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Foxconn has two upcoming Mini-ITX motherboards with dual-core Intel Atom 330 CPU: the 45CSX Mini-ITX board and the 45CTD Mini-ITX board.

These boards are similar to the 45CS and 45CTP boards respectively, with the only change being the dual-core Atom CPU (replacing the single-core Atom 230 CPU).

Here is a comparison of the boards.

More information on these new Mini-ITX motherboard is available here.

Technorati Tags: 230, 330, 945gc, atom, Foxconn, mini motherboard, mini-itx

Foxconn has released the 45CTP Mini-ITX motherboard.

This Mini-ITX board uses the Atom 230 processor combined with the 945GC chipset and ICH7 southbridge.

45CTP specifications:

• CPU: Intel Atom 230 CPU (1.6GHz)
• Chipset: Intel 945GC + ICH7
• RAM:  1 x 240-pin DIMM, up to 2 GB of DDR2 533 RAM
• Storage: 2 x SATA ports
• Expansion slot: 1 x PCI slot
• Video: integrated GMA 950 graphics, 1 x VGA output
• Audio: Relatek ALC662 5.1 HD audio
• LAN: 1 x Realtek RTL8101E 10/100M Ethernet
• I/O:  8 x USB 2.0 ports (4 x external 4 x internal), 1 x Serial, PS/2 connectors

Read the product specifications here.

Technorati Tags: 945gc, atom, Foxconn, mini motherboard, mini-itx, N230

Portwell has released the WADE-8170 embedded Mini-ITX motherboard.

This Mini-ITX board uses the Atom N270 processor combined with the 945GSE chipset and ICH7M southbridge, which allows for low power consumption and the embedded board to run fanless. Other key features for this board are 12V~24V DC power input, DVI output, 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports and the present of a PCIe x1 slot.

WADE-8170 Specifications:

• CPU: Intel Atom N270 CPU (1.6GHz)
• Chipset: Intel 945GSE + ICH7M
• RAM:  1 x 200-pin SODIMM, up to 2 GB of DDR2 RAM
• Storage: 2 x SATA ports, 1 x IDE port, 1 x CF socket
• Expansion slot: 1 x PCIe x1 slot, 1 x PCI slot
• Video: integrated GMA 950 graphics, 1 x VGA output, 1 x DVI output, LVDS connectors (dual display), 1 x S-Video header
• Audio: mic-in, line-in,line-out
• LAN: 2 x Gigabit Ethernet
• I/O:  8 x USB 2.0 ports (4 x external 4 x internal), 2 x Serial, PS/2 connectors, 1 x Parallel port
• Power: 12V~24V DC power input

Read the product specifications here.

Technorati Tags: 945gse, atom, dvi, embedded, mini motherboard, mini-itx, N270, portwell

Portwell has announced the WADE-8070 embedded Mini-ITX motherboard.

This Mini-ITX board uses the Atom N270 processor combined with the 945GSE chipset and ICH7M southbridge, which allows for low power consumption and the embedded board to run fanless. Other key features for this board are DVI output, 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports and the present of a PCIe x1 slot.

Measuring a mere 170 mm x 170 mm, the WADE-8070 is the ideal solution for low power and small form factor devices in applications such as retail automation, POS, medical equipment, healthcare automation, industrial process control, battery-operated devices, media servers, gaming machines, VoIP, COTS military and digital signage.

WADE-8070 Specifications:

• CPU: Intel Atom N270 CPU (1.6GHz)
• Chipset: Intel 945GSE + ICH7M
• RAM:  1 x 200-pin SODIMM, up to 2 GB of DDR2 RAM
• Storage: 2 x SATA ports, 1 x IDE port, 1 x CF socket
• Expansion slot: 1 x PCIe x1 slot, 1 x Mini-PCI slot
• Video: integrated GMA 950 graphics, 1 x VGA output, 1 x DVI output, LVDS connectors (dual display)
• Audio: mic-in, line-in,line-out
• LAN: 2 x Gigabit Ethernet
• I/O:  6 x USB 2.0 ports (4 x external 2 x internal), 4 x Serial, PS/2 connectors, 1 x Parallel port

Read the product specifications here [via Embedded Computing Design].

Technorati Tags: 945gse, atom, dvi, embedded, mini motherboard, mini-itx, N270, portwell

Advantech has released the industrial AIMB-221 Mini-ITX motherboard.

This new industrial Mini-ITX motherboard supports single and dual core AMD mobile CPUs, and features an HDMI port with optional DVI output.

This board targets embedded information and entertaiment applications.

They’re ideal platforms for fast-emerging markets in which compact size and power-efficiency are required, such as information station kiosks, POS, lottery machines, gaming systems, factory automation and many others.

Advantech AIMB-221 specifications:

• CPU: AMD Turion 64X2 at 2.1GHz or 1.8GHz, AMD Sempron at 2.0GHz or 1.0GHz
• Chipset: AMD 690E
• RAM:  2 x 200-pin SODIMM, up to 4 GB of DDR2 533/667/800 RAM
• Storage: 4x SATAII ports, 1 IDE port, 1 x CF
• Expansion slot: 1x PCI slot, 1x Mini-PCI slot
• Video: ATI Radeon X1250 integrated graphics, 1x VGA output, 1x HDMI output, LVDS, optional DVI
• Audio: Realtek ALC665
• LAN: 2 x Realtek RTL8111C PCIe Gigabit Ethernet
• I/O:  8 x USB 2.0 ports (4 x external, 4 x internal), 6 x Serial ports (2 x external, 4 x internal), 1 x Parallel port PS/2 connector

Product page here [via LinuxDevices.com].

