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According to Xilinx, the SP605 also includes four I/Os, a UART, a USB JTAG download port, a DVI video output, and a gigabit Ethernet port. A flash drive included with the device offers reference designs, documentation, demos, and a device-locked edition of the ISE Design Suite, the company says.
Avnet says its Xilinx Spartan-6 FPGA PCIe I/O Reference Design additionally includes a 120-day evaluation edition of Windows Embedded Standard (2009 presumed, though not specified). As noted earlier in this story, the bundle also includes a heat spreader, an LVDS-to-DVI video output adapter, plus the module and baseboard detailed below.
Kontron's nanoETX-express-SP and nanoETXexpress evaluation board
When it made its debut in April 2008, Kontron's original nanoETXexpress-SP was one of the very first Intel Atom-powered devices, sporting either the 1.1GHz Z510 or 1.6GHz Z530. The module employed the 3.3 x 2.2-inch form factor that was originally introduced by Kontron as nanoETXexpress, and was subsequently submitted to the PICMG (PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group) under the proposed neutral name, COM Express Ultra.
A revised version of the nanoETXexpress-SP, introduced last December, added an optional SDVO connector, according to Kontron. Since LVDS signaling was already offered via the module's Type I COM Express pinout, the device now supports dual displays, the company announced at the time.
In another engineering change, the new module (above left) was redesigned to support eight memory chips instead of the four on the previous version (above right), according to Kontron. As a result, the maximum amount of available RAM -- still soldered-on -- doubled to 2GB, and so did available flash storage (up to 8GB).
The nanoETXexpress-SP uses the 1.1GHz Atom Z510 or 1.6GHz Atom Z530, with 400MHz or 533MHz frontside buses, respectively. Meanwhile, the SCH US15W (system controller hub) companion chip once again integrates northbridge and southbridge funtionality, giving the COM OpenGL 3D graphics, support for DirectX 9, plus hardware-accelerated 720p and 1080i video decoding, according to Kontron.
The nanoETXexpress-SP also includes a SATA port, eight USB ports, gigabit Ethernet, high-definition audio, and an SDIO port. Expansion potential is provided by a one-lane PCI Express interface, Kontron adds.
Features and specifications listed by Kontron for the nanoETXexpress-SP include:
Kontron says the nanoETXexpress evaluation board includes an LVDS panel connector and a VGA port, though the latter does not work with the nanoETXexpress-SP, according to the company. Other ports on the board's coastline, as pictured below, include four USB 2.0 ports, two serial ports, a FireWire port, and 7:1 audio output via analog jacks.
Statements
Tim Erjavec, senior director of platforms and services for Xilinx, stated, "The coupling of our low-cost Spartan-6 FPGA technology with the Atom processor for industrial applications is a direct result of the Xilinx targeted design platform strategy for making FPGA technology more accessible. By working from a scalable reference design, designers can easily extend the design and thus focus on their core competitive strengths."
Doug Follett, director of Microsoft OED channel sales for the Americas and EMEA, stated, "Avnet's end-to-end reference design adds considerable value to the design community. The preconfigured image of Microsoft's Windows Embedded Standard included within Avnet's reference design enables the design engineer with a flexible, speed-to-market platform that simplifies development, lowers total cost of ownership and further reduces the design cycle."
Further information
More information on the Xilinx Spartan-6 FPGA PCIe I/O Reference Design, whose pricing was not released, may be found on the Avnet website, here. More information on Kontron's nanoETXexpress-SP and nanoETXexpress evalation board may be found here and here, respectively.
