congatec introduces new conga-BP77 COM Express Type 2 module with 3rd generation Intel® Core™ processor

Increased computing performance with concurrent improvement in energy efficiency on pin-out Type 2 with PCI Express graphics (PEG) support

Deggendorf, Germany, 25 July 2012  * * * congatec AG, a leading manufacturer of embedded computer modules, adds the conga-BP77 to its portfolio of 3rd generation Intel® Core™ modules. This version is based on the COM Express Type 2 connector pin-out and supports the PCI Express graphics port for high-performance external graphics.

The conga-BP77 module version is therefore well suited to medical, gaming and multimedia applications needing high end graphics performance, for which the internal graphics support from the chip set no longer suffices. The PEG connection is implemented via a customised carrier board. The freely available schematics for the evaluation carrier board conga-CEVAL provide the perfect baseline for developing proprietary solutions.

The crucial innovations of the 3rd generation Intel® Core™ processors relate to the use of 3D trigate transistor technology, 22 nanometer production, more tightly integrated graphics and the improved PEG 3.0 graphics. The change from PEG 2.0 to PEG 3.0 is the performance increase from 5 GT/s to 8 GT/s. 

The conga-BP77 is available off the shelf now in the processor versions Intel® Core™ i7-3612QE (4 x 2.1 GHz, 6 MB Intel® Smart Cache, TDP 35W), Intel® Core™ i7-3555LE (2.50 GHz, 4 MB Intel® Smart Cache, 25W) and Intel® Core™ i5-3610ME (2.7 GHz, 3 MB Intel® Smart Cache, 35W). The module features the new mobile Intel® Express chip set QM77 and offers up to 16 GByte dual channel DDR3 memory (1600 MT/s).

Six PCI Express 2.0 lanes, four SATA interfaces with up to 6 GB/s and RAID support, eight USB 2.0 ports, one EIDE and one Gigabit Ethernet interface facilitate fast and flexible system extensions. Besides PEG 3.0, VGA and LVDS are supported, as well as DirectX 11, OpenGL 3.1 and OpenCL 1.1. Fan control, LPC bus for easy connection of legacy I/O interfaces and the Intel® high definition audio round off the set of functions.

All conga-BP77 modules are fitted with the new embedded firmware solution, UEFI. Under UEFI, congatec's embedded BIOS features are also supported and extended. Even larger applications can now be integrated with the new pre-boot application. This way, for example, embedded diagnostic tools, network-based service programs or system recovery applications can be used regardless of the operating systems.

A matching evaluation carrier board for COM Express Type 2 enabling fast implementation of a PCI Express graphics x16-lane plug is also available.

 

About congatec AG

congatec AG has its head office in Deggendorf, Germany and is a leading supplier of industrial computer modules using the standard form factors Qseven, COM Express, XTX and ETX. congatec’s products can be used in a variety of industries and applications, such as industrial automation, medical technology, automotive supplies, aerospace and transportation. Core knowledge and technical know-how includes unique extended BIOS features as well as comprehensive driver and board support packages. Following the design-in phase, customers are given support via extensive product lifecycle management. The company’s products are manufactured by specialist service providers in accordance with modern quality standards. congatec currently has 124 employees and entities in Taiwan, Japan, USA and the Czech Republic. More information is available on our website at www.congatec.com.

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Intel and Intel Core are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

congatec is a business partner of Intel® Intelligent Systems Alliance, a joint venture of communications and embedded developers and solution provide