Habey has introduced a new mini-ITX motherboard aimed at embedded POS (point of sale), network attached storage (NAS), and digital signage applications. The MITX-6852 has six SATA II ports, dual gigabit Ethernet ports, plus slots including PCI Express x16, MiniPCI Express, and… CompactFlash.

(Click here for a larger view of Habey's MITX-6852)

Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the MITX-6852 board, a block diagram of which is shown below, is the fact that it includes six individual SATA II channels. Four of these are supplied by Intel's ICH7 southbridge, but Habey has added the Silicon Image SiL3132 chip, which delivers two additional channels, plus NCQ (native command queueing) and RAID modes 0 and 1.

A block diagram of Habey's MITX-6852
(Click to enlarge)
Other system components include Intel's 945GM northbridge, said to support installation of Core 2 Duo, Core Duo, or Celeron M processors with 533MHz or 667MHz frontside buses. As the picture below illustrates, the board is designed to be passively cooled via heatsinks on its northbridge and southbridge, and apparently doesn't require a fan for its CPU either; Habey touts a “customizable fanless enclosure” as an available option for OEMs.

The MITX-6852 has a single SODIMM slot, which accepts up to 2GB of DDR2 memory. Meanwhile, the edge of the board (below) houses two RJ45 connectors for gigabit Ethernet, four USB ports, audio I/O, plus dual PS/2 ports for keyboard and mouse, says Habey.

Habey's MITX-6852
(Click to enlarge)
On top of the board, there's a PCI Express x16 expansion slot, plus dual serial ports with 10-pin headers. Not shown in the photo above, and apparently on the underside of the board, are CompactFlash and MiniPCI Express expansion slots. The former could be used for adding solid state storage, while the latter is intended mainly for an optional wireless LAN card, according to Habey.

Worthy of note is that the MITX-6852 can accept power either from a 12VDC barrel connector on its edge, or a 20-pin ATX power supply connector. Finally, the device also has an IDE connector.

Features and specifications listed by Habey for the MITX-6852 include:

• Processor — Intel Core 2 Duo, Core Duo, or Celeron M, with 533MHz or 667MHz frontside buses
  
• Memory — Up to 2GB of DDR2 memory, via single SODIMM slot
  
• Networking — 2 gigabit Ethernet ports (Intel 82573V)
  
• Other I/O:
  • 1 x VGA
    
  • 1 x VGA
    
  • 4 x USB 2.0
    
  • 2 x RS232 (via headers)
    
  • 6 x SATA II
    
  • 2 x PS/2 (for keyboard and mouse)
    
  • 1 x IDE
    
  • Audio line in and line out

• Expansion:
  • Type 2 CompactFlash socket
    
  • PCI Express x16 slot
    
  • MiniPCI Express slot

• Operating temperature — n/s
  
• Dimensions — 6.7 x 6.7 inches (170 x 170mm)

According to Habey, the MITX-6852 is compatible with Linux, Windows XP Embedded, Windows XP, OpenFiler, FreeNAS, Samba, OpenBSD, or “any other x86 based NAS (network attached storage) OS.”

Pricing was not released, but the MITX-6852 appears to be available now. More information may appear on Habey's website, here.

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