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New Starter Kit for COM Express™ Type 6 Modules

Thu, 02 May 2013 11:03:00 +0200

Users of the kit are free to choose one of four COM Express^™ Type 6 computer modules with Embedded R-Series APU from MSC’s MSC C6C-A7 product family. Furthermore, the starter kit is also offered with a 15 inch XGA TFT display with LED backlight. Different display types or touch screen panels are available on request.

The compact baseboard with dimensions of 140 mm x 184 mm offers the module socket and numerous important connectors, above all the newly available Type 6 interfaces defined in the COM Express^™ specification V2.0. The interfaces include configurable Digital Display Interfaces (DDI) which can be used via three each DisplayPort and HDMI connectors and a DVI port. In addition, four USB 3.0 ports, Ethernet, VGA, HD audio, SATA and even a PCI Express^™ x4 slot also found place onboard.

The COM Express™ Type 6 module platform MSC C6C-A7 from MSC integrates an Embedded R-Series APU from AMD and is characterized by very powerful graphics and high parallel computing performance with low power dissipation. Today, there are four processor variants available. For power demanding applications, the MSC C6C-A7 computer-on-modules integrate an AMD R-460L 2.0 GHz (2.8 GHz Turbo) or AMD R-452L 1.6 GHz (2.4 GHz Turbo) quad-core processors. The thermal design power (TDP) levels are 25 W and 19 W, respectively. The two dual-core versions are populated with the AMD R-260H 2.1 GHz (2.6 GHz Turbo) processor or the AMD R-252F 1.7 GHz (2.3 GHz Turbo) processor – each featuring 17 W TDP. The processors support the AMD64 technology and the AMD-V™ virtualization technology.

The Radeon HD7000G-Series graphics engine integrated into the AMD R-Series APU support DirectX 11, OpenGL 4.2 and OpenCL™ 1.1. With DisplayPort and HDMI interfaces with resolutions of up to 4096 x 2160 (DP) or 1920 x 1200 (HDMI), along with LVDS, Embedded DisplayPort and VGA interfaces, the MSC C6C-A7 modules offer comprehensive display support. The COM Express™ Type 6 module family has six PCI Express™ x1 channels and a PCI Express™ graphics (PEG) x 8 interface. All modules feature four USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 ports, LPC, Gbit Ethernet, HD audio and four SATA interfaces.

Thanks to the MSC C6C-A7 module family’s high computing and graphics performance, the platform is especially suited for demanding applications with 3D graphics or high-definition videos and for the control of high resolution displays such as in those found in medical technology as well as in the fields of infotainment, digital signage and gaming.

High-performance computer-on-modules supporting OpenCL™

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:36:00 +0200

The new whitepaper offers an introduction to the OpenCL implementation on the COM Express™ Type 6 module family MSC C6C-A7 based on the AMD embedded R-Series APUs. The compact form factor computer-on-modules are characterized by very powerful graphics and high parallel computing performance with low power dissipation. The Radeon HD7000G-Series graphics engine integrated into the AMD R-Series APU supports not only OpenCL 1.1, but also DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.2.The modules allow the connection of up to four independent displays via DisplayPort 1.2 or DVI with resolutions of up to 4096 x 2160 (DP) and 1920 x 1200 (DVI). MPEG-2 decoding, H.264 and VCE (video compression engine) are supported as well. Download whitepaper now Related article: Fast visualization of images using OpenCL

