LattePanda SBC packs four x86 cores, M.2 and PCIe FPC into a Raspberry Pi form factor

At 88mm by 70mm, the LattePanda Iota is only slightly bigger than a Raspberry Pi, yet packs an impressive array of IO.

Powered by an Intel Twin Lake N150 with 4 cores and frequencies reaching 3.6GHz, boards can be configured with either 8 GB or 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM running at 4800MT/s and either 64 or 128 GB eMMC storage. The eMMC is on-board, which leaves a free M.2 2230 slot for expanding storage, as well as a USB 2.0 Micro SD slot.

The board also packs a separate PCIe FPC connector, supporting PCIe 3.0x, allowing you to add anything from additional M.2 storage to an external GPU, (albeit with mostly similar limitations as the Raspberry Pi). There are also 3x 10 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A ports, Gigabit Ethernet and support for a single 4K display with the option to add an extra display through an eDP connector.

In keeping with other development boards, the Iota also sports a GPIO connector, managed by an RP2040 MCU.

Offering a configurable TDP between 6 and 15 Watts, the Intel N150 can be passively, or actively cooled. Wi-Fi can also be added, with options for an Intel AX210 Wi-Fi 6E module, or Intel BE200 Wi-Fi 7 module, but you would lose access to the native M.2 slot if that's the route you choose.

At the currently discounted price of $166.80 for the 8 GB RAM, 64 GB eMMC model with a passive cooler and Wi-Fi 6E M.2 module, the LattePanda Iota doesn't come cheap. Especially when compared with equivalent x86 boards from Odroid, or this GMKtec MiniPC (from Amazon) with a similar spec. 

However, the ability to run Windows with In-band ECC memory could make this device useful for industrial applications or server duties where space is at a premium. For the home lab, it could also make a decent micro NAS when combined with an M.2-Key and SATA3.0 expansion board.

It's worth noting that LattePanda has been around for a while, considering it has SBCs with chips as old as 7th Gen Intel Core in its portfolio.