Congatec says it is now sampling a COM Express module featuring Intel's GS45 SFF (small form factor) chipset, said to enable “significant performance increases despite a smaller footprint and lower power consumption.” The Conga-CS45 uses DDR3 memory, has three SATA connectors with RAID support, and supports SDVO, DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort graphics interfaces, the company says.

Similar to Congatec's 2008 Conga-BM45, which also offered DDR3 support, the Conga-CS45 is a 3.7 x 4.9 inch COM Express module. According to the company, the device features Intel's GS45 SFF chipset, consisting of the GS45 northbridge and ICH9M southbridge.

Congatec's Conga-CS45
(Click to enlarge)

Intel says the GS45 chipset provides support for dual independent displays, with hardware decoding of HD video, and can output to VGA, LVDS, DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort devices. A dual-channel memory controller allows use of non-ECC, 667/800MHz DDR2 RAM or 800/1066MHz DDR3 RAM, the company adds.

According to Intel, the GS45 chipset supports the following 45nm CPUs:

• The 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo SL9400, with 17-Watt TDP
• The 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo SP9300, with a 25-Watt TDP
• The 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo SU9300, with a 10-Watt TDP
• The 1.2GHz Celeron 722, with a 5.5-Watt TDP

Confirming the above processor choices for the Conga-CS45, Congatec notes that compared to DDR2 memory, DDR3 RAM uses 20 percent less power. The Conga-CS45 supports core sleep states C0 to C6 and accepts up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM, the company adds.

The Conga-CS45 has three SATA connectors with RAID support, according to Congatec. The device also offers optional support for Intel Active Management Technology (AMT) 4.0, which enables remote control of the device via Ethernet before an operating system is started, the company adds.

Congatec did not provide a data sheet or further specifications for the Conga-CS45. In addition to the SDVO, DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort graphics interfaces cited by the company, however, the device presumably joins the earlier Conga-BM45 in providing facilities such as PCI Express and PCI Express Graphic expansion, plus multiple USB 2.0 ports.

Availability

Congatec did not cite operating system support for the Conga-CS45, but the earlier Conga-BM45 was said to be compatible with Linux, QNX, Windows XP Embedded, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows CE 6.0. Sampling now, the module will go into mass production in January, when it will be priced at 370 Euros (about $558) in single quantities.

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