DFI continues to arouse our interest with interesting motherboards. From its mini-ITX Intel P55 motherboard it has moved on to another unique solution, a hybrid motherboard. We got a sneak peek at the board some time ago, a board that enables two systems on the same platform. DFI’s patented hybrid motherboard house both Intel’s P45 chipset and NVIDIA’s integrated ION chipset.
For NVIDIA’s chipset it has dedicated an Intel Atom processor, while the user will have to supply a matching LGA775 processor for the P45 chipset. DFI has connected the two systems on the board so that the user can use the same mouse and keyboard, through the integrated KVM switch, and a dedicated network connection on the circuit board.
In other words, Hybrid has two platforms which operate completely independently. What is more, files can be shared between platforms. Through integrated hardware switch chips as well as network switch chips, Hybrid platform features a KVM and LAN switch on board. So Hybrid platform can be used with a monitor and keyboard/mouse, or with two sets of devices to work separately.
DFI markets the hybrid motherboard as a greener alternative where you will save both power and space by housing two complete computers on one sole ATX motherboard.
An interesting system for those looking to combine an everyday computer with an energy efficient server of some sort. The price of the dual-system-board is expected to land around $400.
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