Asus Shows Off Atom Motherboard

There is no doubt about it, all the major manufacturers are jumping on board with motherboards based on the Intel Atom dual-core processor. With the need to save energy, and bad economy, plus the general idea that efficiency and utility is all that is needed in a computer, many people will be buying much smaller boxes, though not everyone will want a portable. For those, these Atom motherboards, made for small chassis’ are just what the doctor ordered.

from   TechConnect

Taiwanese manufacturer Asus is preparing a push into the DIY nettop market with a new mini-ITX motherboard ‘enhanced’ with Atom power. Seen below, the board is named AT3GC-I and it features a dual-core 1.6GHz Atom 330 processor, the 945GC and ICH7 chips, and has one DDR2-533 memory slot, GMA 950 integrated graphics, and two SATA 3.0 Gbps ports.

The upcoming motherboard also boasts Gigabit Ethernet, 5.1 channel audio, and has a D-Sub output. No word on pricing but Asus will probably reveal more about the board next week at Computex.

With integrated graphics, audio, and networking, the board gives much in a small space. Some will want to use the board in a case with a PCI extension bracket, which gives usage of two PCI slots, placed perpendicular to the riser card, so that a bit more expandability is given, but most will use the board by itself, with the only additions being memory and a couple of drives in the case.

With the popularity of home servers, this will find duty in many out of the way places, including closets, but some will also fashion specialized appliances, like modified firewalls and routers, with the board.

The only thing I see wrong with this board is the parallel port inclusion, where a grouping of 4 USB ports could be. Users of this type of board would most likely have little reason for the legacy port, and should they, would probably opt for an outboard adapter, and the extra connectivity of the USB inclusion.

Though this will be popular, many users will point out that an nVidia graphics solution, in the place of the i945g,  would make adoption rates much higher.

Perhaps that one is still waiting in the wings.

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