Qseven Starter Kit for Modules with AMD Embedded G-Series APU

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:34:00 +0200

The MSC Q7-SK-A50M-EP4 Starter Kit consists of MSC’s 3.5” Qseven baseboard Q7-MB-EP4 with suitable heatspreader and heatsink and an integrated power supply with cable kit. The kit comes with a ready-to-run Linux installation in Flash Disk to enable an out-of-the-box functional experience. Optionally, a TFT kit can be ordered which provides for a 12.1” LCD panel with XGA resolution (1024 x 768), the appropriate cable kit for operation off the Qseven baseboard and full implementation in the Qseven module’s Graphics BIOS. Along with the Starter Kit, the user can decide for the Qseven module with the most suitable processor and clock speed from the MSC range of Q7-A50M modules: -       AMD G-T40E Dual-Core APU at 1.0 GHz, optionally 7.2GB Flash Disk
-       AMD G-T40R Single-Core APU at 1.0 GHz, optionally 7.2GB Flash Disk
-       AMD G-T16R Single-Core APU at 615 MHz The AMD Embedded G-Series APUs combine a low-power CPU and a discrete-level GPU in a single processor chip. The MSC Q7-A50M module family features three different low-power APU versions so that fanless system designs and highly integrated solutions are possible. All processors come with the built-in AMD Radeon™ HD6250 Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) which delivers very high graphics performance, enables dual independent high-resolution displays up to Full-HD and supports OpenGL^® 4.0, DirectX™-11 and OpenCL™ 1.1. The Computer-On-Module MSC Q7-A50M offers up to 4GB DRAM, four PCI Express™ x1 lanes, two high-speed SATA-II interfaces, eight USB 2.0 host ports, LPC, High-Definition Audio (HDA) and a GBit Ethernet interface. Optionally, a Flash Disk up to 32GB soldered on the module may be used as system boot device. The 3.5” Embedded Platform board MSC Q7-MB-EP4 combines the most popular interfaces for embedded applications. It features a DVI connector and 2 LAN interfaces for which the board comes with its own Ethernet controller. Six USB connectors and a UART provide for embedded connectivity, while a Mini PCI-Express and an mSATA socket enable functional and storage expansion. In many cases, the Starter Kit will be used to drive an LCD output. To help customers with the difficulties of connecting a TFT panel to the carrier board, MSC is offering an optional TFT Kit directly suitable for the Q7-SK-A50M Starter Kit. It comes with a 12.1” XGA LCD panel with LED backlight and suitable data and backlight power cable which both fit the respective connectors on the Qseven baseboard. What is more, MSC is also offering to provide any other TFT panel from its wide product portfolio from very many renowned LCD manufacturers, for which the MSC Support Group will strive to find suitable backlight drivers and cable kits to provide a complete, functional Starter Kit with the desired LCD.

Download the new Embedded Brochure 2013

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:35:00 +0100

MSC also offers extensive design support in addition to the most advanced and reliable technology, and so the first section of the catalog is devoted to key topics such as “Design and Production Expertise,” “Operating Systems,” and “BIOS.” Following this, all available embedded modules are listed in a “COM Modules Selector” allowing readers to quickly compare the various COM Express™, Qseven™, ETX®, EXM32 and nanoRISC® families with regard to processor type, maximum storage capacity and typical power dissipation. The COM Express™ modules that are based on the third-generation Intel® Core™ processor family are also included in the product catalog. These modules make another leap in processing, graphics and video performance relative to earlier generation platforms. Two new COM Express™ module families are included, supporting the Type 2 (MSC CXB-6SI) or Type 6 (MSC C6B-7S) plug pin-outs. The first products integrate an Intel® Core™ i7-3615QE with 45 W maximum power dissipation (TDP) or Intel® Core™ i7-3612QE (35 W TDP) quad-core processor. Lower cost versions based on Intel® Core™ i3 and i5 dual-core processors are also available. Also among the numerous interesting innovations featured in the current brochure are the ARM®-based embedded modules which correspond to the Qseven™ specification 1.20. The new MSC Q7-IMX6 features quad-core, dual-core or single-core Freescale Cortex-A9 i.MX6 processors providing a wide performance range and exceptional graphics capabilities. The compact Qseven™ MSC Q7-A50M platform integrates different Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) out of the Embedded G-Series from AMD. The powerful MSC Q7-TI8168 module is based on the DaVinci processor from Texas Instruments (TI) with an ARM® Cortex-A8 Core (up to 3000 DMIPS) and a digital signal processor (DSP).

