First Photo of Industrial Mini-ITX Board with Intel Panther Lake-H CPU
DFI has unveiled the first industrial Mini-ITX motherboard powered by an Intel Panther Lake-H processor. The stripped-down Mini-ITX board operates on a 25W TDP version of the next-generation processor, which is to be delivered on the 18A process technology of Intel, expected in limited capacity for launch later this year.
Specifications of the DFI Motherboard
While the DFI provides preliminary status of the motherboard, there is a lengthy specification sheet available for consideration. This board has gone through various structural tests, which makes it suitable for long term industrial usage, warrantied for a 10-year CPU life cycle support until Q1 2036.
- CPU: Intel Panther Lake-H processor (up to 25W TDP).
- Memory: 2 DDR5 SO-DIMM slots supporting max 128GB at 6400/7200 MT/s.
- Display outputs: Quad-display support via 1 DP++, 1 HDMI 2.0, 1 USB type-C (DP Alt Mode), and 1 M2A-Display extension port.
- Expansion: 1x PCIe Gen 5 x4 slot, 1x M.2 M Key (NVMe), 1x M.2 B Key (4G/5G with SIM slot), 1x M.2 E Key (Wi-Fi/BT), and 1x M.2 A Key.
- I/O Ports: Up to 3x Intel 2.5GbE LAN, 2x COM, 4x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A, 1x USB Type-C, 5x USB 2.0 headers, and 2x SATA 3.0 ports.
- Other Features: Support for vPro, CNVi, and EXT-OOB (Out-of-Band management).
About Panther Lake Architecture
The Intel Panther Lake CPUs indicate a significant architectural transformation with mixing of Cougar Cove performance cores and Darkmont efficiency cores. Integrated graphics will receive a significant upgrade to Xe3 architecture, with configurations up to 12 Xe3 cores.
Availability and Market Use
DFI has not specified the pricing and release information as yet. However, following Intel's production roadmap for Panther Lake, the motherboard might be available in late Q4 2025 or early Q1 2026. These chips are expected to go into a wide variety of laptops, Mini PCs, and handhelds. However, Panther Lake is milked for the desktop DIY market, and that segment would be receiving Nova Lake-S in the later half of 2026.
