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COM Express modules ride the Atom bandwagon
2010-08-10 Article Rating:  / 0
Emerson Network Power announced two COM Express Type 2 modules based on Intel's "Pineview" Atoms. The COMX-430 and COMX-440 include up to 4GB of DDR2 memory, PCI Express and PCI expansion, and eight USB 2.0 ports apiece, the company says.
Emerson Network Power has come up with several innovations in the COM Express space lately. The first of these was the January release of the COMX-CORE, one of the first COM Express modules to feature the embedded-specific, 32nm Core i3, i5, and i7 processors Intel had announced earlier that month. The second was last month's release of the Linux-only COMX-P2020 and COMX-P4080, claimed to be the first COM Express modules based on Freescale's PowerPC-based QorIQ processors.  Emerson's COMX-430 (Click to enlarge) With all due respect, though, there's nothing innovative about Emerson's new COMX-430 and COMX-440 modules. These products adopt two of Intel's "Pineview" Atoms, the single-core D410 and the dual-core D510, plus the ICH-8M (82801HBM) I/O controller -- all chips that have been widely featured elsewhere. Also, the COMX-CORE mentioned above was said to be an unusual Type 6 COM Express module, dropping certain legacy I/O, adding "improved display support," and "future-proofing the USB interfaces for the upcoming USB 3 standard." The COMX-430 and COMX-440, in contrast, offer standard COM Express Type 2 fare. More specifically, the COMX-430 and COMX-440 use the 3.74 x 3.74 inch (95 x 95mm) version of COM Express that was first introduced by Kontron, and was subsequently proposed for standardization under the "COM Express Compact" moniker. Like all such modules, they're designed to send all their signals via two connectors (pictured, lower right) to an optional carrier board.   Emerson's COMX-430 Emerson says the modules are aimed at "existing applications that are looking to use a new processing module from a trusted vendor, as well as new applications that need to incorporate off-the-shelf PC controller functionality onto custom I/O baseboards." Target markets are said to include industrial control, kiosks, panel PCs, and test equipment. The COMX-430 comes with a 1.66GHz, single-core Atom D410 CPU, which has a 512KB second-level cache, 667/800MHz memory support, and a 10-Watt TDP. The COMX-440 comes with a 1.66GHz, dual-core Atom D510 CPU, with a 1MB second-level cache, 667/800MHz memory support, and a 13-Watt TDP. It's said total power consumption for the COMX-430, running Windows XP and fitted with 1GB of RAM, is 17 Watts. According to Emerson, the COMX-430 and COMX-440 are also compatible with Fedora 12 Linux and Windows 7. Of course, the modules' common chipsets mean they should run just about any x86 operating system known to mankind. According to Emerson, both modules may be expanded to 4GB of RAM via two SODIMM slots. Bus expansion, meanwhile, includes one PCI interface and five PCI Express x1 interfaces, the company adds. Emerson says I/O on each module includes gigabit Ethernet, three SATA ports, 1 PATA port, eight USB 2.0 ports, HD audio, LPC, and SPI. Dual displays are supported, with LVDS resolution up to 1366 x 768 pixels and VGA resolution up to 2048 x 1536 pixels, says the company. Specifications listed by Emerson Network Power for the COMX-430 and COMX-440 include:
According to Emerson Network Power, the COMX-430 and COMX-440 are available now, though pricing was not released. It's said the modules work with an optional carrier board, the COMX-CAR-210, but the company did not provide further information on the latter. More information on the COMX-430 and COMX-440 may be found on Emerson Network Power's website, here. Related stories:
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