Bus board makers embrace Pentium III
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Bus board makers embrace Pentium III
Mar. 03, 2000 (Electronic Engineering Times - CMP via COMTEX) -- PALM SPRINGS,
CALIF. - Bus board makers made a beeline for the Pentium III microprocessor at
the recent Intel Developer Forum (IDF), here. Four of the 10 board suppliers
that participate in the Intel Applied Computing Platform Provider Program-Force,
Motorola, Teknor Applicom and Ziatech-jumped on the device in all its various
forms with powerful single-board computer offerings.
Several board vendors also chose the forum to launch a move to Intel's 840 chip
set and the Rambus DRAM memory it supports.
The ACPP program is designed to give OEMs "assured access to powerful, flexible
and highly scalable Pentium processor platforms on which to deploy advanced
applied-computing applications," said Joe Jensen, general manager at the
Embedded Intel Architecture Division (Chandler, Ariz.). Practically speaking,
members of this licensed program "work closely with Intel to deliver Intel
Architecture-based board- and system-level solutions to OEM customers," said
Jochen Saal, product marketing manager at Force Computers Inc. (San Jose,
Calif.).
The Pentium III is a step up in computing clout. It "represents a major step for
our customers to densely pack more processing power than ever before onto a
board," said Steve Kulpa, director of the cross-industry business unit at
Motorola Computer Group (Tempe, Ariz.).
The 840 chip set, meanwhile, supports symmetric multiprocessing, dual Rambus
memory channels, up to 4 Gbytes of RDRAM, as well as both 64-bit/66-MHz and
32-bit/33-MHz PCI buses and 4X AGP graphics, Kulpa said. The chip set also "is
capable of 133-MHz to 400-MHz front-side-bus performance," he added.
"The speed and memory enhancements will serve as a starting place for
next-generation embedded boards, offering a minimum five-year life cycle,
compared to the typical nine- to 12-month product life cycle for desktop
applications," said Kulpa. Migrating to the Pentium makes it possible "to
provide product longevity with these long-life processors."
Force's IDF entry consisted of the Model CPCI-761 CompactPCI single-board
computer, targeting data communications and telecommunications.
It packs a 400- or 500-MHz Pentium III (designated LP, for low-power) in the new
small-footprint BGA-2 style packaging, supports hot swap of peripheral boards,
and contains dual Ethernet controllers and a PMC expansion site.
Saal said the board delivers "maximum CPCI system slot functionality, a more
rapid time-to-market for new products and an easy upgrade path to anticipated
Pentium III processor-LP clock rates of 1 GHz and higher." Force is a wholly
owned subsidiary of Solectron Corp.'s Technology Solutions Business Unit.
Saal said that use of the low-power-consumption CPU combined with the
space-saving BGA-2 packaging "enables Force to provide more functionality on a
6U CPCI board while keeping its OEMs solidly on Intel's embedded-computing road
map." The board is designed for "demanding telecom and data communication
applications," he said, such as computer-telephony integration (CTI), network
switching and voice-over-Internet Protocol gateways.
"The efficient BGA-2 packaging enables Force to respond positively to the
cost-sensitive, high-volume market," he said.
Two companion boards are available for the CPCI-761: one adds hard- and
floppy-disk drives; the other adds I/O and the ability to drive a second CPCI
bus and, thus, seven additional CPCI peripheral boards or auxiliary system
processors. The CPCI-761 is sampling now for $2,900. Volume shipments are to
commence this month.
With the model CPN5360 CompactPCI single-board computer, Motorola Computer Group
jumped onto the Pentium III low-power module (LPM), delivering a 500-MHz
processor with 256 kbytes of Level 2 cache on-die and a 100-MHz front-side bus.
The product "incorporates Intel's 0.18-micron manufacturing process, dual
independent bus architecture and the streaming SIMD extension instruction set,"
said Kulpa. "These features allow for a more visual experience for the end user
and enable new applications such as real-time video encoding and speech
recognition."
