| Mini-ITX board has HDMI port |
Nov. 17, 2008
 Advantech has introduced a mini-ITX motherboard that targets embedded information and entertainment applications, with an onboard HDMI port. The AIMB-221 supports single- or dual-core AMD processors, accepts up to 4GB of RAM, and has six serial ports plus four SATA ports, says the company.
(Click here for a larger view of Advantech's AIMB-221)
According to Advantech, its new AIMB-221 is offered with a five- to seven-year product life, and is aimed at creating devices such as information station kiosks, lottery machines, and more. The mini-ITX's board's most distinctive feature is its onboard HDMI connector, which apparently allows easy connection of the computer's video and audio signals to any HD television set.
On the board's edge, as seen in the photo above, is a VGA connector, while internal headers provide access to DVI and LVDS vido signals. Possible dual-display configurations include CRT with LVDS, CRT with HDMI, or HDMI with LVDS, Advantech says.
A block diagram of Advantech's AIMB-221
(Click to enlarge)
The AIMB-221 uses AMD's 21mm x 21mm M690E northbridge and 23mm x 23mm SB600 southbridge, and is designed to use a range of the chipmaker's 65nm processors. Possible CPUs are said to include the dual-core AMD Turion 64X2 clocked at either 1.8GHz or 2.1GHz, or the single-core AMD Sempron clocked at 2.0GHz or 1.0GHz. In the last of these instances, the board can run fanlessly, the company adds.
Dual SODIMM slots allow the AIMB-221 to accept a total of 4GB of DDR2 RAM. As for mass storage, four SATA ports accept multiple disk drives, which may be configured as RAID 0 or RAID 1 arrays via software. Expansion capabilities on this board include one Mini PCI slot, one PCI slot, and a Type 2/3 CompactFlash slot, according to Advantech.
Real-world ports on the AIMB-221
In addition to the VGA and HDMI connectors already mentioned, the edge of the AIMB-221 (above) includes dual RJ45 connectors for gigabit Ethernet connections, four USB 2.0 ports, two serial ports, two PS/2 ports, and audio I/O. Internal connectors provide four further USB ports, four more serial ports, plus parallel and IDE ports.
Finally, the AIMB-221 includes 8-bit GPIO, a watchdog timer, and an optional TPM (trusted platform module).
Features and specifications listed by Advantech for the AIMB-221 include:- Processor -- AMD Turion 64X2 clocked at 2.1GHz or 1.8GHz, AMD Sempron clocked at 2.0GHz or 1.0GHz
- Memory -- Up to 4GB of DDR2 memory, via dual SODIMM slots
- Networking -- 2 gigabit Ethernet ports
- Other I/O:
- 1 x VGA
- 1 x HDMI
- 1 x LVDS (internal header)
- 1 x DVI (optional; internal header)
- 8 x USB 2.0 (4 internal via headers, 4 external)
- 6 x RS232 (2 external, 4 internal via headers)
- 4 x SATA
- 2 x PS/2 (for keyboard and mouse)
- 1 x IDE
- 1 x parallel
- 8-bit GPIO
- Audio line in and line out
- Expansion:
- Type 2/3 CompactFlash socket
- PCI slot
- Mini PCI slot
- Operating temperature -- 0 to 0 deg. C (32 to 140 deg. F)
- Dimensions -- 6.7 x 6.7 inches (170 x 170mm)
According to Advantech, the AIMB-221 supports Windows XP Embedded, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows CE 6.0, and Linux.
Pricing was not released, but the AIMB-221 appears to be available now. More information may appear on Advantech's website, here.
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