The Basics (continued):

The image below takes a closer look at the area around the mini PCI Express connection, which also includes a few USB headers, the old school PCI slot, and the exposed Intel NM10 Express chipset. The red header can be used for typical USB duties, but is set off with the special colored base to indicate compatibility with Intel's USB SSDs.



In the final image in this section we take a look at the bottom of the board, simply to show that there isn't a whole lot to see.



Configuration:

A system with the following components was used to test the Intel D510MO Mini-ITX motherboard with 1.66GHz Intel Atom dual core processor:

» 60GB OCZ Technology Agility solid state drive (with TRIM enabled Firmware 1.5)
» 2x 1GB Aeneon DDR2 memory (at 800MHz)
» picoPSU 80W power supply
» Mini-Box.com M350 Universal Mini-ITX enclosure
» Windows 7 Professional 32-Bit



The assembly of the system was simple considering how few components there are, and the installation of the operating system wasn't difficult either. With Microsoft supporting a simple means to install Windows 7 via a flash drive, the system was up and running in no time, even without an optical drive present.

The published specifications detail that this board offers "Windows 7 Starter/ Home basic support", but Windows 7 Professional installed just fine and works perfectly for everything I have thrown at it in the few weeks since it was installed.

After Windows 7 was installed and patched to be current, the first thing I did was marvel at the fact that the system was completely silent! No buzzing, clicking, whirring, or any other noise you might expect from a computer. With no fans and no spinning drives, you have to rely on LED lighting to let you know the system is on... which I don't mind at all!