The COM Express module is fitted with the new quad cores, 3rd generation Intel® Core™  i7-3612QE (4 × 2.1 GHz, 6 MB L2 cache memory, TDP 35W) and Intel® Core™ i7-3615QE (4 × 2.3 GHz, 6 MB L2 cache memory, TDP 45W) processors along with the Mobile Intel® HM76 Express chipset, as well as native USB 3.0 support and the fast dual channel DDR3-1600 MHz memory, providing up to 16 GB. The outstanding newly integrated Intel® HD4000 graphics core is equipped with over 16 execution units performs up to 50 percent better than its predecessors and can control up to three displays independently of each other.

It also provides Intel® Flexible Display Interface (FDI), DirectX 11 OpenGL 3.1 OpenCL 1.1, as well as a high performance MPEG-2 hardware decoding unit in order to decode multiple high resolution full HD videos in parallel.
OpenCL is a powerful programming environment with which computing tasks can be distributed and processed in a variety of processor systems involving a number of hardware units. The special feature of OpenCL is that multiple parallel execution is possible in a single step (SIMD=Single Instruction Multiple Data), so that it can support the classic parallel computer architecture as well. This is of crucial importance, because not only graphic representations but also many analytical problems are very well suited to parallel processing.
In addition to VGA and LVDS, it has three digital display interfaces, each of which can be configured for DisplayPort (DP), HDMI or DVI. This ensures a maximum of three independent displays for applications in the medical, automation and gaming industries.

With the first native USB 3.0 support forthe module, data transfer is considerably faster, energy consumption lower and now even simultaneous sending and receiving of data is possible. Eight USB ports are provided, three of those are capable of USB 3.0 Superspeed operation.

Seven PCI Express 2.0 lanes, PCI Express graphics 3.0 (PEG) × 16 lanes for high performance external graphics cards, four SATA interfaces with up to 6 GB/s and RAID support, an EIDE and a gigabit Ethernet interface facilitate fast and flexible system expansions. Fan control, an LPC bus for simple connection of legacy I/O interfaces and the Intel® high definition audio round off the comprehensive range of features.

The congatec board controller provides an extensive embedded PC feature set. The independent x86 processor makes functions such as system monitoring or the I²C bus faster and more reliable, even if the system is in standby mode.The matching evaluation carrier board for COM Express type 6 is also available, so that all the new features can be tested with ease.

The conga-QMX6 Computer-On-Module (COM) is equipped with the Freescale i.MX6 ARM Cortex A9 processor family which is scalable from 1 to 4 ARM cores and sports a sophisticated high-end, 3D-ready HD graphics interface. The Qseven module will be available in 4 processor versions, starting with Freescale's i.MX6 Solo ARM Cortex A9 (1.0GHz, 512KB cache) up to the Freescale i.MX6 Quad ARM Cortex A9 (1.2GHz, 1MB cache).

The standardization of ARM processors has increased in line with the rise in high-performance mobile multimedia devices, leading to more tightly integrated, less application-specific processors with reliable, well-defined interfaces. Freescale's brand new i.MX6 family is ideal for the Qseven module form factor, which provides both standard PC interfaces as well as traditional industrial interfaces on the chip.

“Freescale’s outstanding embedded expertise plus scalability and long term availability of at least 10 years of the i.MX6 family make these processors the perfect choice for ARM-based COMs,” says congatec CEO Gerhard Edi.
The integrated graphics core is designed for multimedia applications with a video processor unit (VPU), 2D and 3D graphics (GPU2D/3D), four shaders with up to 200 MT/s (million triangles/second) and a dual stream of 1080p/720p. A dual HDMI v1.4 graphics interface is available, with the second HDMI port shared with LVDS. LVDS also supports 18/24 bit dual channel with a resolution of up to 1920x1200 pixels (WUXGA).

A MicroSD socket can be used for inexpensive mass storage; for a more robust application there’s the option of soldering on up to 16 GB solid state drive (eMMC).

Differential interfaces including 1x PCI Express 2.0, 2x SATA 2.0, 6x USB 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet, 1x SDIO, CAN bus, LPC and I2S sound are available.
The conga-QMX6 module is equipped with the universal boot loader (uBoot). In addition, functions such as Multi Watchdog Timer, CAN and I²C bus are implemented, making the application faster and more reliable, even when the system is in standby mode.

Target markets include medical, automotive, industrial automation and, more generally, manufacturers of mobile and ultra mobile industrial devices.

"The real problem lies with hot spots around the processor and chipset," states congatec product manager Martin Danzer. "Our improved cooling concept results in a lower processor temperature, which is essential for a more frequent activation of Turbo Boost 2 Technology to ensure maximum COM performance and energy efficiency. As a result, the processor can operate at higher levels than the maximum permitted thermal design power (TDP)."

