| "3.5-inch" SBC hosts Atom |
Apr. 30, 2008
 Intel's Centrino Atom chipset is available in yet another form factor, thanks to a new single board computer (SBC) from Ibase. The company's "IB882" uses a 3.5-inch format, with PCI-104 expansion and real-world I/O that includes dual gigabit Ethernet and an optional VGA port.
(Click here for a larger view of the Ibase IB882)
The IB882 uses the so-called 3.5-inch SBC form-factor, which actually measures 5.75 x 4 inches, matching the dimension of 3.5-inch components like floppy drives and memory card readers. The form factor has historically been popular with Taiwanese embedded SBC makers.
The IB882 can run fanlessly when clocked at 1.2GHz or below. Processor options include the 1.1GHz Atom Z510 or the 1.6GHz Atom Z530.
As on every Atom-based product, the US15W SCH (system controller hub) chip is employed, providing 3D graphics, hardware video acceleration, and both LVDS (low voltage differential signaling) and SDVO (serial digital video out) graphics interfaces. The IB882 accepts up to 1GB of 400/533MHz DDR RAM, via a single SODIMM socket.
I/O options are many, with some available on the edge of the board via standard PC-style connectors. Real-world edge connectors include a PS/2 keyboard/mouse port, a serial port, twin RJ45 LAN ports, two USB ports, and (optionally) VGA output. Onboard headers provide access to an additional four USB ports, IDE, audio, LVDS video, and a second serial port.
Actually, Ibase cites eight USB ports and four serial ports in all for the IB882, but two USB ports and two serial ports appear not to have shown up for roll call. Be that as it may, the SBC also includes a PCI-104 expansion interface. Meanwhile, IDE devices can be connected via a 44-pin header.
Features and specifications listed by Ibase for the IB882 include:- Processor -- Intel Atom Z510 (1.1GHz, 400MHz frontside bus) or Z530 (1.6GHz, 533MHz frontside bus)
- Memory -- 1GB of RAM via SODIMM socket
- Display -- LVDS, VGA support via SDVO
- Networking -- 2 x gigabit Ethernet
- Other I/O:
- VGA (optional)
- 8 x USB (2 on edge connectors, 4 via headers
- Digital I/O (four in, four out)
- PS/2 keyboard/mouse (edge connector)
- 4 x serial (1 on edge connector, 1 via header)
- 1 x IDE
- 1 x SATA
- AC '97 audio (via headers)
- IrDA
- Expansion:Operating temperature -- 0 to 60 deg. C
- Dimensions -- 5.75 x 4 inches
- Power requirements -- 12VDC
IBase did not specify pricing, availability information, or operating system support. Other Atom-based products have been said to be compatible with Windows XP Embedded, Windows CE 6.0, and Linux, however.
Since Intel's Centrino Atom chipset, comprising the Atom CPU and US15W SCH, was announced at the beginning of this month, many vendors have jumped on the bandwagon. Previously announced COMs and SBCs include RadiSys's Procelerant Z500, Kontron's nanoETXexpress-SP, Eurotech's Catalyst, Congatech's conga-CA, and Lippert's CoreExpress-ECO COM.
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