A recent leak coming out of Embedded World 2015 in Nuremberg, Germany revealed a sixth-generation Skylake motherboard with the LGA1151 socket from ASRock. The motherboard is not targeted at consumers, but is instead aimed at the industrial/embedded segment. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is rumored to unveil its next-generation processors sometime next year, although there isn’t a clear timeline as to when we may see retail availability of Skylake-based hardware.

From the images, it can be seen that the motherboard features two DDR3L-1600 SO-DIMM slots that can accommodate a total of 16GB memory. The feature highlights the fact that OEMs can select either DDR3 or DDR4 with Skylake. The motherboard leak also gives us a look at the ports on offer, which include one PCIe 3.0 x4 slot, one miniPCIe port, two SATA 6Gb/s connectors and one mSATA port. There isn’t an M.2 port, but seeing as how there are no SSDs marketed at this segment, it may turn out to be ASRock opting to not include the port. Also seen on the board are three HDMI ports, four USB 3.0 ports along with two Ethernet ports.

A leak of the roadmap from mainboard vendor DFI — who makes boards solely for the embedded segment — show 17 chipsets targeted at workstation, desktop and mobile categories. The image in question highlights C236 as being targeted for workstations, with Q170 and H110 dubbed as chipsets for desktops. The TDP for desktops is given as 35, 65 and 95W, with the last number slightly higher than the 88W TDP maximum we’ve seen with Haswell. For mobile, the TDP is listed in between 15 to 45W. Interesting

Broadwell is set to make its debut on the desktop, with current rumors pointing to a launch sometime in Q2 2015.

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The Chromebook market is chock full of great models, and with the introduction of Tegra K1 Chromebooks, the segment has received a much-needed boost in terms of power. After Acer (TPE: 2353) announced the first Chromebook running Nvidia’s (NASDAQ: NVDA) Tegra K1, HP is joining the fray today by announcing two models — a Chromebook 11 that features a Bay Trail CPU, and a Chromebook 14 that comes with a Tegra K1 chip.

HP’s (NYSE: HPQ) Chromebook 11 seems like a much better offering, mainly due to the Celeron N2830 CPU, which is a much better processor than the ARM-based variants included in the first-gen Chromebooks. Memory has also received a boost, with the 11-inch model now available in 4 GB as well as 2 GB DDR3L RAM clocked at 1333MHz. True to form, HP will be offering both Wi-Fi only and LTE models of the Chromebook 11, with the Wi-Fi version featuring an Intel 2×2 802.11ac modem, while the LTE variant has an HP M.2 3042-S3 LTE/HSPA broadband module.

Things get more interesting with the Chromebook 14, which features Nvidia’s powerful Tegra K1 CPU. The additional gaming prowess provided by the K1 should be able to handle anything ChromeOS throws at it with ease. In terms of hardware, you can configure the Chromebook 14 with either 2 or 4 GB RAM, 16 or 32 GB SSD, and HP will offer LTE and Wi-Fi only versions of the larger model as well. As is standard with all Chromebooks, the Chromebook 11 and Chromebook 14 come with 100 GB Google Drive storage for two years.

Customisability is also another area where HP has lavished its attention on, with the 11-inch model available in Ocean Turquoise and Snow White, while the Chromebook 14 is available in Smoke Silver, Sorbet Orange, Ocean Turquoise, and Neon Green. The keyboard also has a polished look to it that is indicative of a machine that costs much more.

In terms of connectivity, the 11-inch model has one USB 3.0, one USB 2.0 and an HDMI out. The 14-inch model has an additional USB 2.0 port. HP is claiming a battery life of eight and a half hours on both models.

The Chromebook 11 will be starting at just $199, and the larger 14-inch model will cost $299. While most Chromebooks offered thus far have been decent, there isn’t a single model that ticks all boxes. Toshiba’s Chromebook 2 came close with a full-HD screen and 4 GB RAM, but the lack of a Haswell-based CPU was a big letdown. HP’s latest Chromebooks are a similar matter. They offer so much — 4 GB RAM, a fresh design, LTE connectivity and great battery life — but lose out when it comes to the screen resolution, which for some reason is still 1366 x 768. The same hardware and a full-HD screen would have cinched the deal for HP and established these models as the Chromebooks to get. But the lacklustre screen, mainly on the 14-inch model, will be a dealbreaker for most.

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