Mount Laurel, NJ — (press release excerpt) — Technobox, Inc. demonstrated the operation of its new x86-based Processor PMC (PrPMC) during the 2002 Bus and Board Conference that was recently held in Long Beach, California. With the introduction of its x86 Processor PMC Platform Model 3797, Technobox breaks new ground for PrPMC designs. Systems designers can now employ operating systems for x86 processors within embedded applications.

At the heart of the 3797 is a highly integrated, low-power National Semiconductor SC2200 GEODE processor that includes video, DRAM control, plus interfaces for PCI bus and IDE devices, as well as USB and other standard PC peripherals.

Front panel connection of peripherals is supported via an external, cable-attached breakout board (Model 3917). The 3797 supports both USB and standard COM ports as well as DVI and SVGA video out the front. For rear I/O, the board's 16-bit wide IDE interface appears at the PN4 connector to allow attachment of a CD-ROM or other IDE component. A floppy drive may also be attached via rear I/O. The GEODE is clocked for 300 MHz, with 100 MHz SDRAM bus speed. On-board memory is 128 MByte SDRAM. Power consumption for the 3797 is about 6 watts total. The 3797 draws off +3.3V power, with +5V required only for the keyboard, mouse, and USB ports. Power conditioning logic assures correct power sequencing when cycling power. LEDs on side 2 of the board are provided to monitor 1K100 load, the Ethernet port, and IDE activity.

The new platform can be configured as either a co-processor to which tasks can be assigned to augment or offload a system host, such as providing a graphical interface, or a PrPMC system host.

The 3797 PPMC will be available in the second quarter of 2002 and lists for $995.00. Quantity discounts are available.

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