• The advantages at a glance:
• Fast spot cooling for full performance
• Elimination of gap filler layer
• Elimination of mechanical stress leads to higher quality
• Better cooling extends the life span of the module

Heat pipe principle enables innovative customer-specific cooling concepts
congatec’s new heat pipe cooling design is available in different variants comprising a passive, active and customer-specific solution that creates space for innovative ideas. For example, the heat pipe can be designed in such a way that it can be connected to a customer-specific heat sink. Fanless designs are possible provided the casing is equipped with appropriately sized cooling fins. Ultimately, the design depends on the specific application. The key features of the concept are equally applicable to other electronic circuits.

The new cooling solution is also ideal for systems with low power dissipation. The modules have a higher thermal reserve, which increases their life span and reliability. Average temperature reductions of only 5 Kelvin can double the statistical life span – a convincing argument when considering the total cost over the lifetime of a system.

Thanks to its low power consumption and compact measurements (95 x 95 mm) the conga-TCA is particularly well suited for applications in medical and automation technology, POS, kiosks and digital signage. Smart power and battery management guarantee long battery life, an essential factor for cost savings in portable devices.

For multi-processing applications with separate processors hyper-threading enables  a logical division of the two physical processor cores into four threads. In this way, the safety-critical application can be kept separate running on a real-time operating system on a separate logical core while the graphical user interface runs, for instance, on a Windows operating system.
The highlight of the COM Express module is the outstanding graphics performance of the integrated Intel® GMA 3650 graphics chip. With a clock rate of 640 MHz it is twice as fast as the GPU of the previous Atom generation. In addition to VGA and LVDS, it has two digital display interfaces which can be executed for DisplayPort, HDMI or DVI, and – unlike Type 2 modules – are no longer multiplexed.

Five PCI Express x1 lanes, two SATA 2.0, eight USB 2.0, two optional USB 3.0 ports and a Gigabit Ethernet interface enable fast and flexible system extensions. Fan control, LPC bus for easy integration of legacy I/O interfaces and Intel® High Definition Audio round off the feature set.

The conga-TCA module is equipped with the new embedded firmware solution UEFI.

The congatec board controller provides an extensive embedded PC feature set. Independence from the x86 processor means that functions such as system monitoring or the I²C bus can be executed faster and more reliably, even if the system is in standby mode.

A matching evaluation carrier board for COM Express Type 6 is also available.

The SGET will be holding its inaugural meeting at the beginning of March. The group is committed to developing and maintaining embedded computing specifications which will be applicable worldwide, in order to promote new embedded technology standardizations meeting the requirements of the markets.

With the founding of the SGET, a globally-operating, manufacturer-independent consortium has been created, which is in a position to react to the accelerated speed of technological progress and changing market demands in a fast and flexible manner. The founding members of the SGET are confident that more than one hundred ventures worldwide will join the group within a year - underlining the great need for improvement in market orientation and fast specification implementation.  Other companies and institutions working in the area of embedded computing are invited to join the new Standardization Group for Embedded Technologies. In particular, the SGET welcomes embedded computer manufacturers on board- and system-level, research and educational institutions as well as embedded system integrators, OEM solution providers and industrial end-users.  

"The goal of the founding members of the Standardization Group for Embedded Technologies is to create a new, powerful, worldwide committee for embedded computer specifications which will operate at greater speed and with far less bureaucracy than comparable organizations. To achieve this, the SGET has, amongst other things, established simplified rules and shorter objection periods, enabling specifications to be passed at greater speed", Dirk Finstel, Kontron AG, states as one of the main reasons for the founding of the consortium.

"The fast pace of technological progress in the embedded market requires cooperation even between competing companies. This can only succeed if we follow overall regulations. A committee which can act rapidly enables us to jointly and instantly react to market demands. This is why we very much welcome the founding of this new consortium", Christian Eder, congatec, comments.

"Different manufacturer interests on the component level slow down standardization work on embedded module standards. This is why we are pleased that the SGET consortium of board and module manufacturers has created rules which offer more scope for innovation and which put the interests of the users first", states Wolfgang Eisenbarth, MSC.
 "From the new Standardization Group for Embedded Technologies we expect  major input in the area of SFF processors, as not only Computer-on-Modules, but also motherboards and SBCs, i.e. 3.5" or IO boards of embedded systems, are in need of standardization. Until now, we have lacked a powerful consortium which addresses these issues permanently and efficiently“, states Carsten Rebmann, Advantech.

