Elektrosil has unveiled the latest COM Express product family member from its partner congatec: the extremely low power consuming ‘conga-CA,’ which features the brand new Intel Atom processor Z5xx series and the Intel System Controller Hub US15W.

The entire design of the compact (95x95mm) sized COM Express module is geared around low power consumption. Typical power requirements will be less than 5 Watt. The conga-CA supports up to two PCI Express Lanes, eight USB 2.0, two Serial ATA, one IDE Interface and Intel High Definition Audio. Two onboard SDIO sockets allow for flexible expansion, and it also features PCI bus, multi master I²C bus, LPC bus, fan control and Gigabit Ethernet.

The conga-CA is available in two different CPU variants. The conga-CA eco version is powered by the Intel Atom processor Z510 with 1.1 GHz and 400 MHz front side and memory bus. The high end version is powered by the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor Z530 with 533 MHz front side and memory bus. Both versions are equipped with 512k L2 cache and can access up to 1 GByte onboard DDR2 memory.

The Intel System Controller Hub US15W features the Intel GMA500 graphics engine. This 3D capable onboard graphics utilises up to 256 MByte frame buffer and supports DirectX 9.0E and OpenGL 2.0. It also enhances video playback applications with the use of MPEG2 and MPEG4 hardware decoding. Graphic output provides either a 1x24 Bit LVDS channel or a single SDVO port. The conga-CA implements the EPI (Embedded Panel Interface) standard allowing for automatic recognition of the attached flat panel display. Support for the new VESA standard named ‘DisplayID’ will also be provided. All congatec modules are equipped with an embedded BIOS and a board controller that enhance embedded features such as system monitoring, watchdog timer and the I²C bus. With the ability to isolate itself from the main x86 processor, these features are also available in stand-by mode, hence promoting further power saving functionality.

Elektrosil also offers a baseboard which is purpose-built for kiosk applications. Additional fitting components such as power supplies, custom made cables, displays, touch screens, thermal printers up to A4 size and cooling components can be added. As a special service, the whole system with all components can be assembled and tested by Elektrosil.

Quelle: Kiosk Europe Volume IV, Issue Autumn 2008