Fast visualization of images using OpenCL

woei@msc-ge.com — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:50:00 +0100

The average amount of data required for high-definition image capture and processing applications in the health care sector is continually increasing. Furthermore the algorithms used are becoming more complex and compute-intensive. Typically high-performance hardware solutions—such as multi-core processors, Accelerated Processing Units (APUs), Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) or Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs)—are used in order to deal with this increased computing load. These devices offer high computing performance, but hardware-specific code or manufacturer-dependent extensions were needed. Today, the solution is Open Computing Language (OpenCL 1.0 was released in late 2008). OpenCL enables uniform programming for various high-performance hardware architectures. OpenCL is an open and royalty-free programming standard for general-purpose computing on heterogeneous systems. The OpenCL standard was developed by software specialists from leading industrial concerns, who then submitted a draft to the Khronos Group for standardization. The Khronos Group (www.khronos.org/about/), founded in January 2000, is a non-profit, member-funded consortium focused on the creation of royalty-free open standards for parallel computing, graphics and dynamic media for a wide variety of platforms and devices. AMD, Intel, NVIDIA, SGI, Google and Oracle are just a few of the over 100 members. Today, OpenCL is maintained and further developed by Khronos. The OpenCL specification is now available in versions 1.1 and 1.2 (www.khronos.org/opencl/). The goal of OpenCL is to provide a standardized programming interface for efficient and portable programs (Figure 1). Users can thus get what they have long been asking for: a vendor-independent, non-proprietary solution for accelerating their applications on the basis of their selected multi-core CPU, APU and GPU cores. The OpenCL specification consists of the language specification as well as Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for the platform layer and the runtime. The language specification describes the syntax and the programming interface for writing compute kernels, which can be executed on multi-core CPUs or GPUs. A compute kernel is the basic unit of executable code. The language used is based on a subset of ISO C99, which is a popular programming language among developers. OpenCL’s platform model consists of a host, which establishes the connection to one or more OpenCL devices. Host and device are logically separated from each other, which ensures portability. The access to routines is obtained via the platform layer API, which queries the number and the types of devices existing in the system. The developer can select and initialize the desired compute devices in order to execute the tasks. Compute contexts as well as queues for job submission and data transfer requests are created in this layer. The runtime API offers the possibility to queue up compute kernels for execution. It is also responsible for managing the computing and memory resources in the OpenCL system. The execution model describes the types of the compute kernels. Since OpenCL is designed for multi-core CPUs and GPUs, compute kernels can be created either as data-parallel, which fits well to the architecture of GPUs, or task-parallel, which matches better to the architecture of CPUs. When a kernel is submitted for execution on an OpenCL device by the host program, an index space is defined. An instance of the kernel executes for each point in this index space. Each element in the execution domain is a work-item, whereby OpenCL allows to group together work-items to form work-groups for synchronization and communication purposes. OpenCL defines a multi-level memory model consisting of four memory spaces: 'Private Memory' (visible only to individual compute units of the device), 'Local Memory', 'Constant Memory' and 'Global Memory'. Global Memory can be used by all compute units in the device. Depending on the actual memory subsystem, different memory spaces can be merged together. Figure 2 shows the