard SATA connectors with a data transmission rate of up to 300 MB. There's also mSATA support via mini-PCIe (which has a SIM card holder on the bottom side of the board), but mSATA is only available when the SATA2 port is not in use. Unlike an earlier AIMB-213 board we reviewed, the AIMB-215 doesn't have a Compact Flash slot for the system to boot off.

The rear I/O panel has three USB 2.0 ports, a USB 3.0 port, VGA, DisplayPort, and audio. What you see on the rear I/O panel, however, is only part of what the AIMB-215 offers. On the board itself are six RS232 serial lines, six more USB 2.0 connector pins, LVDS, as well as an 8-bit Digital I/O (DIO) connector, and even PS/2 keyboard and mouse connectors. Also note the notebook-style power jack in addition to the 4-pin internal ATX connector. It's there because the AIMB-215 offers DC12V support.

Anyone who has ever built their own PC from parts knows about the system panel connector that interacts with buttons and lights on the case or enclosure. It links to the system power LED, reset button, power button, and hard disk activity light. That's no different on a Mini-ITX board.