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https://wccftech.com/intel-element-modular-pc-form-factor-next-gen-nucs/
Still work in progress, could be finally a step away from outdated IBM PC architecture:
Every now and then a friend or acquaitance of mine calls me because of "inside the box" problems and every time I get a cold sweat. I do help every time, but I just hate it. Dunno when but it started getting on my nerves to tinker with IBM's relics.
Not saying Intel's plan will succeed, they've revealed an early concept. I know it's irrational, but I just have to be excited.
Still work in progress, could be finally a step away from outdated IBM PC architecture:
Intel's Ed Barkhuysen shed some light over the Element Modular PC. The PC platform includes mostly everything you'd need to when building a PC with the most significant of it all being the processor. This won't obviously be the first time we have seen a CPU embedded on an add-in-card but the last ones were put together more than a decade ago. With Element, Intel is aiming for a modular PC design and they are currently targetting its use on next-generation NUCs.
Coming to the specifications, the Element module comes in a dual-slot form factor and has a nice black colored shroud with an Intel logo and a single fan that pushes air through the internals. The components sit on the PCB underneath the shroud which is typically what we saw on modern-day graphics cards. But rather than the GPU, VRAM and its power delivery, we are talking about more components.
In this case, we are looking at a BGA CPU (Intel Xeon or Intel Core), two SO-DIMM LPDDR4 memory DIMM slots, two M.2 ports for storage and a range of I/O ports which include Thunderbolt 3, HDMI, Ethernet LAN, USB, and WiFi. The whole module is powered by an 8-pin connector which suggests a 150-200W TDP for this card. Since the Element is not a final design at the moment, we may get a lot more variations in the future, some of which may not even require extra power ports & will be able to sip power directly from the PCI-express slot.
What's definitely going to be interesting is that rather than updating your entire PC once a new generation of hardware comes out, you can simply swap in the older modules rather than updating your motherboard, rounding the power cables again, swapping the cooler, making for a more streamlined PC building approach.
Every now and then a friend or acquaitance of mine calls me because of "inside the box" problems and every time I get a cold sweat. I do help every time, but I just hate it. Dunno when but it started getting on my nerves to tinker with IBM's relics.
Not saying Intel's plan will succeed, they've revealed an early concept. I know it's irrational, but I just have to be excited.
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2009
- Messages
- 23,459