MSI's Montevina Mini-ITX Motherboard
July 16, 2008
MSI look like they will be one of the first out of the blocks to release a Montevina-based Mini-ITX motherboard, after an early MS-9818 arrived at the Mini-ITX.com underground lair yesterday. The board is so new, we don't have a processor that will actually run on it. Montevina is of course the codename for Intel's latest mobile platform, better known as Centrino 2. Mobile platforms have traditionally been a starting point for low power consumption Mini-ITX motherboard designs with socket CPUs. Intel has introduced a range of 45nm dual core mobile processors together with the Centrino 2 platform, all of which are supported by the MS-9818. For instance the P8400 runs at 2.26GHz with a TDP of just 25W, whilst the 2.8GHz T9600 has a TDP of 35W. For the speed freaks there is the 3.06GHz X9100 Core 2 Extreme processor or even the soon to be launched Quad Core 2 Extreme QX9300 running at 2.53GHz, which we think will have a TDP of about 44W. MS-9818 Specifications - Supported processors: 45nm Socket P Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo/Celeron processors
- FSB: 1066/800/667 MHz
- Chipset: Intel GM45 North Bridge;Intel ICH9M-E South Bridge (with integrated TPM)
- Memory: 2x DDR2 800/667MHz SO-DIMM (up to 4GB max RAM)
- Graphics: Intel GMA X4500 Graphics with DirectX 10 support
- Display Outputs: VGA, DVI-D, HDMI, LVDS
- Audio: Realtek ALC888 5.1 Channel HD Audio; 6W Class-D Amplifier
- LAN: 2x Gigabit LAN ports (82567LM & 82574L)
- Storage:4x SATA II with RAID 0/1/5/10; 1x 44pin IDE
- Peripheral Connectivity: 4x USB 2.0 ports + 4x additional USB 2.0 headers; 1x RS-232/RS-422/RS-485 + 5x additional COM headers
- Expansion: 1x PCI; 1x Mini PCIe; 1x PCIe x1; 1x Compact Flash (underneath board)
- Size: 17cm x 17cm
MSI Motherboards at the Mini-ITX Store
Atom boards aplenty at Computex
June 05, 2008
Intel Atom powered Mini-ITX boards from Intel, Foxconn, Gigabyte, J&W, MSI and Jetway are making appearances on stands at Computex 2008 in Taipei this week.
Intel's D945GCLF 'Little Falls' board started the ball rolling and is already available to purchase. Despite baby-rearing duties keeping our intrepid reporters away from trade shows this year, we've put together a gallery of Atom boards from various sources. We'll add more as and when they are spotted. Many thanks to Hexus, Tweaktown and Bit-Tech.  |  |  | | Gigabyte | J&W | Foxconn |  |  |  | | Foxconn | Foxconn | Jetway |  |  |
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Most of the Atom boards so far have 2x SATA II ports due to the ICH7M chipset, though boards with the ICH7 chipset will be capable of supporting 4x SATA II ports. It's unclear at this stage which of the boards will be fanless as manufacturers often display boards without fans or even heatsinks attached.
VIA announces new Mini-ITX 2.0 standard
June 05, 2008
VIA Technologies today announced a new minimum specification for Mini-ITX motherboards. Mini-ITX 2.0 keeps the 17 x 17cm form factor we know and love, but updates several key areas.
- Processor: High-performance, power efficient x86 processor, such as the VIA Nano processor
- Memory: Support for minimum 2GB DDR2 SDRAM
- Graphics: DirectX 9.0 integrated (IGP); DirectX 10 through an add-in card
- Display: 1 VGA port for LCD display; 1 HDMI port on add-in card
- HD Audio: 3 Audio jacks for up to 6-channel surround sound
- Broadband Connectivity: 1 Gigabit LAN port
- Storage: 2 Serial ATA II slots + 1 IDE (PATA) slot
- Peripheral Connectivity: Minimum 4 USB2.0 ports
- Expansion: 1 PCI Express 16-lane slot
- Size: 17cm x 17cm
- O/S Support: Microsoft® Windows Vista®; Microsoft Windows Vista Premium (through an add-in graphics card); Microsoft Windows® XP, and major Linux distributions such as Ubuntu, Suse Linux and gOS
The first Mini-ITX boards hit the streets in early 2002 and since then many manufacturers have produced boards using their own interpretation of the specifications. None of the Mini-ITX 2.0 features are particularly ground breaking in 2008 but they do set a new baseline, one that hasn't been set in a long time. A "Mini-ITX 2.0" board will bring a guarantee of Vista support, DX10 expandability, Gigabit LAN, SATA 2.0 and a PCI Express slot. VIA expect motherboards and systems based around the Mini-ITX 2.0 standard to be available from leading vendors in the fourth quarter of 2008. VIA's Mini-ITX 2.0 page
VIA's open source laptop design
May 27, 2008
VIA Technologies have made inroads into the buoyant UMPC market over the past few months with the same CPU and chipset technologies used on their Mini-ITX boards. Their OpenBook is a low cost laptop design released under a Creative Commons ShareAlike license, meaning OEMs can download the CAD files for nothing and create their own versions with just a nod to VIA. Specifications of course include a VIA 1.6GHz C7-M processor and VX800M chipset, with a wealth of wireless modules including WiFi/Bluetooth, AGPS, WiMAX, EV-DO, HSDPA and WCDMA all possible. 
