PROTEUS - user manual
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ETH_PROTEUS_USM
COM Express Type 1 carrier board expansion
In the COM Express carrier board implementation the external IO from the module is provided via the
COM Express board-to-board connector. The carrier board can be implemented using a method that
best suits your needs.
Processor and chipset
Intel ATOM processor
The Intel ATOM Z5xx series processor is a high-performance, ultra low power processor with several
microarchitectural enhancements over existing Intel mobile processors. The ATOM Z5xx series offers
the benefits of the following Intel architecture for small form factor, thermally constrained and fanless
embedded systems:
•
Intel's 45nm technology, based on a Hafnium, high-K metal gate formula, reduces power
consumption, increases switching speed, and significantly increases transistor density over the
previous 65nm technology.
•
Multiple micro-ops per instruction are combined into a single micro-op and executed in a single
cycle, resulting in improved performance and power savings.
•
in-order execution core consumes less power than out-of-order execution.
•
Hyper-Threading Technology (HT Technology; 1.6 GHz SKU only) provides high performance-
per-watt efficiency in an in-order pipeline. HT Technology provides increased system
responsiveness in multi-tasking environments. One execution core is seen as two logical
processors, and parallel threads are executed on a single core with shared resources.
US15W System Controller Hub
The US15W is a single-chip System Controller Hub (SCH) that consists of an integrated graphics
controller, a memory controller, and I/O controller. The SCH combines the functionality normally found
in separate GMCH (front side bus interface, integrated graphics and memory controller) and ICH
(platform I/O expansion) components, in a single device providing the functionality necessary to
support fully featured operating systems.
The Intel
®
System Controller Hub US15W combines the Intel
®
Graphics Media Accelerator 500 (Intel
®
GMA 500), memory controller, and I/O controller in a single-chip solution. It also features advanced 3D
graphics and extensive I/O capabilities such as USB 2.0, SDIO and PCI Express. Additionally, it
supports Intel
®
High Definition Audio, hardware video decode acceleration, a 400/533 MHz CMOS
front-side bus (FSB), dual independent display and 2 GB memory.
Graphics support
The IGD (Integrated Graphics Device) provides LVDS and Serial DVO (SDVO) display ports permitting
simultaneous independent operation of two displays.
In the COM Express configuration SCH LVDS interface is connected directly to the board-to-board
COM Express connector and SDVO interface is connected via a Chrontel CH7308B SDVO to LVDS
converter to a edge connector. In the standalone configuration two LVDS onboard connectors are
used.
Bandwidth limitations
The ATOM chipset has been optimized for low power operation and therefore has some limitations in
terms of it’s data throughput capabilities. The internal bus architecture has a maximum theoretical
throughput of approximately 254MB/s. System IO devices are interfaced to the US15W backbone, so if
the PCI Express controller has control of the backbone then no other devices are able to gain access.
