[NewsPoster]

In a sign of the changing PC landscape following the arrival of the Apple iPad, Intel has outlined plans to ramp down its production of desktop motherboards, reports Anandtech. The arrival of the next-generation Intel Haswell platform will be the last series where Intel will develop desktop motherboards to complement its own line of chips. It will retire its own designs, but will still develop desktop CPUs for third party vendors, including ASUS, ASRock and Gigabyte, who will continue to carry the torch.

With the market shifting to more compact form factor PC devices including ultrabooks, tablets and hybrids, Intel will instead focus its energy on developing reference designs for ultrabooks and tablets. It does not generate significant profit from its desktop motherboard line, and it clearly does not see a future where desktop will regain market share ceded to mobile devices. All-in-one desktop PCs are also continuing to evolve into thinner designs with significantly reduced desktop footprints. The latest Apple iMac, which continues to be in woefully short supply, utilizes a much thinner design than the previous generations. This has resulted in Apple and other vendors increasingly using parts designed for mobile computers in their desktop designs. For example, the discrete graphics chip in the new 27-inch iMac adopts an Nvidia mobile GPU, rather than a larger and bulkier desktop-class GPU.

[armwt]

Think we need a little editing or clarification - they made NO hint of getting out of the CPU business.

Where this story needs more "meat" is discussion of what this means to Apple, since Apple's motherboards have often been modeled on Intel reference boards. This potentially opens up the "Hackintosh" arena if Apple now starts to work with Gigabyte or others on motherboard design.

[SockRolid]

Intel will instead focus its energy on developing reference designs for ultrabooks and tablets.

Good luck. With that.

And good luck to any and all hobbyists (myself included, in a past life) who have ever said "I can build a pee-cee for two hundred bucks."

[mjoecups]

They Also do have the NUC which is a super compact "motherboard" that is for all in one type designs. This is the type of board that was used in the hacked iMac g4 20" to make it an Intel machine.

I guess big old desktops with slots are becoming a small niche market (i.e. Pros and Gamers).

Once again, this shows Apple's trajectory with regards to mother boards was ahead of the curve.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by NewsPoster 

Intel will instead focus its energy on developing reference designs for ultrabooks and tablets

…and continue to have Apple ship them.

[blahblahbber]

Originally Posted by mjoecups 

They Also do have the NUC which is a super compact "motherboard" that is for all in one type designs. This is the type of board that was used in the hacked iMac g4 20" to make it an Intel machine.

I guess big old desktops with slots are becoming a small niche market (i.e. Pros and Gamers).

Once again, this shows Apple's trajectory with regards to mother boards was ahead of the curve.

That was and still is an easy forecast... being ahead of the curve on smaller, more efficient, expandable (thunderbolt, for now...) is a no-brainer. You don't need crApple to show you the way on this front.