Kulpa said that "shipping our single-board computers-both CompactPCI and passive
backplane [versions]-with the 500-MHz LPM will help provide Motorola's OEM
customers with increased performance and a longer product life cycle for their
voice-over-IP, data communication, industrial/process automation, medical
diagnostic and imaging applications."
Slim profiles
"We've worked closely with Motorola Computer Group to ensure that its applied
computing platforms are compatible with this new low-power module," said Intel's
Jensen. "The new module helps to enable slim package profiles and low power
consumption for the demanding environments of applied- computing designs."
The CPN5360 also has two PMC expansion sites on board. It's shipping now with a
starting price tag of $2,395.
For its part, Teknor Applicom Inc. (Boisbrand, Quebec), a Kontron company,
weighed in with its Model CPCI-DXS64, a "high-availability" dual-slot CompactPCI
single-board computer aimed at servers in call-processing, CTI and
Internet/intranet applications. This 66-MHz, 64-bit CPCI board packs one or two
high-speed Pentium IIIs and up to 2 Gbytes of Direct Rambus memory. It's said to
be capable of driving 14 peripheral CompactPCI boards.
"It is simply the most powerful and complete server-class engine solution
available today," said Philippe Muraglia, product marketing director for
CompactPCI at Teknor. "The strong infrastructure between Teknor and Intel is a
key catalyst in making the CPCI-DXS64 an attractive and strategic CPCI solution
within the CTI, server and data-communications marketplace."
Options include an integrated hard-disk drive (minimum 10 Gbytes). Pricing
starts at $3,700.
Meanwhile, Ziatech Corp. (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) dealt a pair of CPCI boards
at IDF: the dual-slot Model ZT 5522 single-board computer, based on one or two
600-MHz Pentium IIIs in Socket 370 flip-chip pin grid array (FC-PGA) packages;
and the Model ZT 5541 auxiliary processor board using the low-power Pentium III
BGA with L1 and L2 cache. The ZT 5522 also contains an 840 chip set, drives up
to fourteen 64-bit peripheral board slots and supports up to 4 Gbytes of
synchronous DRAM. Available in April, the ZT 5522 will be priced at $5,595.
The ZT 5541 features a 33-MHz, 64-bit CPCI bus interface, sports a 500-MHz
Pentium III, Intel 440BX chip set, dual 10/100-Mbit/s Ethernet and a PMC
expansion site. It is also available in April at $2,995.
Beyond the confines of IDF, both Force and Motorola announced other new boards
based on the Pentium III.
Motorola Computer Group bowed a dual-Pentium III motherboard in the ATX form
factor and a single-Pentium CompactPCI single-board computer, both tapping into
the Intel 840 chip set. Both the motherboard and CompactPCI board can make use
of either RDRAM or SDRAM memory.
Force announced its own dual-Pentium III board, the Model CPCI-780 single-board
computer, which also relies on the 840 chip set.
The board combines Pentium III processing power with the 840 server chip set
technology to pack two 733-MHz Pentium IIIs in the FC-PGA socket configuration
with support for Rambus memory, 10/100 Base TX Ethernet and hot swap.
Its "advanced heat dissipation design, using a heat sink with integrated heat
pipes, ensures safe and reliable operations within a standard CompactPCI
system," Force's Saal said.
The Force CPCI-780 will start sampling in April. A board with 512 Mbytes of
RDRAM will start at $5,900. Volume shipments are scheduled for August.
Force, (408) 369-6000
www.forcecomputers.com
EETInfo No. 647
Motorola Computer Group,
(800) 759-1107
www.motorola.com/computer
EETInfo No. 648
Teknor Applicom, (800) 387-4222
www.teknor.com
EETInfo No. 649
Ziatech, (805) 541-0488
www.ziatech.com
EETInfo No. 650
eetimes.com
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By: David Lieberman
Copyright 2000 CMP Media Inc.
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