memory hierarchy defined by OpenCL. The host processor is responsible for allocating and initializing the memory objects that reside in this memory space. The memory model is also based on the separation of host and device. Thanks to the hardware-independence and easy portability of OpenCL, companies can reuse their significant investment in source code. Hence greatly reducing the development time for today’s complex image processing systems. Further optimization of the design cycle is possible by making use of standard PC building blocks such as a high-performance processor module. Such a Computer-On-Module (COM) can be easily mounted onto a baseboard via a standardized connector, whereby the baseboard implements the application-specific functions. Computer-On-Modules are available in a range of different versions offering scalable processor power and a choice of interfaces. This module based technology thus provides a simple upgrade path for higher performance. Because the modules offered all meet defined standard specifications regarding form factor and connectivity, they are easily interchangeable with products from different vendors. MSC Vertriebs GmbH’s high-performance MSC C6C-A7 module family also supports OpenCL and is ideally suited for demanding image processing tasks. This high-end platform is implemented using the well established COM Express™ form factor. With the new Type 6 pin-out, there are two significant improvements compared with the predecessor Type 2 pin-out: Type 6 pin-out can support up to three independent Digital Display Interfaces (DDIs) and also adds support for USB 3.0. The MSC C6C-A7 embedded platform in compact form factor (95x95mm) is based on AMD’s Embedded R-Series Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) and features very powerful graphics and excellent parallel computing performance with low power dissipation. The MSC C6C-A7 module integrates the AMD R-460L 2.0 GHz (2.8 GHz Turbo) or AMD R-452L 1.6 GHz (2.4 GHz Turbo) quad-core processors. The thermal design power (TDP) levels are 25 W and 19 W, respectively. The two dual-core module versions can be populated with the AMD R-260H 2.1 GHz (2.6 GHz Turbo) processor or the AMD R-252F 1.7 GHz (2.3 GHz Turbo) processor – each featuring 17 W TDP. All processors support the AMD64 technology and the AMD-V™ Virtualization Technology. The AMD Fusion Controller Hub (FCH) A75 chipset is used in combination with all CPU versions. The main memory can be expanded to 16 GB DDR3-1600 dual-channel SDRAM via two SO DIMM sockets. The Radeon HD7000G-Series graphics engine integrated into the AMD R-Series APU, with its excellent graphics capabilities, offers support for OpenCL 1.1, OpenGL 4.2 and DirectX 11. The modules support up to four independent displays for imaging applications. HDMI, MPEG-2 decoding, H.264 and VCE (video compression engine) support is also included. The MSC C6C-A7 COM Express module family offers six PCI Express™ x 1 channels and a PCI Express graphics (PEG) x 8 interface. In addition, all modules feature four USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 ports, LPC, Gbit Ethernet, HD audio and four SATA interfaces at up to 300 MB/s. Featuring DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI interfaces (3x digital display interface) supporting resolutions up to 4096 x 2160 (DP) and 1920 x 1200 (HDMI), along with LCD and VGA interfaces, the MSC C6C-A7 modules offer comprehensive display support. This high-performance platform can run Microsoft Windows® Embedded Standard 7 operating system, as well as Linux. The AMI based BIOS includes UEFI support. In addition to the Computer-On-Modules, MSC offers Starter Kits and suitable carrier boards, as well as cooling solutions and memory modules. Thanks to the powerful computing and graphics capabilities, the platform is especially suited for demanding applications where 3D graphics, high-definition videos or the control of large displays are required. Typically such applications can be found in the fields of medical technology, infotainment, digital signage and gaming. Authors: Wolfgang Eisenbarth, VP Embedded Computer Technology, MSC Vertriebs GmbH / Philipp Zieboll, FAE Embedded Computer Technology, MSC Vertriebs GmbH