The OpenBook weighs 1Kg and measures 240 x 175 x 36.2mm with a 1024 x 600 pixel 8.9in screen, up to 2GB DDR2 RAM, a 2MP camera, memory card reader and a 4 cell battery giving 3 hours battery life. The VX800M chipset is also new from VIA, and is the first to support both the C7-M and their forthcoming Isaiah processor, perhaps suggesting future OpenBooks will get a speed bump. The VX800M also supports MPEG-2, MPEG-4, VC1 and DivX video decoding acceleration - however support for acceleration features on previous VIA chipsets has been weak, so we'll cross our fingers and reserve judgement until we actually test a VX800M based system. VIA's OpenBook
The "GTA-PC"
May 22, 2008
Mark Harris bought the GTA IV special edition, then decided to play with the packaging instead. The safety deposit box was the perfect size to repurpose an old EPIA Mini-ITX motherboard and case and even came with a convenient carrying handle. This one's currently running Slax booting from a 1GB Compact Flash card and runs near silently with just a couple of fans to keep things running cool. Mark Harris's "GTA-PC"
Intel's Eaglelake Mini-ITX boards
March 06, 2008
Intel are showing a Mini-ITX board on their CeBIT stand with the DQ45EK moniker, suggesting it will utilise their Q45 "Eaglelake" 4-series chipset. 
The board looks to have an LGA-755 CPU socket; 2x DVI ports; 2x DDR2 DIMM slots; 4x SATA 2.0; 1x LAN; 3x Audio; 6x USB 2.0 and 1x eSATA port. 
This shorter PCIe x1 slot limits the board to the not at all shabby integrated DirectX 10 GMA 4500 graphics.
Also on display was a DG45FC board (codename "Fly Creek"). The G45 chipset has rather nice X4500HD integrated graphics, supporting High Def H264 and VC-1 decoding in hardware.
This one has an Intel G45 + ICH10-R chipset; LGA-755 socket supporting 65W FMB Intel Core 2 CPUs (Wolfdale and Conroe); Dual output through 1x DVI-I and 1x HDMI ports; 2x Dual Channel DDR2 800/667 DIMM slots; 4x SATA 2.0; 1x 82567LM Gigabit LAN; 5x Audio & S/PDIF out (10 channel audio with Dolby HT); 6x USB 2.0 + 4x USB 2.0 headers on the board; a PCIe x1 Slot and 1x eSATA port.
Photos from here and our friends at Hexus (maybe we'll actually go to CeBIT next year and take our own photos)
Intel planning Atom based Mini-ITX
March 06, 2008
Intel are planning to put their new Atom processor into at least two new low cost Mini-ITX boards later this year. The design, code named "Little Falls" is the first Intel-designed board to include a full Intel chipset, the tried and tested 945GC and ICH7 combination. Last year's initial foray into Mini-ITX ("Little Valley") used a chipset from SiS. The Atom brand incorporates the 45nm CPUs previously codenamed Silverthorne (slower, very low power consumption) and the tweaked and Silverthorne-derived Diamondville (faster, slightly higher power consumption). A dual core Diamondville is due in Q3 this year - this will be incorporated into "Little Falls 2", a few months after the first board. Modelling for us today is a Little Falls board from Gigabyte, which looks like it may have the following specifications: 1.87GHz Atom CPU with 533MHz FSB and 512MB L2 Cache; Intel 945GC+ICH7 Chipset; GMA950 Intel Integrated Graphics; 1x DDR2 800 slot supporting up to 2GB; 1x PCI; 4x USB 2.0; 1x IDE; 2x SATA; PS/2 Keyboard+Mouse; VGA; LAN; Serial; Parallel; 3x Audio. Other boards are likely from Intel, and possibly Asustek and MSI. Two quirks from Little Valley appear to remain with Little Falls. The board has a 12V P4 power connector (most Mini-ITX cases do not - including an adapter cable with the board would resolve this). But more importantly the CPU heatsink is taller than the backplate - severely limiting the choice of low-profile Mini-ITX cases available to it.
