Arbor announced a COM Express Type 2 module with an industrial temperature range of -40 to 185 deg. F. The COM-746E incorporates an Intel Atom N455 processor with 2GB of soldered DDR3 SDRAM, PCI Express and PCI expansion, plus SATA, gigabit Ethernet, serial, parallel, and USB connectivity, says the company.

When we think of Arbor, we generally think of panel PCs like the P1585, but the Taiwanese firm also offers a variety of COM Express modules and other computer-on-modules (COMs). The new COM-746E module is aimed primarily at applications that require low power consumption, a fanless design, wide temperature range, and dual display capability, including bank financial systems, digital signage, and kiosks, says Arbor. 

Arbor's latest COM-746E module (pictured) adopts the COM Express Type 2 format and the Intel Atom N455 processor and ICH8M chipset. Announced in June 2010 as a more power-efficient (5.5-Watt TDP) successor to the first-generation Z5xx Atom, the single-core N455 is normally clocked at 1.66GHz, though Arbor for some reason cites 1.6GHz here.

The COM-746E offers both analog RGB (VGA) and 18-bit LVDS interfaces, and supports dual independent display capability, according to Arbor. Five PCI Express (PCIe) x1 lanes are supplied for expansion along with four PCI masters and an LPC bus interface, says the company.

The COM-746E lacks CompactFlash support, but offers a PATA interface (supporting two IDE devices) as well as three SATA ports. A gigabit Ethernet controller is supplied, along with I/O interfaces, including dual COM ports, a parallel port, and a KB/MS port. Additional I/O is said to include eight USB 2.0 ports and 8-bit DIO.

The 4.9 x 3.7-inch board supports temperatures ranging from -40 to 185 deg. F (-40 to 85 deg. C), says the company. A separately available ATX form-factor "PBE-1700" carrier board provides standard I/O connectors, says the company. An optional heat spreader and cable kit are also available.

Specifications listed by Arbor for the COM-746E include:

• Processor — Intel Atom N455 @ 1.6GHz; Intel ICH8M chipset
• Memory — 2GB soldered DDR3 SDRAM
• Expansion:
  • 5 x PCIex1 lane
  • 4 x PCI masters
  • LPC (Low Pin Count) interface
• Display:
  • analog RGB
  • single-channel 18-bit LVDS
  • dual independent displays
• Networking — Intel 82574L gigabit Ethernet controller (PCIe)
• Other I/O:
  • 8 x USB 2.0 ports
  • 2 x RS-232 
  • parallel port with SPP/EPP/ECP mode selectable
  • 8-bit programmable DIO
  • KB/MS (via carrier board)
  • Ultra ATA (PATA) interface for 2 x IDE devices
  • 3 x SATA 300MBps interfaces
• Other features — HD audio; watchdog timer
• Power — +12V, 5VSB input; 0.01A/3.3V, 0.59A/5V, 1.05A/12V consumption
• Operating temperature — -40 to 185 deg. F (-40 to 85 deg. C)
• Dimensions — 4.9 x 3.7 inches (125 x 95mm); COM Express Type 2

Availability

No availability, pricing, or operating system support was listed for the COM-746E. More information may be found at this Arbor COM-746E web page.

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.