Compact COM Express module provides high-end graphics

Colin Holland

Embedded Europe (11/24/2009 4:09 AM ET)

LONDON — The Congatec conga-CS45 COM Express compact module features the Intel GS45 small form factor (SFF) chipset, which improves performance with a smaller footprint and lower power consumption.

The module is particularly suitable for mobile applications which require high graphics performance such as portable ultrasound devices.

It provides high-end graphics performance and has hardware implemented decompression for HDTV videos integrated in the chipset. In addition, the module offers a large choice of graphics interfaces ranging from SDVO, DVI and HDMI to DisplayPort.

The conga-CS45 is equipped with the 45nm Intel processors including the Intel Celeron ULV722 with a 5.5 Watt thermal dissipation power (TDP) or the Intel Core 2 Duo SP9300 with 25 Watt TDP as well as 6 MB storage capacity and clock speed of 2.3 GHz.

The conga-CS45 can be upgraded to 4 GB of DDR3 memory with 1067 MHz. Compared to DDR2 memory, DDR3 technology requires approximately 20 percent less power.

The module has three serial ATA connectors with RAID support which further improve the performance and data security of mass storage. It also offers optional support of Intel Active Management Technology (AMT 4.0) which enables remote control via Ethernet or Internet even before starting the operating system.

To meet the special needs of mobile applications the conga-CS45 permits core sleep states C0 to C6 which makes it easy to optimize the power requirements for each scenario.

The conga-CS45 will be available in volume in January 2010 with engineering samples available now.