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        Industrial PC has five expansion slots

        Jonathan Angel | Date: Nov 29, 2010 | Comments: 1


        Siemens announced an industrial PC that's available with Intel Core i3 or i7 processors and is designed for continuous 24-hour use. The Simatic IPC827C has three PCI Expansion slots and two PCI Express slots, Profinet or Profibus interfaces, a 32GB SSD (solid state disk) and dual CompactFlash slots, plus RAID support, the company says.

        According to Siemens, the German-made Simatic IPC827C is designed for 24-hour use and for high temperature, vibration, shock, and EMC loads. A data sheet hasn't been put on line, so we can't quantify all of these, but the PC is said to operate at ambient temperatures up to 131 deg. F (55 deg. C).

        Special features are said to include a 32GB SSD, and 2MB of battery-backed static RAM. The latter is capable of backing up critical production control data in the event of an unexpected power failure, Siemens says.


        The Siemens Simatic IPC827C
        (Click to enlarge)

        The fan-cooled Simatic IPC827C accepts 4GB of RAM (with optional error correction) along with various Core i3 and Core i7 processors, according to Siemens. Though the specific CPU choices weren't detailed, they come from the 2010 family of 32nm Cores that were announced last January, the company adds.

        Siemens didn't add which Intel chipset is employed, but does say RAID is supported. The number of internal hard drive bays, if any, wasn't detailed, but the IPC827C is said to include two front-accessible CompactFlash slots as well as a DVD drive.


        Front panel of the Simatic IPC827C
        (Click to enlarge)

        The above image shows the side of the all-business Simatic IPC827C that most people would call the rear, but which Siemens deems the front (complete with a programmable, dual-LED display). As shown, the device features two gigabit Ethernet ports, four USB 2.0 ports, a serial port, a DVI-I video output, and one or three Profinet or Profibus interfaces.

        Internal expansion includes three "long" 32-bit PCI slots, one PCI Express x4 slot, and one PCI Express x16 slot, according to Siemens. The IPC827C also has an internal LVDS connector, the company adds.

        Further information

        Siemens says the Simatic IPC827C will be available for up to five years, and spare parts will be on sale for at least five years after declaration of product phase-out. The device is available with Windows Embedded Standard 2009, Windows 7, or Windows XP Professional, the company adds.

        Pricing and availability were not specified, but the device appears to be on sale now. More information may be found on the Siemens website, here.

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