| SBC uses Pentium M SoC |
Aug. 26, 2008
 Ibase announced an ECX (embedded compact extended) board using Intel's new Pentium M-based SOC (system-on-chip) for storage, networking, industrial, and automotive use. Sporting three gigabit Ethernet ports and optional x1 PCI Express graphics, the ECX810 uses Intel's EP80597 ("Tolapai") SoC, clocked at 600MHz or 1.2GHz.
(Click here for a larger view of Ibase's ECX810)
Ibase has been eagerly building boards around lots of new chips lately. Its recent product announcements include:- IB885, a 3.5-inch board using AMD's Sempron 200U and 210U processors
- IB882, a 3.5-inch board using Intel's Atom Z510 processor
With the ECX810, iBase now turns to Intel's EP80579 ("Tolapai"), the Pentium M-based SOC announced by the chipmaker last month. It also opts for Intel's ECX form factor, touted by Intel as providing fanless capabilities, PCI Express connectivity, and dual independent displays, all in a relatively small 5.75 x 4.1-inch footprint. ECX has seen use by Advantech, iBASE, and Portwell, since its 2006 debut.
Designed for appliances in the storage, networking, industrial, and automotive arenas, the EP80579 chips integrate typical northbridge and southbridge functions with Pentium M cores. Available in several versions, the SoCs offer a "security services unit," three Ethernet MACs, SATA, USB, and CAN, among other interfaces (for more details, see our earlier coverage, here.)
Though the EP80579 has already surfaced on network and storage devices from Lanner, it's a slight surprise to see it so soon on a single board computer, if only because the SoC does not include graphics capabilities. Ibase takes care of that on the ECX810 by providing a choice of two optional, PCI Express-based graphics boards, the CRT-compatible ID810 or LVDS-compatible ID810L. Using the XGI Volari Z11 chipset to provide accelerated graphics output, these boards plug into an expansion connector on the ECX810 (below).
Ibase's ECX810
(Click to enlarge)
Apart from the above, the ECX810 merely needed to implement the EP80579's existing interfaces. The edge of the board has (from left to right, above) a PS/2 connector, a single USB 2.0 port, a serial port, and three RJ45 connectors for gigabit Ethernet interfaces. The board also features pin headers for three additional serial ports, an SATA interface, digital I/O, and a CompactFlash slot on the back. It has a single SO-DIMM slot that accepts up to 1GB of DDR2 memory, according to Ibase.
Features and specifications listed by Ibase for the ECX810 include:- Processor -- Intel EP80579 SoC, clocked at 600MHz or 1.2MHz
- Memory -- Up to 1GB of DDR2 RAM via single SO-DIMM slot
- Display -- supports CRT or LVDS displays via optional expansion board
- Networking -- 3 x gigabit Ethernet interfaces with RJ45 connectors
- Other I/O:
- 1 x RS232 (9-pin port)
- 3 x RS232 (pin headers)
- 1 x SATA
- 1 x USB 2.0
- 1 x PS/2
- 2 x CAN-bus (optional)
- Digital I/O
- Audio I/O (USB-based)
- Expansion:
- PCI Express x 1 expansion connector for video daughterboard
- CompactFlash Type II socket
- Dimensions -- 5.75 x 4.13 inches
- Power requirements -- "tbd"
- Operating temperature -- 0 to 60 deg. C
Pricing, availability, and operating system support for the ECX810 were not released. The board's Pentium M core, at least, should certainly prove well-supported under Windows XP, however.
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