Intel is working on two reference platforms for its desktop Atom-based systems and they'll be quite different, with one model being much more like a traditional desktop system and the other being similar to its Mobile on Desktop initiative.

The main difference between the two is that the first model will use a bog standard PC power supply, while the smaller, more compact system will use an external power brick. The traditional design should, according to Intel, end up using between 100-110W and should ship with a 100-150W PSU. The smaller system with the external power brick will draw a lot less power at 48-52W and only need an external 65W power adapter.

This is where it gets interesting, though, as the more traditinal system will feature a pair of memory slots, a PCI slot for expansion, a SATA hard drive and an optical drive. The smaller more compact system will only have a single memory slot and rely upon a Flash-based storage device or a USB key. This explains why the power difference between the two is so great.

Both models will have built-in audio and Ethernet and four to six USB 2.0 ports. Another interesting thing is that on Intel's reference board you'll notice a small fan on one of the heatsinks; this is not the CPU, but rather the 945GC chipset, as this runs hotter than the CPU. It's possible to do a passively cooled design, but it requires a different heatsink layout, although we'd expect most of Intel's parters to go down this route.