New nanoRISC Processor Module with TI AM335x

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 18:57:00 +0100

MSC Embedded announces a new nanoRISC embedded processor module which is based on the Texas Instruments AM335x. Different members of the AM335x family of ARM Cortex-A8 processors, clocked from 300 to 800MHz, are used for the module offering a wide variety of features and interfaces. The module can hold up to 512 Mbyte of DDR3 DRAM, up to 512 Mbyte of SLC NAND Flash and optionally up to 64 Gbyte eMMC Flash. A microSD card holder on the module enables the addition of Flash memory cards. The MSC nanoRISC-AM335x module is fully compliant to the nanoRISC specification and provides for popular embedded I/O signals such as Ethernet, USB, CAN, UART, SPI, I2C and I2S audio.

Initially, two processors from TI’s AM335x family will be used for the nanoRISC-AM335x module. The AM3352 clocked at 300MHz with its very low power consumption and basic feature set will mark the economic entry-level module, while the AM3354 at 800MHz will provide very high computing power as well as hardware 3D graphics acceleration. Therefore, the new nanoRISC module based on these AM335x processors gives designers of target systems the opportunity to achieve two different performance and price points by alternatively using the entry-level module or the high-performance product, making use of the total hardware and software compatibility between them. Considering the other nanoRISC modules available from MSC and its nanoRISC partners, system designers have a very wide choice of performance, price and features among the versatile nanoRISC family of embedded “supercomponents”.

The new module supports direct LCD drive (16/18/24 bit RGB) at a resolution of up to HD (1366 x 768 pixels). Some members of the module family provide 3D graphics acceleration built into the CPU’s SGX530 graphics subsystem. The 10/100 Base-T Ethernet interface can optionally be used as Gigabit LAN or as two independent 10/100 LAN interfaces. Further options include a versatile Programmable Realtime Unit (PRU) allowing fast response to real-time events and Industrial Ethernet for industrial field bus applications.

The 70 x 50mm nanoRISC module consumes less than 2W of power (1.7W for the 300-MHz version) and can be operated without any cooling. It is interchangeable with the other nanoRISC modules from MSC and its partners if the minimum feature set is used. Future enhancements to the nanoRISC family will further widen the list of alternative devices.

MSC provides Board Support Packages (BSPs) as well as Boot Loader, drivers and Operating System (OS) implementations for Linux and Windows Embedded Compact 7 (Android on request).

Samples of the MSC nanoRISC-AM335x module are available immediately based on the TI AM3359 processor including 3D acceleration. For evaluation and test of the nanoRISC family of processor modules, a Starterkit is available consisting of a versatile 3.5” baseboard with power supply, 7” TFT and cable set. A Linux installation on SD card will be provided ensuring immediate operation of the kit.

The nanoRISC standard for processor modules was created by MSC in order to shorten the design and development time for the use of advanced, complex ARM CPUs. This standard is currently supported by MSC and F & S Elektronik Systeme GmbH who both are committed to regularly adding new products to the nanoRISC family.

New top executive at MSC Gleichmann-Group

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 12:39:00 +0100

As the new CEO of the MSC Gleichmann-Group, Lothar Kümmerlin is taking over global business operations at the international technology enterprise based close by Karlsruhe (Germany). He will be supported in his new assignment by Johannes Alberti, who is responsible as the CFO for the Finance and Controlling Divisions. Lothar Kümmerlin has worked at the company since 1987, most recently as director of the Embedded Computer Technology Division, which will undergo a significant international expansion in future. He also has responsibility for the Distribution Division, which constitutes a pillar of strength within the MSC Gleichmann-Group. Johannes Alberti previously worked at a listed medium-sized corporation and has been in charge of finance at the MSC Gleichmann-Group as director since 2011. In addition, he will also head the Human Resources and IT Division. Company founder Manfred Schwarztrauber remains the majority shareholder and will continue to support the company in an advisory role in future. The transfer of operational management to his long-time deputy Lothar Kümmerlin ensures that clients can retain confidence in the tradition and continuity of this medium-sized enterprise. “We will to continue the successful work of Manfred Schwarztrauber and see potential in the synergies between our three business divisions - Distribution, Embedded Computer Technologies and Display Solutions division which we will expand significantly”, explains CEO Lothar Kümmerlin. MSC Vertriebs GmbH was founded by Manfred Schwarztrauber in 1982. Over the past 30 years he has built the company into an international group, today employing 1,400 people, of whom work about one-third in Distribution and two-third in engineering and manufacturing. With annual turnover of 400 million Euros, the MSC Gleichmann Group is one of the most important European distributors

