Computer modules offer greater performance per watt

20th June 2014

congatec

Staff Reporter

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congatec AG has expanded its Qseven and COM Express product range with modules based on 2nd generation AMD Embedded G-Series SOC (System-on-Chip) processors. Compared to the current AMD Embedded G-Series SOC platform, they provide higher performance and a lower power draw thanks to an improved Jaguar+ CPU architecture and AMD Radeon 8000 graphics core.

Graphics engine speed has been increased up to 800 MHz and the DDR3 interface up to 1866 MT/s. A new function of the G-Series includes Core Boost Frequency to ensure appropriate processor overclocking.

The 2nd generation AMD G-Series SOC on Qseven and COM Express modules is designed for low-power embedded applications. Compared to the previous AMD Embedded G-Series SOC, it provides higher performance per watt and lower TDP. This fanless module design is therefore ideal for cost-sensitive applications in the control and automation industry, digital gaming, communication infrastructure and graphics-intensive devices such as thin clients, digital displays or medical-imaging equipment.

In the Qseven standard, congatec supports two new processors from the AMD Embedded G-Series SOC platform: the dual-core AMD GX-212JC 1.2 GHz with a boost frequency of 1.4 GHz (1MB L2 cache ) and 6 watts TDP; and the quad-core AMD GX-412HC 1.2 GHz with a boost frequency of 1.6 GHz (2MB L2 cache) and 7 watts TDP. For the COM Express Compact Type 6 standard, there is also the quad-core AMD GX-424CC 2.4 GHz (2MB L2 cache) with a TDP of 25 watts.

Thanks to onboard Error Correction Code (ECC) memory support, the module is ideal for safety-critical applications. Depending on the design, the module comes with up to 4 GB of ECC DDR3L RAM to allow for the correction of single and double bit errors. More serious errors, that cannot be corrected automatically, will cause the module to stop working so as to avoid a system malfunction.

The integrated AMD Radeon™ graphics supports DirectX® 11.1 and OpenGL 4.2 for fast 2D and 3D image display. OpenCL 1.2 is also supported, enabling the execution of program code by the GPUs. The range of available graphics interfaces includes LVDS and DisplayPort 1.2 as well as DVI/HDMI 1.4a for the direct control of two independent displays.

The Qseven modules support 1x USB 3.0 SuperSpeed and 5x USB 2.0 ports, while the COM Express Compact modules provide 2x USB 3.0 SuperSpeed and 8x USB 2.0 ports. Both module families provide up to four PCI Express x1 Gen 2 lanes, two SATA 3 Gb/s ports and a Gigabit Ethernet interface. The congatec board controller, ACPI 3.0 CPU power management and high-definition audio complete the feature set.