VIA launch ARTiGO Pico-ITX Builder Kit
December 10, 2007
VIA have launched the ARTiGO A1000 Builder Kit - a bundle of a 1GHz low power consumption EPIA PX 10000 Pico-ITX motherboard, and their new ARTiGO Pico-ITX chassis. The ARTiGO chassis measures just 150 x 110 x 40 mm (5.9 x 4.3 x 1.8in) and is supplied with an internal DC power board and 60W external power adapter. Builders can add their choice of DDR2 SODIMM (up to 1GB) and 2.5in IDE Hard Drive. The chassis weighs just 520g (1.14 lbs) and power consumption of the whole system is 15W idle or 20W under full load. 
"We have been overwhelmed by the positive response to the launch of the Pico-ITX boards from end-users and the embedded industry alike, so we are delighted to now make it easy for enthusiasts to build their own ultra small personal computer," said Daniel Wu, Assistant Vice President, VIA Embedded Platform Division, VIA Technologies, Inc. "The VIA ARTiGO Builder Kit truly leverages the remarkable energy efficiency and power-performance-size ratio of the Pico-ITX form factor, and further cements VIA’s position as a leading innovator in the x86 space". EPIA PX 10000 Pico-ITX Review Buy an ARTiGO Kit at the Mini-ITX Store More pictures, information and a construction video...
Intel launches 45nm Penryn CPUs
November 12, 2007
Intel launched a new line of microprocessors on Sunday, code-named Penryn. Penryn represents a shrink of the Core 2 Duo architecture from a 65nm to 45nm manufacturing process, but far more interesting than the modest performance gains are the power consumption improvements. 
Penryn uses High-k metal gate transistors, which replaces traditional polysilicon transistor gates with a secret blend of metal alloys. A hafnium based mixture is used for the insulator in place of silicon dioxide. A High-k value means less unwanted current flow, and an easier manufacturing process - allowing the processor to be made smaller. 
Penryn saves power wherever possible. For instance if a 32-bit operation is being performed, the other 32-bits in the data path are temporarily switched off. Additionally, mobile variants of Penryn processors can enable a new Deep Power Down state (DPD) which allows them to idle at under 200 milliwatts many times every second, with a less than 200 microsecond exit latency. The end result is a more densely packed processor which runs cooler and therefore can be pushed to run faster. So when can we expect to see a Penryn Mini-ITX? Intel-based Mini-ITX boards are generally developed from the starting point of Intel's mobile Centrino platform. 1st generation (Intel 855 aka Carmel) and 2nd generation Centrino (Intel 915 aka Sonoma) boards are now rare. 3rd generation boards (Intel 945 aka Napa) and 4th generation (Intel 965 aka Santa Rosa) boards are currently popular - both using similar Merom Core 2 Duo processors. Penryn support will first be added to the Centrino platform in early 2008 (Santa Rosa Refresh), followed proper by the 5th generation Centrino (Montevina, due in Q2 2008).
$199 C7-powered PC at Wal-Mart
November 11, 2007
Everex - the US subsidiary of Taiwan's FIC - are retailing their TC2502 gPC at $199 through selected Wal-Mart stores, just in time for the holiday season.
The TC2502 is powered by the same 1.5GHz VIA C7 processor found in many Mini-ITX boards, with 512MB of DDR2 RAM, 80GB IDE hard drive and a CD-RW/DVD drive. The motherboard doesn't appear to be true 17 x 17cm Mini-ITX, but rather a variant on the 19cm x 23cm reference design from VIA's low cost pc-1 initiative. Photographs of the innards of a retail TC2502 most welcome!
The operating system used is an Ubuntu based distribution called gOS running the lightweight Enlightenment desktop manager, with Firefox and OpenOffice 2.2 installed, and with pre-configured links to many of Google's online applications. gOS was originally developed by FIC, who has now spun it off into a separate company. gOS is available for download here.
A $298 version of the same machine sports 1GB of memory, 80GB SATA HDD, a DVD±RW and runs Windows Home Vista Basic Edition. Everex have used a standard case design presumably to reduce tooling costs, but also because research indicates Wal-Mart shoppers equate the size of a system to its capability...
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