A low-power, high-performance system-on-module (SOM) targeting next-generation small, embedded and industrial computing products has been developed by Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), Sunnyvale CA, and Logic Product Development, Minneapolis MN.
The Geode LX ETX reference design kit (RDK) is intended to help developers quickly and efficiently bring products to market.
The RDK supports a wide range of embedded device applications such as kiosks, information appliances, medical or industrial gear, point-of-sale terminals, corporate thin clients and embedded controllers.
“AMD is committed to producing low-cost, ready-to-go modules that provide the flexibility and performance that our customers need to develop outstanding embedded products,” Erik Salo, AMD director of marketing, Embedded Computing Solutions Division, says.
The RDK leverages the ETX industry-standard 96×115mm SOM form factor and low-power system design for applications that require small size without sacrificing features, performance or reliability, AMD says.
AMD Geode LX 800@0.9W processor provides the capabilities of the x86 instruction set with the power to run a broad range of operating systems and applications. The ETX module also contains the AMD Geode CS5536 companion device and SODIMM memory.
“Speed to market can provide a significant competitive advantage for our customers, and the Geode LX ETX RDK will enable designers to deliver innovative products with greater efficiency and at lower costs,” Eric Harnisch, Logic Product Development director of marketing, says.
The RDK provides baseboard schematics, design documentation, and software driver package for supported operating systems. Board design is 6-layer, lead-free.
Power needs are 6W typical, 1W standby with no fan. Software support includes Microsoft WinCE and XP/XPe, and Linux.
Design provides legacy I/O option capabilities through a baseboard card, 4 USB 2.0 ports, high bandwidth Ethernet (10-100Mbps), IDE interface, display resolution to 1600×1200, CRT or TFT, additional AC97 audio peripheral connectivity, 5-year lifecycle, integrated FPU, up to 512Mbyte RAM, flash interface, 66MHz PCI bus, Gigabit Ethernet capability and JTAG development tool.
