The ATOM is a great little chip, put into a terrible motherboard. Is this new motherboard/chipset going to be any more power efficient than the last one? Time will tell...

The 200 series netbook/nettop processors are already x64 processors. No idea about the Atom Z5x0 processors that are aimed and MIDs. So in that regard the 300 series are 64 bit like the 200 series cousins.

Why would Intel go through all the trouble to make such an awesome little chip (In power usage, not raw performance), then couple it with a hog of a Northbridge?

Sometimes I wonder if the guys at Intel are aware that a PC's total power consumption comes for the TOTAL of its components.

Mine's the one with a Geoge in the pocket...

Is that a joke?

When the 1 TB disk is full, is the owner expected to buy another "home server"?

Soon "home server operators" will be offered cluster file systems for their "home server" farms?

To correct Tony & Peter

The current Desktop 230 Atoms ARE 64bit, the current Mobile 270 Atoms ARE NOT 64bit. I've run 64bit Debian Linux on my Desktop Atom and it flies! And I felt terribly ripped off when I learned my Netbook was only 32bit after starting with the desktop version :(

Atom 230 Spec Sheet:

http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLB6Z

Atom 270 Spec Sheet:

http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLB73

"When the 1 TB disk is full, is the owner expected to buy another "home server"?"

Meh, I expect that chucking a couple of 1Tb USB disks would do the job quite nicely.

I could see the use of it as a terminal server/gateway box running a *nix-esque OS though - firewall, mail server/web server if you have a fixed IP, media server [for local stuff only, unless you have a nice 10Mb uplink...] all in one box, with fairly low power usage.

If it's proper silent, I might be tempted to throw my half terabyte hard disk on one of these, get a fixed IP and start toying, actually.

Anyone know of any similar kit that can run Windows/*nix to a useable degree with similar specs/cost? Other than an old Thinkpad, of course...

Steven R

Paris, because I hear she likes slapping disks. Or something phonetically similar...

Why why why do they not include these things?

exactly.. I have the $$$ but no where to spend..

still looking for a media box for the TV.

I need wireless media streaming from the NAS and iPlayer for the TV!

Why not just get cable? Anything worth watching will be in re-runs for the next 20 years.

Unless you are archiving news... in which case I hope you are not living in the USA or UK!