(Click here for a slightly larger view of MSC's CXE-DX5270)The CXE-DX7520 is available in two different versions, one clocking the Xeon at 2.16GHz, and the other using a low-voltage (LV) version that runs at 1.5GHz. Both offer 4MB of second-level cache, support Intel's VT virtualization technology, and can execute both 32-bit and 64-bit wide instructions, according to MSC.
Unlike most other COM Express modules, the CXE-DX7520 is based on a server chipset -- including Intel's
E7520 northbridge from which it obviously takes its name, and the
6300ESB south bridge. The E7520 has dual DDR2-400 memory channels that deliver 6.4 GB/second bandwidth, according to Intel.
The CXE-DX7520, however, is not quite all Intel, since its graphics controller comes from
Silicon Motion. The Lynx3DM (SM721) controller includes 4MB of VRAM and offers resolutions up to 1280 x 1024. (Interestingly, Silicon Motion offers graphics drivers for Windows CE as well as Windows XP Embedded and Linux, though whether the CXE-DX7520 could run Windows CE remains to be verified.)
Two 200-pin DIMM sockets on the module accept up to 4GB of dual-channel DDR2 SDRAM with ECC. The device's bus interfaces -- which must be accessed via an application-specific baseboard, as usual for COM Express modules -- include PCI Express, PCI, and LPC (low pin count) serial.
Features and specifications cited by MSC Vertriebs for the CXE-DX7520 include:
- Processor -- Intel Xeon clocked at 2.16GHz or Xeon LV clocked at 1.5GHz
- Memory -- up to 4GB of dual-channel DDR2 SDRAM with ECC
- Display -- TFT/CRT interface with 4MB of VRAM, resolutions up to 1280 x 1024 pixels
- Networking -- 10/100/1000 Ethernet
- Other I/O:
- 2 x IDE ATA/UDMA 100
- 2 x SATA-150
- 4 x USB 2.0
- Expansion:
- PCI Express:
- 2 x 8-lane
- 1 x 4-lane
- 1 x 1-lane
- 32-bit PCI
- LPC bus interface
- Power requirements -- 12V @ 60W typical
- Operating temperature -- 0 to 55 deg. C
- Dimensions -- 6 x 4.3 x 0.5 inches (155 x 110 x 13mm)
For evaluation and development support, a carrier board for the module is available, featuring PCI slots and standard PC interfaces including USB ports. In addition to Windows XP Embedded, the CXE-DX7520 runs Linux, according to MSC.
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