Technorati Tags: 690E, embedded, HDMI, industrial, mini motherboard, mini-itx, Sempron, Turion

The MSI IM-945GSE (MS-9830) Mini-ITX motherboard, as well as the IM-945GC (MS-9832) Mini-ITX motherboard look like they will soon been available online.

Here are some of the online retailers, prices and availabilty information at the time of writing:

MSI IM-945GSE board:

• Logic Supply ($184, expected availability 12/24/2008)
• Buy.com ($198.99, temporarily sold out)
• PC Connection ($177.59, limited quantity available )

MSI IM-945GC board:

• Logic Supply ($161, expected availability 12/13/2008)
• PC Connection ($154.69, call for availability)

There is quite a premium to pay for these boards, in the $150-200 range.

I recall both boards were listed as “limited quantities available” at PC Connection end of last week. It looks like they have gone quickly…

Technorati Tags: 945gc, 945gse, atom, availability, mini motherboard, mini-itx, MSI

PC World is reporting that the Intel Atom processor is no longer in short supply.

The shortage due to the popularity of netbooks appears to have eased in October, and availability should not be an issue any more.

Although the article only mentions nettops and netbooks, this will allow Atom based Mini-ITX motherboards to be more widely available. Unreleased boards (such as the J&W J945ITX01) and new dual core Atom boards could be announced as a result.

Read the full article here.

Technorati Tags: atom, availability, Intel

For some time, I have been wanting to provide an up to date list of the Mini-ITX motherboards available on the market.

This post is the first of a series, starting with the comparison of the Mini-ITX motherboards with AM2/AM2+ socket.

There are currently 7 boards available:

• Albatron KI690-AM2
• Albatron KI780G
• J&W MINIX 780G-SP128MB
• Jetway NC81-LF (JNC81-LF)
• Jetway NC62K (JNC62K)
• Magic Pro MP-NC81
• Magic Pro MP-NC62K-LF

As some of the Mini-ITX motherboards share the same specifications (OEM versions under different names), I have grouped the boards in the table below to keep it simple.

Technorati Tags: 4 SATA, 780g, AM2, AMD, dvi, GeForce 8200, HDMI, J&W, Jetway, Magic-Pro, mini motherboard, mini-itx

AXIOMTEK has announced the eBOX830-831-DC-FL, a fanless embedded computer.

This embedded computer is based on the SBC86831 Mini-ITX motherboard. It runs fanless, in a housing 11.81” x 8.27” x 4.11” (300mm x 210mm x 104.5mm) in size. The case has one 2.5” SATA hard drive bay, and supports a PCI interface or an optical drive.

eBOX830-831-DC-FL Specifications:

• Construction: Aluminium and heavy duty-steel
• Dimensions: 11.81” x 8.27” x 4.11” (300mm x 210mm x 104.5mm)
• CPU: Socket M, supports Core 2 Duo and Celeron M processors up to 1.5GHz
• Chipset: Intel 945GME + ICH7M/-DH
• RAM: 2 x 240-pin DIMM, up to 4 GB of DDR2 RAM
• Expansion slots: 1 x PCI slot (only available when no optical disk drive)
• Display: Intel GMA 950 Integrated Graphics, 1 x VGA output
• Audio: AC’97 Audio
• Storage: 1 x IDE port, 2 x SATA ports; 2.5” SATA hard disk bay, optical disk drive bay (blocks PCI slot)
• LAN: 2 x Gigabit USB: 6 x USB 2.0 (4x rear panel, 2x front)
• I/O: 2 x IEEE 1394a ports , 4 x serial ports , 2 x PS/2 ports

Supports is announced for Windows XP Embedded, Windows CE or Linux OS.

Worth noting is that there is no reference to the PCIe x16 expansion slot from the SBC86831 Mini-ITX motherboard in this embedded system.

Read the press release here [via WindowsForDevices.com].

Product page here.

Technorati Tags: 945GME, AXIOMTEK, embedded computer, fanless, mini motherboard, mini-itx

SiteGround web hosting company has announced a new managed dedicated server offering based on the dual core Intel Atom 330 processor.

This is the first shared web hosting provider with such an offer.

The new Intel Atom 330 server is a new energy-saving concept that was happily adopted by the SiteGround team. The machine is designed to be both nature-friendly and yet very powerful while keeping a very low price. It sharply reduces the energy consumption by 75% as compared to other servers with similar characteristics. It also uses the dual core technology that guarantees the better speed and response time of the server as compared to its low-cost competitors.

The atom based servers run CentOS, and comes with 2 GB RAM, 320 GB disk and allow for 3,000 GB of monthly traffic. The technical details regarding the servers are not communicated.

Details of the offering here.

Technorati Tags: atom, Atom 330, dual core, Hosting, Intel