New COM Express™ Module supports up to four displays

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 11:54:00 +0100

The MSC C6C-A7 module family integrates AMD R-460L 2.0 GHz (2.8 GHz Turbo) or AMD R-452L 1.6 GHz (2.4 GHz Turbo) quad-core processors. The thermal design power (TDP) levels are 25 W and 19 W, respectively. The two dual-core versions are populated with the AMD R-260H 2.1 GHz (2.6 GHz Turbo) processor or the AMD R-252F 1.7 GHz (2.3 GHz Turbo) processor – each featuring 17 W TDP. The processors support the AMD64 technology and the AMD-V™ virtualization technology. The AMD Fusion Controller Hub (FCH) A75 chipset was also selected. The main memory can be expanded to 16 GB DDR3-1600 dual-channel SDRAM via two SO DIMM sockets. The Radeon HD7000G-Series graphics engine integrated into the AMD R-Series APU, with its excellent graphics capabilities, offers support for DirectX 11, OpenGL 4.2 and OpenCL 1.1. The modules support up to four independent displays via DisplayPort 1.2 or HDMI, MPEG-2 decoding, H.264 and VCE (video compression engine). Thanks to this module family’s high computing and graphics performance, the platform is especially suited for demanding applications with 3D graphics or high-definition videos and for the control of large displays such as in those found in medical technology as well as in the fields of infotainment, digital signage and gaming. With Type 6 pinouts, the COM Express module family offers six PCI Express™ x 1 channels and a PCI Express graphics (PEG) x 8 interface. In addition, all modules feature four USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 ports, LPC, Gbit Ethernet, and HD audio. In addition, up to four SATA interfaces at up to 300 MB/s are available. With DisplayPort and HDMI interfaces (3x digital display interface) with resolutions of up to 4096 x 2160 (DP) and 1920 x 1200 (HDMI), along with LCD and VGA interfaces, the MSC C6C-A7 modules offer comprehensive display support. The high-performance platform MSC C6C-A7 runs under the Microsoft Windows® Embedded Standard 7 operating system, as well as Linux. The UEFI firmware from AMI is used as BIOS. In addition to the embedded modules, MSC offers a corresponding Starter Kit and carrier boards, as well as cooling solutions and memory modules.

MSC Announces New Qseven Module with Quad-Core ARM Cortex™-A9

peck@msc-ge.com — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 10:55:00 +0100

The new Qseven module MSC Q7-IMX6 uses the ARM processor Freescale i.MX6 which contains a Cortex-A9 RISC CPU with one, two or even four cores. These processors are fully compatible with each other, so they can be alternatively soldered on the same boards. Even though the processor consumes very little power, it provides high computing performance at up to 1.2 GHz clock rates, accompanied by powerful graphics capabilities. All models except the single-core version provide the Freescale Triple Play graphics architecture which consists of decoder hardware for (dual-stream) 3D videos up to Full-HD resolution (1080p). Up to four shaders with a combined power of up to 200MT/s achieve excellent 3D graphics results, a separate 2D BLT engine accelerates user interface speeds, and an additional 2D OpenVG engine drives vector-based graphics. The module provides two banks of DDR3 DRAMs supporting between 512MB and 4GB of memory. Additionally, a 128MB NOR Flash device stores the boot loader while an optional NAND Flash memory (up to 8GB) can be used as a Flash Disk. On top of this, a SATA-II interface up to 3Gbps is available to support external data and program storage. Among the Qseven interface set there are 2 USB 2.0 interfaces of which one may be host or client. An optionally populated hub device increases the number of USB interfaces to eight, so that all USB ports in the Qseven standard can be supported. PCI-Express x1 is provided as well as Gigabit Ethernet and AC’97 audio, along with busses such as CAN, SMBus, I2C and SPI. The HDMI V1.4 graphics output supports resolutions up to 1920 x 1200 (WUXGA) as well as dual-channel LVDS with 18 or 24 bits. These LVDS channels may alternatively be used as two different single-channel LVDS outputs for resolutions up to 1280 x 720 each. The internal graphics controller of the i.MX6 supports parallel operation of three different independent monitors so that each attachable screen can display different content. MSC has provided a feature connector for interfaces not contained in the signal scheme of the Qseven connector. It can be contacted on the module and provides an additional UART next to SPI, MIPI-CSI and a BT.656 Camera interface. Wolfgang Eisenbarth, VP Marketing said, Embedded Computer Technology, MSC Vertriebs GmbH says, “Despite its high computing and graphics performance and the multitude of functions, the MSC Q7-IMX6 consumes only 5 Watts of power. Moreover, all module variants will be available in the full industrial temperature rating, and as part of our embedded product portfolio, MSC will keep the module available for at least 7 years.” The MSC Q7-IMX6 will be accompanied by driver and BSP support for Linux and Windows Embedded Compact 7 with further operating systems to follow. MSC can provide a compact baseboard (MSC Q7-MB-EP4) for evaluation and test of the module. The Qseven Reference Platform (MSC Q7-MB-RP2) is already available in the ATX format and represents an ideal development environment. At the time of sample availability, MSC will also offer ready-to-run starter kits for the MSC Q7-IMX6. The new Qseven module covers a broad band of computing performance resulting from the choice of available CPU devices. Therefore, it may be used for a wide range of applications. For example, it is well suited for HMI applications (Human-Machine-Interfaces) in which it is responsible for the graphical representation of the human user interface. Similar applications can be found in medical systems, control stations in home automation or display systems in POS (Point of Sales). Due to the high graphics performance, the module can also be used in applications from Point-of-Information (POI) up to large “Digital Signage” displays. Since the module will also be available in the extended temperature range, it is well suited for all kinds of industrial applications, and due to its low power consumption it can also be used for portable, battery-powered applications. Pricing and Availability First samples will become available in January, 2013. The quad-core version will be priced around $180 in medium volumes.

