We can credit VIA for coming up with the Mini-ITX form factor, but according to DigiTimes, we might one day end up crediting Intel for its popularization. The Taiwanese website reports that Intel has introduced two Mini-ITX motherboards, which are code-named Elko and Fly Creek.
Elko is based on the older 945GC chipset, DigiTimes explains, while the Fly Creek model features a state-of-the-art Intel G35 Express chipset with GMA X3500 graphics. The site quotes Intel Channel Platforms Group General Manager Tom Rampone as saying the move is a response to increased market demand for PCs with smaller form factors. Rampone claimed current "nettops"—small, low-cost notebooks like the Asus Eee PC—"don't meet the requirements for entry-level or multimedia markets."
In fact, Rampone went so far as to say Intel "expects Mini-ITX to replace Micro-ATX and become the mainstream for future low-cost, entry-level and multimedia PC markets." Such a change would make sense, since Mini-ITX is substantially smaller than Micro-ATX and looks like an ideal match for cheap, low-power processors like Intel's Atom.
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