Embedded Webblog

With railway monitoring, utility tracking, traffic control, toll collection, vending, and gaming applications in mind, Kontron recently introduced several new versions of their ETXexpress-PC COM Express computer-on-module based on the 45nm Intel Core 2 Duo processor. Compared to the previous 65nm dual core processor, these new modules offer faster core speeds, more cache memory, and a faster front side bus without a comparable increase in energy consumption. For high-end data and media-processing applications, the 2.26 GHz version offers with a fast CPU with a Typical Dissipation Power (TDP) of 25W. For power-sensitive applications the low voltage version includes a 1.3 GHz processor and requires a TDP of only 10 W. I/O features include five PCI Express x1 lanes, four SerialATA ports, one IDE and eight USB 2.0 ports along with Gigabit Ethernet. A multiplexed PCI Express Graphics connector delivers Serial Digital Video Out plus video signals for VGA and Digital Visual Interface (DVI) along with HDTV television outputs. The new Kontron COM Express ETXexpress-PC modules support Windows and Linux operating systems. Pricing for the ETXexpress-PC starts at $800 in small quantities.