Evalue Technology is shipping a tiny Via-based embedded PC featuring two gig-E ports on a PCI Express (PCIe) bus. The passively cooled EPC-3711 is based on a 3.5-inch (nominal) board powered by a 1GHz “V4” Eden processor.

(Click for larger view of EPC-3711)

VESA, DIN options

The EPC-3711 appears to be based on a 3.5-inch form-factor single-board computer (SBC), and is packaged in an enclosure measuring 7 x 4.4 x 2 inches (178 x 112 x 50mm). It was designed as a passively cooled, silent system for demanding, space-limited applications, Evalue says, including car and vehicle PCs, robotics, thin clients, interactive kiosks, digital control, gaming, and POS (point-of-sales/service). With an optional kit, the system supports VESA or DIN rail mounting, as shown at right.

The EPC-3711's SBC is powered by a “V4” Via Eden processor clocked at 1GHz. The “V4” designates that the chip uses Via's next-generation V4 bus, which Via claims improves performance by 30 percent, enabling higher-throughput interfaces such as PCI express.

The EPC-3711 has lots of I/O
(Click to enlarge slightly)
The EPC-3711's SBC incorporates Via's CN700 northbridge along with Via's relatively new VT8251 southbridge. Both should tolerate Linux well, although the VT8251 is still relatively new.

The CN700 northbridge features a 533MHz frontside (processor) bus, along with a DDR and DDR2-compatible memory bus supporting speeds up to 533MHz. This allows the EPC-3711 to support a wide range of SODIMM modules, Evalue notes.

Evalue says the EPC-3711 is capable of supporting “the most demanding” multimedia applications, thanks to integrated UniChrome Pro IGP graphics. The system has a two-channel 18/24-bit LVDS (low-voltage differential signaling) interface said to support UXGA (1600 x 1200) LCDs, as well as dual independent displays. Additional touted features include a single 5V ATX power input, jumperless serial port settings, and ACPI compliance, including suspend-to-ram and suspend-to-disk.

System specifications and features, as listed by Evalue, include:

• Onboard VIA Eden V4 1.0 GHz CPU
• VIA CN700 and VT8251 chipset
• One SODIMM up to 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM
• Dual Realtek RTL8111B PCI-E Gigabit LAN
• 1 x Mini PCI, Type I/II CF, 1 x COM, 3 x USB 2.0
• Supports 2.5-inch SATA/IDE HDD
• Smart 5+1 audio with mic in, and line-level I/O
• 1 x miniDIN keyboard/mouse port
• Jumperless RS232/422/485 configuration
• Single +5V power supports AT/ATX
• “Ultra industrial fanless macro PC” (178 x 112 x 50 mm, 1 DIN size)
• Optional LCD VESA/wall mount and DIN-rack kit

Availability

The EPC-3711 appears to be available now, as a “barebones” system without RAM. It is available with CompactFlash cards sized from 128MB to 4GB. An available with VESA kit enables the system's use with wall mounts, DIN rails, and flat-panel monitors. Pricing and operating system support were not disclosed.

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