Kontron COMe-bCD2 - Manual (Page 12)

2 Introduction
Kontron User's Guide ETXexpress® CD 12
2.6 COM Express® Benefits
COM Express® basic modules are very compact (125 x 95 mm, 12mm thick), highly integrated
computers. All COM Express® modules feature a standardized form factor and a standardized connector
layout that carry a specified set of signals. Each COM Express® module is based on connector type of the
COMexpress specification. This standardization allows designers to create a single-system baseboard
that can accept present and future COM Express® modules.
COM Express® modules include common personal computer (PC) peripheral functions such as:
Graphics
USB ports
Ethernet
Sound
IDE (and SATA)
The baseboard designer can optimize exactly how each of these functions implements physically.
Designers can place connectors precisely where needed for the application on a baseboard designed to
optimally fit a system‟s 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 component simplifies packaging, eliminates cabling, and significantly reduces system-level cost.
A single baseboard design can use a range of COM Express® modules. This flexibility can differentiate
products at various price/performance points, or to design future proof systems that have a built-in
upgrade path. The modularity of an 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.
An COM Express® baseboard design has many advantages of a custom, computer-board design but
delivers better obsolescence protection, greatly reduced engineering effort, and faster time to market.