Deggendorf, Germany, July 30, 2015 * * * congatec AG, a leading technology company for embedded computer modules, single board computers (SBCs) and embedded design and manufacturing (EDM) services, announced the introduction of conga-TCA4, the company’s first COM Express compact module based on the new Intel® Pentium® and Celeron® processors (codenamed Braswell). Based on this new premium class low-power design, the robust COM Express modules consume on average just 4 watts while providing increased graphics capabilities and overall performance. Up to 16 graphics execution units can support up to three HD displays or two 4k displays and achieve a theoretical peak performance of 358.4 GFlops per second. Additionally, the widely scalable general processing power - from 1 GHz dual-core to 2 GHz quad-core - prepares the modules for a whole range of fanless and rugged embedded computer designs based on COM Express’ compact footprint.
Target applications for congatec’s new COM Express compact modules are primarily graphics-intensive, low-power applications including IoT gateways as well as IoT edge node devices. In the commercial field, potential applications include Digital Out-of-Home advertising, infotainment in buses and trains as well as digital signage, kiosk, ticketing and cash systems. In the industrial environment, target applications include stationary and mobile HMIs and thin clients for the industrial automation and medical end markets.
Users of the new computer modules benefit from the high level of standardization and scalability of the COM Express module combined with congatec’s extensive documentation, industry-grade driver implementations and customary personal integration support, which enable OEMs to integrate latest processor technology quickly and efficiently into their individual applications.
The feature set in detail
The conga-TCA4 modules with COM Express type 6 pinout are equipped with the 14 nm Intel® Pentium® and Celeron® processors with a 4 watt SDP (Scenario Design Power) and a 6 watt TDP (Thermal Design Power) plus up to 8 GB of fast dual channel DDR3L 1600 RAM.
With the integrated Intel Gen 8 graphics, applications profit from double the graphics performance compared to their predecessors. In addition, support for three independent displays via 2x DP 1.1 or 2x HDMI 1.4b and 1x eDP 1.4 or dual channel LVDS is offered. DirectX11.1 and OpenGL 4.2 ensure a high-quality user experience with the latest 3D features and resolutions of up to 4k (3840 x 2160 @ 30 Hz). The integrated video engine provides jitter-free decoding of H.265/HEVC compressed videos with minimum CPU utilization and encodes two 1080p H.264 video streams at 60 Hz in real time. As an option, the new modules also simplify innovative, interactive applications with pedestrian recognition and/or gesture control thanks to two onboard MIPI camera interfaces, allowing the direct connection of CSI2 camera sensors.
The new congatec computer modules support the COM Express type 6 pin-out with 5x PCI Express Gen 2.0 Lanes, 1x Gigabit Ethernet, 2x SATA 3.0, 4x USB 3.0, 8x USB 2.0, LPC as well as I²C, UART and HD Audio round off the feature set. Operating system support is offered for all major Linux distributions and variants of Microsoft Windows – including Microsoft Windows 10.
An extensive range of options to simplify design-in, i.e. heat sinks, carrier boards and starter kits as well as ADD2 cards and SMART Battery Management Modules, are also available. The following CPU versions are now available:
| Processor | Cores | Smart Cache [MB] | Clock/Burst [GHz] | TDP/SDP [W] | Graphics Ex. Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Pentium N3700 | 4 | 2 | 1.6 - 2.4 | 6 / 4 | 16 |
| Intel Celeron N3150 | 4 | 2 | 1.6 - 2.08 | 6 / 4 | 12 |
| Intel Celeron N3050 | 2 | 1 | 1.6 - 2.16 | 6 / 4 | 12 |
| Intel Celeron N3000 | 2 | 1 | 1.04 - 2.08 | 4 / 3 | 12 |
