News and New Products

EPIC computer pushes temperature extremes

By Warren Webb -- EDN, 9/21/2005

With potential application in medical devices, security equipment, industrial machinery, aerospace projects, and transportation systems, VersaLogic’s latest EPIC (embedded-platform-for-industrial-computing)-format single-board computer operates at –40 to +85°C. The company based the Gecko design on the newer AMD GX-500 processor, which offers 500-MHz-equivalent performance and draws only about 1.5W. The low power consumption results in minimal heat dissipation, eliminating the onboard fan.

The module’s features as much as 512 Mbytes of DDR RAM, integrated video with analog and LVDS flat-panel outputs, a stereo I/O line, 10/100-Mbps Ethernet, analog and digital I/O, four USB ports, four communications ports, LPT and IDE interfaces, and a CompactFlash socket. The PC/104-Plus site accommodates both PC/104 and PC/104-Plus modules for system expansion. The Gecko includes safety features, such as transient-voltage-suppression devices for ESD protection, self-resetting fuses for user I/O, and a watchdog timer for hardware-level application control. Prices start at $673 (OEM quantities).

VersaLogic Corp, www.versalogic.com.