Aaeon announced a fanless embedded controller that has an operating range from -4 to 140 deg. F. The AEC-6625 has a 1.86GHz Intel Celeron P4500 processor, room for one or two 2.5-inch hard disk drives, six USB 2.0 ports, up to three serial ports, and an optional PCI-104 expansion slot, according to the company.

Like the recently announced Amplicon Impact-E 72 and Impact-E 73, also relatively powerful fanless devices that target industrial applications, Aaeon's AEC-6625 uses Intel's QM57 Express chipset. In this case, the processor choice is limited to the 1.86GHz Celeron P4500, which, according to Intel, has a TDP of 35 Watts.

Aaeon's AEC-6625

Aaeon says the AEC-6625 accepts up to 4GB of DDR3 memory in a single DIMM slot. Persistent storage, meanwhile, is supplied by both an internal CompactFlash slot and by a bay that's compatible with 2.5-inch SATA storage devices. It's said an optional kit allows this bay to accept dual slim hard disk drives, or one hard disk drive and one CD-ROM; presumably, then, Aaeon also supplies an alternative front panel that has an aperture for disk insertion and removal.

Other features on the front panel (below left) also are apparently optional, since Aaeon cites two front-mounted USB 2.0 ports that aren't pictured. The AEC-6625's rear panel, meanwhile, has DVI-I and VGA video outputs, dual gigabit Ethernet ports, four USB 2.0 ports, and two serial ports (one RS232/422/485 and one RS232).

The front and rear panels of the ARC-6625
(Click either to enlarge)

Aaeon says an AEC-6625 configuration with three RS232 ports is also offered, but there's no word on whether the third port gets provided with an external DB9 connector or not. Meanwhile, the device has a Mini PCI Express slot, and, optionally, a PCI-104 slot too, according to the company.

The AEC-6625 has an operating range from -4 to 140 deg. F and accepts DC input power ranging from 9 to 30 Volts, says Aaeon. The device withstands 20G shocks (11ms duration), the company adds.

Specifications listed by Aaeon for the AEC-6625 include:

• Processor — Intel Celeron P4500 clocked at 1.86GHz
• Chipset — Intel QM57 Express
• Memory — up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM
• Storage — CompactFlash slot; 2.5-inch bay for SATA drives (with optional kit, holds two slim drives, or one hard disk and one CD-ROM)
• Expansion:
  • Mini PCI Express slot
  • PCI-104 slot (optional)
• Networking — 2 x gigabit Ethernet
• Other I/O:
  • DVI-I
  • VGA
  • 4 x USB 2.0 (rear)
  • 2 x USB 2.0 (optional addition on front)
  • 1 x RS232/422/485 and 1 x RS232, or 3 x RS232 (optional)
  • audio — line in and line out
• Power — input for 9~30VDC
• Operating range — -4 to 140 deg. F
• Dimensions — 8.35 x 6.22 x 2.52 inches
• Weight — 10.34 pounds

Further information

Aaeon did not specify pricing or availability for the AEC-6625, but did say it's compatible with Windows 7, Windows XP, and Windows XP Embedded. With the familiar Celeron processor, it should not be much of a stretch to load Linux on the device. More information may be found on the Aaeon AEC-6625 product page.

Jonathan Angel can be followed at www.twitter.com/gadgetsense.

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