Intel is working on a myriad of processors at the moment, spanning across generations and use cases. While Nova Lake is perhaps the most exciting launch everyone is looking forward to, Panther Lake is the actual upcoming mobile architecture from the company, and it has just been spotted (by @momomo_us) in its retail form for the first time. DFI—a popular name in the industrial PC hardware space—has unveiled a new ITX motherboard featuring Panther Lake-H, aptly called PTH171/PTH173.
Despite having the PTL-H chip soldered onto the board, this is not a MoDT (mobile on desktop) config as it's not intended for mainstream desktop usage. Instead, it's for embedded systems—like an SoM (system on module) or SBC (single board computer)—that large businesses integrate within their existing pipelines. The advertised 25W TDP, which is on the lower end, further confirms this. Therefore, the board has no x16 PCIe slot for a GPU; instead, it relies on the integrated graphics of the Panther Lake-H chip and has 1x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort (version unknown), 1x USB Type-C, and 1x M.2-A ports for video output.
The board also features dual SODIMM slots, which support 128GB of DDR5 memory at up to 7,200 MT/s. There are two M.2 slots for networking, and one M.2 slot for SSD, which is PCIe 5.0 x4 compliant. The connectivity on the back is solid, with multiple USB ports and Ethernet, which supports EXT-OOB, along with Intel's vPro and CNVi. If you're hearing some of those names for the first time, that's because they're associated with industrial applications. EXT-OOB, in particular, is a proprietary carrier board developed by DFI that can connect to motherboards like these to expand functionality.
We don't know the price or availability of this board, as industrial components work on a quote basis, where a business will reach out and brands like DFI will compete for a contract by offering better pricing than rivals. We do know a bit about Panther Lake-H, though. It's on track for a release in the last quarter of this year and will finally debut Intel's long-awaited 18A process. These Panther Lake chips will be used in a wide variety of laptops, handhelds, and mini PCs, along with industrial use cases like this one that we seldom hear about.
Panther Lake will reportedly ramp up production next year with the bulk of the SKUs set for a delayed (or staggered) launch. DFI says its motherboard has a 10-year life, lasting till 2036 based on Intel's roadmap. Speaking of which, this reveal coincided with a roadmap announcement of DFI's own that further leaked Panther Lake and Nova Lake. The interesting bit is the fact that PTH171/PTH173 is not mentioned on the roadmap, likely because it's already here, ready to "purchase" from DFI's website as we speak.
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