Aaeon announced an ETX-format module that uses a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor and sports two SATA interfaces. The ETX-945GSE accepts up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM, supports LVDS, CRT, or SDVO displays, and has four USB 2.0 ports, the company says.

Somewhat surprisingly, Aaeon's new ETX module employs Intel's older Atom N270, along with the 945GSE northbridge and ICH7M southbridge, rather than the newer Atom N450 that was announced in December. Power consumption for the module isn't stated, but overall functionality appears comparable to "Pineview" designs (such as Win Enterprises' recent MB-80200).

Aaeon's ETX-945GSE

Like that Win Enterprises product, the Aaeon ETX-945GSE employs the ETX 3.0 format, which adds two SATA ports to the module without changing the standard ETX board-to-board pins. Other signals, which include four 32-bit PCI interfaces, 8/16-bit ISA, SMBus, and I2C, all travel through the module's ETX connectors to a separate baseboard.

According to Aaeon, the ETX-945GSE operates with CRT, LCD, and TV displays, allowing carrier boards to have SDVO, composite, and S-Video connectors. Other I/O is said to include 10/100 Ethernet, a PATA interface, two serial ports, one parallel port, two PS/2 ports, and four USB 2.0 ports. The module also offers audio I/O and supports IrDA, the company adds.

Aaeon's ECB-902M

The ETX-945GSE is presumably compatible with a wide variety of ETX baseboards, but Aaeon naturally nominates its ECB-902M, which was released last July and is pictured above. This device uses the 9.6 x 9.6-inch microATX (µATX) format, and includes expansion such as two PCI slots, two ISA slots, and a Mini PCI connector, according to Aaeon.

The ECB-902M offers real-world ports that include VGA, four USB 2.0 Type A connectors, audio I/O, and two PS/2 ports. Onboard headers add LVDS, TTL, and video display outputs, an additional serial port, IDE connectors, and a LAN port, Aaeon adds.

Specifications listed by Aaeon for the ETX-945GSE include the following:

• Processor — Intel Atom N270 clocked at 1.6GHz
• Chipset — 945GSE northbridge and ICH7M southbridge
• Memory — Up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM via single SODIMM slot
• Expansion — 4 x 32-bit PCI interface; 1 x ISA interface
• Storage — 2 x SATA II ports on module
• Display:
  • 16- or 24-bit LVDS
  • SDVO
  • TV output
  • Resolutions up to 2048 x 1536 pixels for CRT; 1600 x 1200 pixels for LCD
• Networking — 10/100 Ethernet
• Other I/O (all via ETX connectors):
  • 4 x USB 2.0 ports
  • 2 x RS232
  • 1 x parallel
  • 2 x PS/2
  • 1 x IrDA
  • Audio — mic in, line in, line out
• Operating temperature — 32 to 140 deg. F (0 to 60 deg. C)
• Power — +5VDC in
• Dimensions — 4.5 x 3.74 inches (114 x 95mm)

Availability

Aaeon did not release pricing for the ETX-945GSE, but the module appears to be on sale now. Likely to support all x86 OSes, the device is specifically supported by Linux, Windows Vista, and Windows XPdriver downloads on the company's website.

More information on the ETX-945GSE may be found on Aaeon's site, here. More information on the ECB-902M carrier board may be found here.

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