"The new processor technologies for tablet PCs and mobile applications in consumer electronics are also having a major impact on the embedded market. It is therefore crucial that we come together and work on these mutual specifications right from the start, which will be valid on a worldwide basis in the shortest period of time“, Gianluca Venere, SECO, describes the most important current field of activity.

"Beyond the issue of form factors, we have to consider the standardization of individual interface implementations, for example via IP stacks. This is where I expect the SGET to play a pioneering role. Ultimately, this subject will also need standardization“, Markus Mahl, Data Modul, names a further potential field of activity for the new Standardization Group for Embedded Technologies.

First working groups for Computer-on-Modules are in place

The Standardization Group for Embedded Technologies, which will be founded as a registered association according to German law, will form the first working groups for the Computer-on-Module specifications Qseven and a dedicated ARM module specification. Under the roof of SGET further groups are welcome to develop specifications.

For further information please visit www.sget.org

OpenCL is an Application Programming Interface (API), which enables developers to take full advantage of the high performance graphics cores of AMD’s Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) for a variety of non-graphical computing tasks. For parallel tasks, the processor cores can offload jobs to the graphics unit, thereby increasing overall system performance far beyond previously possible levels.

This process can be used, for example, for filtering algorithms of photo editing programs such as Photoshop, programs for encoding and converting video data and Adobe Flash Player. In the past, developers have been struggling with the fact that traditional CPU architectures and programming tools were of limited use for vector-oriented data models with parallel multi-threading.

If the basic requirements for an X86 architecture are met, it makes sense to use a General Purpose Computation on Graphics Processing Unit (GPGPU) instead of a Digital Signal Processor (DSP). The individual GPGPU graphics engines can be programmed via OpenCL and are flexible with the option of allocating different tasks to each engine.

AMD already provides software development kits for OpenCL programming, which makes moving to a new type of data processing easier.

Offering broad scalability with a total of 7 processors in 4 standard form factors (ETX, XTX, COM Express and Qseven), congatec modules range from the multicore processor AMD T56N 1.6 GHz dual core (L1 Cache 64KB, L2 Cache 512KB x2, 18 W) to the AMD G-T40R 1.0 GHz single core (L1 Cache 64KB, L2 Cache 512KB, 5.5W) with minimal power consumption.

The integrated graphics core, with the Universal Video Decoder 3.0 for seamless processing of BluRays via HDCP (1080p), MPEG-2, HD and DivX (MPEG-4) videos, supports DirectX® 11 and OpenGL 4.0 for fast 2D and 3D imaging.

Differential interfaces such as PCI Express 2.0, SATA 3.0, USB 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet and high-definition audio are available.

With OpenCL, the high computing performance of the integrated Radeon graphics can also be used for “non-graphics” applications – a combination yielding unprecedented performance per watt values.

The module is available in four second generation low-power Intel® Core™ processor versions, from the Intel® Celeron® 807UE processor (1M Cache, 1.0 GHz) with just 10 Watt TDP to the Intel® Core™ i7 2610UE dual core processor (4M Cache, 1.50 GHz) with 17 Watt TDP and up to 8 GB dual-channel DDR3 memory (1333 MHz). Pin-out Type 6 is the ideal solution for the implemented Intel® QM67 Express chipset series and future generations. In addition to VGA and LVDS, it provides three digital display interfaces, which can each be configured for DisplayPort (DP), HDMI or DVI and which – in contrast to Type 2 modules – are no longer multiplexed. Type 6 also features a PEG (PCI Express Graphics) port enabling the connection of additional powerful graphics components for maximum display support, for instance in gaming and medical applications.

The biggest highlight of the COM Express Basic module (95x125 mm) is its outstanding graphics performance. Compared with previous Intel generations the 3D performance has again increased significantly. The Intel® HD graphics supports Intel® Clear Video Technology and DirectX Video Acceleration (DXVA) for faster video processing. In combination with the additional computing power provided by the second generation of Intel® Core™ processors, the conga-TS67 is the ideal solution for demanding graphics applications in the gaming, medical technology, automation and digital signage sector. The integrated video decoding function enables real-time processing of incoming video streams.

Seven PCI Express Lanes, PCI Express Graphics (PEG) x16 Lanes for high-performance external graphics cards, eight USB 2.0 ports, four SATA interfaces with RAID support, one EIDE and a 1GB Ethernet interface enable fast and flexible system updating. Fan control, an LPC bus for the easy connection of Legacy I/O interfaces and Intel® High Definition Audio complete the feature set.

All conga-TS67 modules are fitted with the new UEFI embedded firmware solution.

The congatec board controller comes with an extensive embedded PC feature set. Independence from the x86 processor allows functions such as system monitoring and I²C bus to work faster and more reliably – even when the system is in standby mode.

