Expect a flood of Eee PC-style cheapo mini laptops in Q3 when Intel sends out its 45nm 'Diamondville' processor to computer makers. Diamondville plugs into 'Shelton', The chip giant's low-cost PC platform.

We first reported on Shelton and Diamondville back in November 2007, and then the emphasis was firmly on ultra-compact desktops. Now it seems Intel is also aiming the platform at laptops, computer manufacturer sources cited by DigiTimes claim.

That's not impossible. Shelton uses a variant of the 945G chipset - variously listed as the 945GSE and the 945GC - and together with the single-core Diamondville is intended for fanless systems. Diamondville is down as running its core at 1.6GHz and its frontside bus (FSB) at 533MHz. It consumes 3.5W, while the other system components take the overall platform power consumption to 8W.

Indeed, it's a very strong contender for the foundation of Asus' promised desktop Eee.

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