MSC Embedded Announces "Intelligent" Starter Kit For COM Express™ Type 6 Modules

San Bruno, CA  (Marketwire) -  MSC Embedded Inc., manufacturer of highly integrated standard board level products and customer-specific boards and systems, today announced its innovative starter kit for COM Express^™ Type 6 modules. This starter kit represents a complete, ready-to-run environment for the new range of Computer-on-Module (COM) cards integrating the latest interface standard. The kit contains a COM Express Type 6 baseboard, a heat sink with fan and two 4-Gbyte DDR3 memory modules. Users of the kit are free to choose any suitable COM Express Type 6 computer module from MSC's growing portfolio.

The PICMG Consortium recently added the Type 6 extension to the COM Express V2.0 specification, providing major improvements over the previous Type 2 definition. It features additional configurable Digital Display Interfaces (DDI) for SDVO, DisplayPort and HDMI/DVI, USB 3.0 and a total of 23 PCI Express Gen 2 lanes. 

Mike Miller, General Manager of MSC EMBEDDED notes, "Type 6 modules require a totally new baseboard implementing the widely different COM Express connector pin-out, which means they are not compatible with the earlier COM Express Type 2 modules. Even though MSC will continue to provide and even extend its range of Type 2 processor modules, the added features of Type 6 will create a strong demand for Type 6 modules, baseboards and complete starter kits."

MSC has created the COM Express Type 6 starter kit around a Type 6 baseboard, providing the perfect environment for computer modules implementing the new standard. The baseboard in the kit features the COM Express Type 6 module socket and a large number of peripheral connectors supporting the most important computer interfaces. These include a PCI Express x 4 slot, an LPC bus on 10-pin header, 4x SATA connectors, 4x USB 3.0 interfaces (compliant with USB 2.0), VGA and DVI connectors, 3x DisplayPort and 3x HDMI connectors as well as a 40-pin eDP (Embedded DisplayPort) connector. The Ethernet connector supports 10/100/1000 Mb/s signals, and there are 6x audio jacks and SPDIF connectors. In addition, a feature connector carries SMBus, I2C bus, a power and reset button, beeper, HD LED and other system signals, and a 4-pin fan connector which can drive and control the fan on the heatsink provided with the starter kit. The board is powered from a 20+4 pin ATX connector to be connected with a standard PC-type power supply.

This carrier board may also be used as a Type 6 to Type 2 adapter card. It features two COM Express Type 2 module connectors soldered to the reverse side which allow the board to be plugged into the module socket on the popular MSC CX-MB-EVA2 COM Express Type 2 baseboard. This approach creates a "virtual prototype" of a laboratory evaluation baseboard for COM Express modules. Owners of this board may use the baseboard of the new COM Express Type 6 starter kit to operate Type 6 modules in their Type 2 evaluation baseboard. In this configuration, the new interfaces are available on the peripheral connectors of the "adapter" card.

The COM Express Type 6 starter kit comes with an active heatsink with fan and two DDR3 SO-DIMM memory modules suitable for any Type 6 "Basic" computer module available from MSC. This extensive COM family includes products with the third generation Core^™processors spanning a wide performance range from quad-core Intel^® Core i7 devices to dual-core Core i5 processors and to economic dual-core and single-core Celeron^™ devices. In order to allow customers to select their Type 6 module of choice, the COM Express module is not included in the starter kit and is ordered separately.

The new COM Express Type 6 Starter Kit can be ordered immediately. Single unit pricing is $495.

MSC Embedded Inc.

MSC Embedded Inc. is a manufacturer of board-level products and customer specific industrial embedded computers. Products include COM Express ™, Qseven and ETX ^® as well as products that interface to COM modules like carrier boards, I/O technologies for displays or other process interfaces. MSC Embedded also offers custom BIOS adaptation, BSP and device drivers for all its products to OEM customers worldwide. The company's headquarters is based in San Bruno, CA and Stutensee, Germany. For more information, visit www.mscembedded.com

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