Kontron ETXexpress-AI - Manual (Page 11)

Kontron ETXexpress-AI User’s Guide
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This standardization lets designers create a single-system baseboard that can
accept present and future COM Express modules.
Kontron ETXexpress® modules include common personal computer (PC) peripheral
functions such as:
» Graphics
» USB ports
» Ethernet
» Audio
» IDE/PATA and SATA hard disk drive formats
Baseboard designers can optimize exactly how each of these functions is
implemented physically for the intended application by placing connectors
precisely where they are needed on a baseboard that is designed for an
optimal fit in the system packaging.
A peripheral PCI bus can be implemented directly on the baseboard rather than
on mechanically unwieldy expansion cards. The ability to build a system on a
single baseboard using the computer as one plug-in super-component simplifies
packaging, eliminates cabling, and significantly reduces system-level total
cost of ownership.
A single baseboard design can use a range of COM Express modules. This
flexibility enables product differentiation at various price/performance
points, and the design of future-proof systems with a built-in upgrade path.
The modularity of a COM Express solution also ensures against obsolescence as
computer technology evolves. A properly designed COM Express baseboard can
work with several successive generations of COM Express modules.
A COM Express baseboard design has many of the advantages of a custom,
computer-board design, but delivers better obsolescence protection, greatly
reduced engineering effort, and faster time to market.