MSC Vertriebs announced a Qseven COM (computer on module) that offers a choice of Intel Atom Z5xx processors plus an optional 4GB of flash storage. The MSC-Q7-US15W-FD offers up to 1GB of RAM, a PCI Express x1 interface, dual (CRT and LVDS) display support, and eight USB 2.0 ports, the company says.

Little bigger than a credit card, the MSC-Q7-US15W-FD module uses the 2.75 x 2.75 inch Qseven format (for more on Qseven, see later in this story). The module employs Intel's 1.6GHz Atom Z530 or 1.1GHz Z510, along with the expected SCH US15W northbridge/southbridge chip.

According to MSC, the device also offers 512MB or 1GB of soldered-on RAM, plus an available SSD (solid state disk) employing 4GB of IDE-interfaced, "industrial-grade" flash memory. (In all the above, the MSC-Q7-US15W-FD resembles the Hectronic H6049, another Qseven module released last November, but images suggest the two are different devices.)

MSC Vertriebs' MSC-Q7-US15W-FD

Interfaces on the module (above), all of which reach the outside world via the Qseven/MXM connector, include LDVS or SDVO graphics, with respective resolutions of 1388 x 768 and 1920 x 1080 pixels, plus gigabit Ethernet. There are also eight USB 2.0 interfaces, a PCI Express x1 interface, HD audio, LPC, an SATA 2 interface, and an SDIO port, the company says.

According to MSC, the MSC-Q7-US15W-FD has a watchdog timer and is available with an optional Infineon TPM (trusted platform module). Power consumption is rated at approximately 7 Watts, while ACPI power management is said to encompass modes S3, D4, and S5, including suspend-to-RAM support.

Features and specifications listed by MSC for the MSC-Q7-US15W-FD include the following:

• Processor — Intel Atom Z530 clocked at 1.6GHz, or Z510 clocked at 1.1GHz
• Chipset — SCH US15W
• Memory — 512MB or 1GB of soldered-on DDR2 RAM
• Storage — SSD with 4GB of flash (optional)
• Expansion:
  • 1 PCI Express x1 interface
  • LPC
  • SDIO
• Networking — gigabit Ethernet
• Other I/O:
  • 8 x USB 2.0
  • 1 x LVDS
  • 1 x SDVO
  • 1 x SATA
  • HD audio
• Operating temperature — 32 to 140 deg. F (0 to 60 deg. C)
• Power — 5VDC input; 7 Watts typical
• Dimensions — 2.75 x 2.75 inches (70 x 70mm)

About Qseven

Qseven is a COM standard released in January 2008 by a 14-member consortium, led by Congatec, MSC Vertriebs, and Seco. Promoted as ideal for mobile devices, the 70 x 70mm format includes "fast serial differential interfaces," including PCI Express and Serial ATA, while skipping support for legacy interfaces like EIDE and PCI. It also supports SDIO, plus newfangled graphics and digital media specs such as DisplayPort and HDMI.

The Qseven form-factor includes a "golden finger" connector originally designed for laptop graphics cards using Nvidia's MXM (Mobile PCI Express Module) format. The connector, re-purposed here as a CPU module interconnect, provides 230 positions, .020-inch pitch, and 5.5mm and 7.8mm height options.

Worthy of note is that other products have used MXM connectors without claiming to follow the Qseven standard. For example, Embedian first pressed MXM into service in 2007 for its MXM-7110 and MXM-7114, modules that sport Samsung S3C2440A processors and a smaller, 66 x 50mm format. These products were joined in 2008 by Embedian's MXM-8310 and MXM-8110, with Marvell PXA320 processors onboard, and in 2009 by the Samsung S3C6410-based MXM-6410.

IWwave also used an MXM connector on the iW-Rainbow-G8M module it introduced earlier this year, but makes no claim that the device implements the Qseven bus. Finally, MXM connectors are also employed by FeaturePak, an expansion standard introduced in March for adding I/O modules to SBCs (single board computers), COMs, and other embedded products.

Further information

According to MSC Vertriebs, the MSC-Q7-US15W-FD is designed to run Linux or Windows XP Embedded. Pricing was not cited, but the device appears to be available now.

More information may be found on the MSC Vertriebs 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.