Abit Kickstarts HDMI Computing

Taiwanese manufacturer Abit has announced the world’s first HDMI motherboard, which should see widespread acceptance by media centre builders.

According to DailyTech.com, Abit’s  IL-80MV is a 945GT motherboard designed for the Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and features a 667MHz front side bus, Firewire, dual SATA 3.0Gbps interfaces, and both D-sub and HDMI video outs. The HDMI output will support HDCP signals – ensuring compatibility with Vista and HD displays. As well as analog outputs, the motherboard also sports digital optical inputs and outputs.
The IL-80MV features a single PCIe x1 lane device, and no PC1e x16, which means its not suitable for gaming and won’t be easily upgradeable. It also has two PCI slots, DailyTech.com reported.  The final board revision will apparently feature Abit’s OTES cooling system on the final model.
DailyTech said the board is expected to enter into mass production this June, with retail availability that same month, with no price yet available.