The common element on these two PC-architecture systems is their 12.1-inch SVGA displays. Both offer 800 x 600 resolution, a 350-nit luminance rating, and a backlight life rated at 50,000 hours. The TPC-1270H's display features an 8-wire, analog-resistive touchscreen, whereas touch input is only available via an extra-cost option on the AWS-8129H.
TPC-1270HFrom there, the two PCs follow different paths. The TPC-1270H is designed as a panel computer measuring 12.24 x 9.33 x 2.56 inches, and housed in die-cast aluminum alloy.
Advantech says the TPC-1270H uses fanless, passive cooling. Like other devices of its type, it keeps heat and power consumption down by using processors originally designed for portable computers, the 1GHz Celeron M or 1.4 GHz Pentium M.
Memory complement is either 512K or 1 GB of DDR2 SDRAM. Mass storage capabilities include CompactFlash or a 2.5-inch hard disk drive. In addition to a CompactFlash slot, the TPC-1270H is also said to include a PCI-104 slot.
TPC-1270 front, rearAs you can see from the above photo of the TPC-1270H's back panel, the computer has a healthy complement of four serial ports, and dual 10/100 Ethernet ports. Audio jacks, quadruple USB 2.0 ports, and a VGA port round out the unit's I/O.
Published specifications include:
- Processor -- 1 GHz Celeron M or 1.4 GHz Pentium M
- Memory -- slot supports 512 MB or 1 GHz of DDR 2 SDRAM
- Storage -- CompactFlash or 2.5-inch HDD
- Display:
- Intel 915 GME graphics chipset
- 800 x 600 resolution
- 8-wire, analog-resistive touchscreen
- Networking -- 2 x 10/100 Ethernet ports
- Other I/O ports:
- 4 x USB 2.0
- 3 x RS-232 and 1 x RS-232/485/422
- mic in, line out
- Expansion:
- 1 x CompactFlash slot
- 1 x PCI-104 module location
- Power supply -- 18-32 VDC
- Operating temperature -- 0-50 degrees C
- Dimensions -- 12.24 x 9.33 x 2.56 inches (311 x 237 x 65 mm)
- Weight -- 7.22 pounds
AWS-8129HIn contrast to the above, Advantech's AWS-8129H is a 19-inch rack-mountable computer "designed for use within factories and other harsh industrial environments." Its backplane is said to incorporate 3 ISA expansion slots, 4 PCI slots, and 2 PICMG slots.
AWS-8129H's front, backThe AWS-8129H makes use of its ample front-panel real estate (above) by including dual numeric keypads. One of them includes 47 operating keys, including the 26 letters of the alphabet; the other includes 10 function keys, 10 programmable macros keys, a reset button, and the on-off switch.
There is also room for a disk bay that supports one slim floppy disk drive (standard), one 3.5-inch hard disk drive (optional) and a slim CD-ROM (also optional). There is also a front-accessible PS/2 connector for keyboard and mouse, located behind a dust protection door.
Published specifications include:
- Processor -- Pentium 4/Celeron processor card (clock speed not stated)
- Memory -- capacity not specified
- Storage -- floppy drive; 3.5-inch hard drive is optional
- Display:
- 800 x 600 resolution
- 8-wire, analog-resistive touchscreen (optional)
- Networking and additional I/O -- none standard, optional via expansion slots
- Expansion:
- Power supply -- 90-132 or 190-264 VAC, switchable
- Operating temperature -- 0-50 degrees C
- Dimensions -- 19 x 10.5 x 12.5 inches (482 x 266 x 317 mm)
- Weight -- 37.5 pounds
AvailabilityBoth the TPC-1270H and AWS-8129H appear to be available now. For the former, Windows XP Embedded support is specifically stated, and the latter is said to be Windows XP-compatible (but most likely also can run Windows XP Embedded).
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