A suitable evaluation carrier board for COM Express Type 6 is also available.

Gerhard Edi, CEO of congatec, comments on the company’s positive revenue increase. "This award by an independent international auditor confirms our leading position in Germany. As a global company we are also striving for worldwide growth and leadership in our market segment. This current success is the result of the outstanding efforts of the entire congatec team. In the future, we will continue to impress our customers with technological innovation, quality and uncompromising service."

"This year's rankings show that technology companies with B2B products were particularly successful. Customer-oriented solutions form the basis for the impressive growth figures among Fast 50 nominees, the Rising Stars and the Sustained Excellence Award winners," explains Dieter Schlereth, Partner and Industry Leader TMT at Deloitte.

* Multiple choices permissible

Regional distribution of Fast 50 winners

About Deloitte:
Deloitte provides audit, tax, consulting and financial advisory services to companies and institutions across all industry sectors. With a globally connected network of member firms in more than 150 countries, Deloitte combines world-class expertise and service to help clients with their complex business challenges. “To be the Standard of Excellence” is the shared vision and individual aspiration of Deloitte's approximately 182,000 employees.
Deloitte’s employees are committed to a corporate culture which is based on four core values: first-class service, mutual support, absolute integrity and creative collaboration. They work in an environment which offers professional challenges alongside opportunities for development and where every employee is responsible for upholding the trust of clients and the public.
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The new module features the second generation of Intel® Core™ processors – such as the Intel® Core™ i7-2710QE processor (2.1 GHz, 45W, PGA) and the dual-core Intel® Core™ i5-2510E processor (2.5 GHz, 35W, PGA) with up to 8 GByte high-speed dual-channel DDR3 memory (1333 MHz). Type 6 Pin-out is the ideal solution for the implemented Intel® QM67 Express chipset series and its following generations. In addition to VGA and LVDS, it offers three digital display interfaces, each of which can be configured for DisplayPort (DP), HDMI or DVI. Unlike Type 2 modules, these are no longer multiplexed. Type 6 also provides a PEG (PCI Express Graphics) port enabling connection to other high-performance graphics components and thereby offering maximum display support for gaming and medical applications.

The main highlight of the COM Express Basic (95x125 mm) module is its outstanding graphics capacity. 3D performance has again been significantly increased by comparison with previous Intel generations. The Intel® HD graphics supports Intel® Clear Video Technology and DirectX Video Acceleration (DXVA) for faster video processing. Thanks to the increase in computing power offered by the second generation of the Intel® Core™ processor family, the conga-TM67 is the ideal graphics solution for gaming, medical technology, automation and digital signage applications. The integrated video coding function enables real-time processing of incoming video streams.

Seven PCI Express Lanes, PCI Express Graphics (PEG) x16 Lanes for high-performance external graphics cards, eight USB 2.0 ports, four SATA interfaces with RAID support, one EIDE and a 1GB Ethernet interface make for fast and flexible system updating. Fan control, an LPC bus for the easy connection of Legacy I/O interfaces and Intel® High Definition Audio round off the range of functions on offer.

All conga-TM67 modules are fitted with the new UEFI embedded firmware solution. The congatec board controller comes with an extensive embedded PC feature set. The independence from the x86 processor means functions such as system monitoring and the I²C bus work faster and more reliably – even when the system is in standby mode.

A COM Express Type 6-compatible evaluation carrier board is also available.

The baseboard is ideal for fast prototype design and compact, mobile applications. Measuring just 145x95 mm, the easy-to-integrate mini carrier board is packed with a wide range of state-of-the-art interfaces and is designed to accelerate the evaluation process in the design-in phase, thereby facilitating faster time-to-market. DisplayPort, HDMI and LVDS 18/24 Bit graphics interfaces have been implemented, together with six USB interfaces and an Ethernet connection. The board also offers additional standard interfaces such as high definition audio and a mini PCI express socket, which can be used for WLAN. SD-Card, 2x SATA and CFast have also been integrated on the baseboard to enable the connection of mass storage devices.

The conga-QMCB is powered by a single 5V DC supply. Battery management signalling is fully incorporated, enabling the use of the congatec Smart Battery Manager (conga-SBM2) and making the baseboard a simple solution for mobile systems. When using ACPI-compatible operating systems such as Linux or Windows, battery system communication is fully implemented; no special software or BIOS adjustment is required.

The conga-QMCB is designed for use with the new conga-QAF computer module, which is based on AMD Fusion technology, and the conga-QA6, which is based on the current Intel Atom E600 series.

The conga-QMCB is available with immediate effect.