Ibase announced a PICMG 1.0-compatible CPU card that supports Intel Core 2 Quad processors and features DDR3 memory. The IB945 offers one IDE port and six SATA II interfaces, a Mini PCIe slot, DVI and VGA video outputs, four serial ports, and two gigabit Ethernet ports, the company says.

Ibase's new IB945 CPU card, measuring 13.3 by 4.8 inches, follows the PICMG (PCI Industrial Manfacturers Group) 1.0 standard, which adapted PCI to passive backplane implementations. Generally found in telecom, industrial automation, military, and medical applications, PICMG 1.0 defines pin-outs for the ISA (original PC/AT bus) and parallel PCI buses to the backplane. (PICMG 1.3, not featured here, substitutes PCI Express for the parallel buses.)

Ibase's IB945
(Click to enlarge)

As pictured above, the IB945 sports an LGA775 socket, which Ibase says is capable of accepting Intel Core 2 Quad, Intel Core 2 Dual, Pentium Dual-Core, and Celeron processors. The device uses Intel's Q45 chipset (below) and ICH10DO I/O controller, which is said to allow frontside bus speeds of 800MHz, 1066MHz, or 1333MHz. The IB945's four DIMM sockets allow installation of up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, according to Ibase.

A block diagram of Intel's Q45 chipset
(Click to enlarge)

While Ibase isn't touting RAID support for the IB945, the board sports six different SATA II ports, plus an IDE connector. The device also features headers to allow connecting a floppy disk drive, two serial ports (one RS232, one RS232/422/485), six USB 2.0 ports, audio, a DVI-interfaced display, and eight digital I/Os (four in, four out), according to the company.

On the edge of the board, and hence accessible when it is installed in a card cage, are two RJ45 connectors for gigabit Ethernet, a VGA output, and a PS/2 connector for a keyboard and mouse. Finally, the IB827 has a Mini PCI Express slot, intended for wireless LAN modules and the like, says Ibase.

Features and specifications listed by Ibase for the IB945 include the following:

• Processor — LGA775 socket supports Intel Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Dual, Pentium Dual-Core, and Celeron processors
• Memory — Up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM via four DIMM slots
• Storage — IDE and 6 x SATA II ports
• Networking — 2 x gigabit Ethernet ports
• Other I/O:
  • 6 x USB 2.0 (via headers)
  • 1 x RS232/422/485 (header)
  • 1 x RS232 (header)
  • 1 x PS/2
  • 1 x VGA
  • 1 x DVI (header)
  • 1 x floppy (header)
  • 1 x LPT (header)
  • 1 x IrDA (header)
  • Audio (header)
  • 8 x digital I/O (4 in/4 out)
• Expansion– Mini PCI Express slot
• Operating temperature — 32 to 140 deg. F (0 to 60 deg. C)
• Dimensions — 13.3 x 4.8 inches (338 x 122mm)

Further information

Ibase did not provide pricing and availability information for the IB945, but the board appears to be on sale now. Also left unstated were details of operating system support, but the familiar Intel chipset used here suggests that the device is compatible with Linux, Windows XP Embedded, Windows Embedded Standard, and most other x86 operating systems.

More information about the IB945 may be found on the Ibase website, here.

 
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.