COM-Express Type 6 Modules and Evaluation Board

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 10:42:00 +0100

Type 6 COM Express Modules and Evaluation Board from MSC The MSC Vertriebs GmbH today announced it has added two new, performance-enhanced, cost-optimized modules to its high-performance MSC C6B-7S COM-Express™ module product line-up. The compact embedded modules feature an integrated Dual-Core Intel® Celeron™ 847E processor with 1.1 GHz or a Single-Core Intel® Celeron™ 827E processor (1.4 GHz). Both modules comply with the type 6 pin-out of the current COM Express™ standard and support two independent displays. The MSC Vertriebs GmbH developed the MSC C6-MB-EVA evaluation board to enable the set-up and evaluation of prototype systems that are based on the high-performance COM Express™ MSC C6B-7S modules with type 6 pin-out. The platform allows modules with a type 6 pin-out to be thoroughly tested and evaluated. Moreover, the evaluation board can also be used for simultaneous hardware and software development, dramatically accelerating the integration process.
The MSC C6-MB-EVA evaluation board in ATX format (305 mm x 244 mm) not only provides a slot for any type of COM Express™ module, whether basic or compact format, but all of the interfaces possible with a type 6 pin-out as well. For example, numerous interfaces such as DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI and eDP (embedded DisplayPort) are also provided for connecting displays and monitors. Some interfaces are available externally through connectors on the I/O shield, while others are available as internal interfaces. The HD audio signals are available through HDMI, phone jacks or SPDIFF ports.
Pursuant to the type 6 pin-out, the I/O shield has four USB 2.0 pin headers and four high-speed USB 3.0 connectors. There is also an SD card socket, a network connector, Gbit Ethernet and SATA connections and a POST Code LED display. The evaluation board can be expanded using a PCI Express™ x4, four PCI Express™ x1, and a PCI Express™ x16 PEG slot, and provides connectors for MiniPCI Express and mSATA cards.
MSC's new MSC C6B-7S module line-up currently offers five additional versions, all of which are based on third-generation, four-core or two-core Intel^®Core™ processors. The high-performance COM Express™ modules are suitable for applications designed to provide the highest processing power, and for demanding applications such as 3D graphics, high-resolution videos or large-scale displays.
"With our new, high-performance MSC C6B-7S COM Express module group and its corresponding evaluation board, developers can realize their system designs based on the latest processor technologies and do so in a very short amount of time," said Wolfgang Eisenbarth, VP Marketing, Embedded Computer Technology, MSC Vertriebs GmbH.