Aaeon announced two industrial system controllers that come with Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 processors. The AIS-Q572 and AIS-Q574 include single or dual 3.5-inch hard disk drives, dual gigabit Ethernet ports, eight USB 2.0 ports apiece, and optional DVD readers, among other cited features.

Aaeon calls its new AIS-Q572 and AIS-Q574 "industrial system controllers," though to our way of thinking they're simply PCs — and rather large ones at that. However, the devices are said to be distinguished by their long-term availability, ability to be wall-mounted, and operating range from 32 to 113 deg. F.

Aaeon's AIS-Q572
(Click to enlarge)

According to Aaeon, the AIS-Q572 and AIS-Q574 are both built around an unspecified Mini-ITX motherboard (which is, indeed, visible at the rear of the PCs). The two devices are mostly identical, so we'll dispense with the differences first: The '572 (below left) has a single 3.5-inch bay for an SATA hard disk drive, and two PCI Express slots (one x16 and one x4), while the '574 (below right) has two 3.5-inch bays and four PCI Express slots (one x16, one x4, and two x1).

Ports on the AIS-Q572 (left) and AIS-Q574 (right)
(Click either to enlarge)

Both models employ Intel's Q57 chipset, indicating that they're designed to use Intel's 2010 crop of Core i3, i5, and i7 processors (Aaeon doesn't detail possible models or clock speeds except to cite the 2.8GHz i7-860). Two DIMM slots allow installing up to 8G of DDR3 RAM, according to the company.

Front-panel features on the AIS-Q572 and AIS-Q574 include four USB 2.0 ports and a slot for an optional DVD-RW drive. Most of the rear-panel features derive directly from the Mini-ITX board's coastline, as pictured earlier, and include: dual PS/2 ports; DVI and VGA video outputs; a serial port; four more USB 2.0 ports; audio I/O; and dual gigabit Ethernet ports. Each PC also has a second serial port, apparently cabled up to a motherboard header.

When the i7-860 is fitted, the AIS-Q572 and AIS-Q574 use 95 Watts, according to Aaeon. (This claim seems a little optimistic, since that's the power consumption figure cited by Intel for the processor alone.)

Specifications listed by Aaeon for the AIS-Q572 and AIS-Q574 include:

• Processor — Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 (no further details cited)
• Chipset — Intel Q57 Express
• Memory — up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM via two DIMM slots
• Storage — 1 x 3.5-inch SATA drive (AIS-Q572); 2 x 3.5-inch SATA drives (AIS-Q574); slim DVD-RW drive (optional)
• Expansion:
  • AIS-Q572 — 1 x PCI Express x16; 1 x PCI Express x4
  • AIS-Q574 — 1 x PCI Express x16, 1 x PCI Express x4, 2 x PCI Express x1
• Networking — 2 x gigabit Ethernet
• Other I/O:
  • 8 x USB 2.0 (4 front, 4 rear)
  • 2 x serial
  • VGA
  • DVI
  • 2 x PS/2
  • audio — mic in, line in, line out
• Power — 275 Watt power supply; 95-Watt consumption claimed with Intel Core i7-860
• Operating range — 32 to 113 deg. F
• Dimensions:
  • AIS-Q572 — 14.2 x 10 x 3.5 inches
  • AIS-Q574 — 14.2 x 11.8 x 4 inches
• Weight:
  • AIS-Q572 — 13.4 pounds
  • AIS-Q574 — 14.3 pounds

Further information

Aaeon did not cite pricing or availability for the AIS-Q572 or AIS-Q574, but said the devices run Windows 7, Windows XP, or the Fedora Core version of Linux. More information may be found on the AIS-Q572 product page and AIS-Q574 product page.

Jonathan Angel can be reached at [email protected] and followed at www.twitter.com/gadgetsense.

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