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        Fanless PC offers Core CPUs and ports aplenty

        Jonathan Angel | Date: Aug 6, 2010 | Comments: 1


        Nexcom announced a fanless PC that supports 32nm Intel processors including the 2.66Ghz Core i7-620M, 2.4GHz Core i5-520M, and Celeron 1.86GHz P4500. The NISE 3500 has a PCI/PCI Express expansion slot, VGA and DVI video outputs, dual eSATA ports, four serial ports, four GPIOs, plus optional IEEE 1394b and LVDS interfaces, the company says.

        Nexcom's NISE 3500 continues the company's tradition of offering fanless PCs with relatively high processing power, previous examples of which are the 2009 NISE 3100e and the 2006 NISE 3100. The new model offers the most processing power to date, since it supports several of the embedded-specific, 32nm processors Intel announced in January.

        Nexcom's NISE 3500

        According to Nexcom, the NISE 3500 supports the following:

        • the Core i7-620M, with dual cores, a clock speed of 2.66GHz, a 4MB second-level cache, a 3.33GHz turbo frequency, and a 35-Watt TDP
        • the Core i5-520M, with dual cores, a clock speed of 2.4GHz, a 3MB second-level cache, a 2.93GHz turbo frequency, and a 35-Watt TDP
        • the Celeron P4500, with dual cores, a clock speed of 1.8GHz, 2MB second-level cache, and a 35-Watt TDP
        The processors are teamed with Intel's QM57 Express chipset (block diagram, here). The NISE 3500 has two SODIMM slots that allow installation of up to 4GB of DDR3 memory (800/1066MHz, unbuffered and non-ECC), says Nexcom.

        Obviously designed more for I/O than for hefty internal storage, the NISE 3500 includes a single 2.5-inch bay for SATA hard disk drives. However, external drives may readily be added via the system's two eSATA ports, Nexcom notes.


        The ports on Nexcom's NISE 3500

        The device's front panel, shown above left, additionally includes two USB 2.0 ports, along with six LEDs for monitoring system status. The rear panel, above right, offers two gigabit Ethernet ports, four more USB 2.0 ports, and a 44-pin connector for four serial ports (3 RS232, 1 RS232/422/485).

        Also around back are VGA and DVI ports, and a DB15 connector for GPIO (four digital inputs and four digital outputs. If GPIO is not required, this space may be used for two optional LVDS ports, Nexcom says. (The company's data sheets imply that only of the system's video outputs may be used simultaneously, but those who have multi-screen applications in mind might want to dig further.)

        Meanwhile, a variant known as the NISE 3500M has additional ports on its front panel, as pictured at right. The additions include an HDMI output and three IEEE 1394b connectors, says Nexcom, which chooses to bill this model as "medical certified."

        Nexcom's PR release regarding the NISE 3500 says the device has "one PCI and one PCI x1 slot," but the images above imply an either-or situation regarding expansion cards. The device's data sheet says only that PCI expansion cards up to 66.65 inches (169mm) in length are supported.

        Further information

        Nexcom did not release pricing for the NISE 3500 or 3500M but said the devices will be sampling this month. More information on the devices, including data sheets in PDF format, may be found on the company's website, here and here.

        No details of operating system support were given, but the device should, of course, run just about any x86 OS.

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