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Mini-ITX mobo supports dual-core AMD CPUs

Sep 24, 2007 — by LinuxDevices Staff — from the LinuxDevices Archive — 7 views

Kontron has announced a motherboard using the mini-ITX form factor along with embedded processors and chipsets from AMD. The KT690/mITX is said to be especially suited to markets that require “long life availability” and “increased graphics performance.”

The Kontron KT690/mITX inherits the numerals in its name from the AMD M690T chipset, introduced last April. This supports various AMD processors via a 1GHz HyperTransport interface, and connects to AMD's SB600 southbridge, which — as on this system — can provide up to 10 USB 2.0 ports.


The KT690/mITX is loaded with AMD silicon
(Click to enlarge)

Kontron and AMD tout the chipset's integrated graphics, which uses an ATI Radeon X1250-based core with an 8X PCI Express interface. As implemented by Kontron, it provides up to 2048 x 1538 pixel resolution, 2D and 3D acceleration, 3D texture support, and hardware-based video decoding.

The Kontron KT690/mITX also has a variety of graphics outputs, including VGA and DVI-D ports plus onboard dual-channel LVDS. S-Video output is an available option.

As far as CPU power goes, Kontron's motherboard is designed to support AMD's dual-core Turion 64 X2 Model TL-52, and single-core Mobile AMD Sempron 3500+ — the pair of mobile processors that AMD added to its AMD64 Longevity Program for embedded products last January. With the 1 GHz AMD Sempron 2100+ processor onboard, the KT690/mITX may be employed without a fan, Kontron says.

Touted features and specifications of the KT690/mITX include:

  • Processor:
    • 1.6 GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 (35W power consumption)
    • 2 GHz AMD Sempron 3700+ (25W)
    • 1.8 GHz AMD Sempron 3500+ (25W)
    • 1 GHz AMD Sempron 1000 (9W)

  • Memory — 2 x 200-pin DDR2, supporting up to 4 GB of RAM
  • Display:
    • Resolutions up to 2048 x 1536 (CRT), 1600 x 1200 (LVDS), and 1600 x 1200 (DVI)
    • 2D acceleration via 128-bit engine, capable of processing multiple pixels per clock
    • Game acceleration, including support for Microsoft's DirectDraw
    • DirectX 9.0 support
    • 3D texture support, including projective 3D textures
    • OpenGL support
    • Hardware acceleration for MPEG and WMV9 playback

  • Audio — “HD Audio”

  • Networking — 2 x 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports
  • Other I/O ports:
      2 x RS-232 serial
    • 10 x USB 2.0 (four internal and six external)
    • PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports
    • bidirectional parallel port with SPP, ECP, and EPP modes; shared floppy drive option
    • 8 channel GPIO

  • Expansion:
    • 4 x SATA 150/300 and 1 x ATA133 drive interfaces
    • CompactFlash Type I and II
    • PCI bus
    • miniPCI-Express connector

    • 1 x 8x PCI Express (in a 16x connector)

  • Power supply — ATX and BTX standard
  • Dimensions — 6.7 by 6.7 inches (170 x 170 mm)
  • Operating temperature — 0-60 deg. C
Operating system support includes Linux, Windows XP, and Vista, according to the vendor.

Kontron's announcement did not cite pricing, but said the KT690/mITX will be available during the fourth quarter.


 
This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.



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