MSI has unveiled a new Atom-based small form factor motherboard that touts a fanless design. The I3-945GSE-D requires absolutely no fans to operate comfortably, making it an ideal solution for use in custom enclosures and embedded applications. Since the board only measures 3.5 inches and doesn't have any blowers, you can't expect it to carry anything particularly powerful. It comes with Intel's dated 1.6GHz Atom N270 single-core processor, which launched in early 2008, along with the 945GSE chipset.


The board also supports up to 2GB of DDR2 400 or 533MHz via one SO-DIMM module and has one VGA output courtesy of the Intel IGP, one SATA II port, one gigabit Ethernet jack, audio and mic jacks, two USB 2.0 ports, and one COM connector. An additional two USB 2.0 ports and four COM ports appear to be supported via on-board headers. Meanwhile, it relies on one compact flash slot and one mini-PCIe slot for expansion. MSI didn't mention a price or ship date for the I3-945GSE-D in its press release.