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
