Kontron announced a COM Express Compact module with AMD Embedded G-Series processors, ranging up to a dual-core 1.6GHz T56N. The Kontron microETXexpress-OH features gigabit Ethernet, six PCI Express lanes, ten USB ports — two of them USB 2.0 — plus multiple display options including HDMI.

The Kontron microETXexpress-OH is primarily designed for gaming and POS/POI kiosks, but also supports large display panels, multimedia walls, and professional AV equipment, according to the company. In addition, it's said, the module is suitable for mobile test and measurement systems, 3D ultrasound scanners, and imaging systems.

Kontron microETXexpress-OH
(Click to enlarge)

Like the MSC Vertriebs CXC-PV525 announced in October and the Congatec Conga-CA6 announced this week, the microETXexpress-OH employs the 3.75 x 3.75-inch COM Express Compact format that was first devised by Kontron, and which last year became part of the COM Express Revision 2.0 spec.

While the MSC and Congatec modules use the Type 2 pinout, supporting a 33MHz PCI bus and EIDE, the Kontron module uses a Type 6 pinout, which drops both of these in favor of supporting digital display interfaces, USB 3.0, and additional PCI Express (PCIe) lanes.

And, instead of the Intel Atom processors used in the MSC and Congatec modules, the microETXexpress-OH uses AMD's "Fusion" line of processors, which incorporate multi-core x86 CPUs and DirectX 11-capable GPUs (graphics processing units) on a single die. More specifically it builds upon the embedded-specific G-Series offerings announced in January, which range from 1.0GHz to 1.6GHz, provide adept multimedia performance, and occupy up to 60 percent less space than Intel's Atom chipsets, according to AMD.

Rear and side views of the microETXexpress-OH
(Click on either to enlarge)

Supported models range from AMD's single-core 1.2GHz T44R with 512KB cache and AMD Radeon HD6250 GPU to the dual-core 1.6GHz T56N with 2 x 512KB cache and AMD Radeon HD6310, says Kontron. The G-Series processors enable the microETXexpress-OH to offer DirectX 11, OpenGL 3.2 support, integrated Unified Video Decoder (UVD 3.0), OpenCL, Microsoft DirectCompute, and long-term availability, says the company.

The G-Series processors and Radeon GPUs can decode both 1080p Blu-Ray videos with HDCP and HD MPEG-2, as well as DivX (MPEG-4) videos, says Kontron. The Radeon GPUs are also said to help accelerate parallel processing tasks.

The microETXexpress-OH ships with up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, says Kontron. Display ports are said to include LVDS and VGA, available with dual-display support, as well as three digital display interfaces that support DisplayPort, HDMI, and DVI video output.

Expansion is offered via six PCIe Gen 2.0 lanes, and four SATA ports are available, says Kontron. A gigabit Ethernet port is supplied, as well as six USB 2.0 ports. There are also two superspeed USB 3.0 ports delivering up to 5Gbps available over the type 6 pinout, says the company. This is said to enable peripherals such as full HD video cameras or fast external storage media for machine vision systems.

The 3.74 x 3.74-inch COM is said to support temperatures of 32 to 158 deg. F (0 to 70 deg. C). The wide input range module offers typical power consumption of 20 Watts, claims Kontron.

Features and specifications listed for the Kontron microETXexpress-OH include:

• Processor — AMD G-Series Fusion, ranging from single-core 1.2GHz T44R with 512KB cache and AMD Radeon HD6250 GPU to dual-core 1.6GHz T56N with 2 x 512KB cache and AMD Radeon HD6310
• Chipset — AMD 50M (presumed)
• Memory — up to 8GB single-channel DDR3 via 2 x sockets
• Expansion — 6 x PCIe, up to 4 x lanes config. as x4, x2, or x1 (lanes 0-3), up to 2 lanes config. as x2 or x1 (lanes 4-5)
• Storage — 4 x SATA 2.0 interfaces
• Display:
  • 1 x VGA up to 2560 x 1600 x 60Hz
  • single-channel 18-bit LVDS
  • 1 x Display Port up to 2560 x 1200 x 60Hz
  • HDMI/DVI up to 1920 x 1200 x 60Hz
  • dual-display (LVDS and VGA)
• Networking — 1 x gigabit Ethernet controller (Intel 82574L)
• Other I/O:
  • up to 8 x USB 2.0
  • up to 2 x USB 3.0 (via Renesas uPD720200 PCIe/USB bridge)
  • 1 x serial port
  • 1 x I2C
• Audio — 3 x HD audio channels
• Operating temperature — 32 to 158 deg. F (0 to 70 deg. C)
• Dimensions — 3.74 x 3.74 inches (95 x 95mm) COM Express Compact, Type 6
• Power — 4.75V to 18V input range; 20 W typ. consumption
• Operating system — BSPs for Linux and Windows (Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows XP Embedded, Windows CE); VxWorks in future

Availability

No pricing or availability information was offered for theKontron microETXexpress-OH. More information may be found on the Kontron microETXexpress-OH page. Kontron has also posted an AMD Embedded G-Series white paper.

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