Technical Manual "Thunderbird/MM” Version 1.2
12.08.2005
Page 6 of 48
1 Functional Specification
1.1 Overview
The Thunderbird/MM is a PC compatible motherboard conforming to the Mini-ITX form factor. It was
especially designed to facilitate the creation of multi-media systems.
At the core of the Thunderbird/MM works the Intel
®
Pentium
®
M processor together with the Intel
®
i82855GME (855GME) chipset. Running at up to 2000 MHz and more, this processor consumes
very little power while at the same time delivers outstanding performance figures. The processor's
clock frequencies will even be increased when faster CPU chips will become available. At the other
side of the performance spectrum, at lower clock frequencies, it is even possible to operate the
Thunderbird/MM with a heatsink only.
The i82855GME chipset features a high performance 2D/3D graphics controller as well as an
integrated display controller with improved unified memory architecture. Displays with resolutions up
to 2048 x 1536 pixels at 75 Hz can be handled. Two channel LVDS allows interference-free
connection of LCD modules.
The Thunderbird/MM comes as a complete personal computer with floppy disk, PS/2 keyboard and
mouse and a printer port. Four independent Ultra ATA 100 harddisks can be connected to the
primary and secondary EIDE ports. An AC97 compatible sound I/O system is also integrated,
allowing easy construction of embedded multimedia computers.
The communication possibilities: Fast-Ethernet (100/10BaseT) port is integrated on the board.
Further connection possibilities are provided by six independent USB 2.0 ports in USB host mode,
which allow connection of all kinds of different USB peripheral devices. In addition, two FireWire
(IEEE1393) ports for i.e. video applications are available. Two standard serial RS232C interfaces
enhance the communication capabilities even more.
There are two PCI slots available for system expansion. One is a Mini-PCI slot, capable to hold all
types of Mini-PCI modules. The second is a conventional 3.3 V PCI slot, which can be used for all
kinds of standard PCI cards. Riser-Card for 3.3 V and 5 V PCI slots are available.
The system’s main memory is expandable up to 1024 MB DDR-333 (PC2700) SDRAM in the on-
board DIMM socket.
The board's basic functionality is supervised with the integrated status indicators. These indicators
show the state of the supply voltages, Ethernet activity as well as EIDE accesses.
Embedded applications also profit from the on-board power supply. It is optionally available for +5 V
supplies only, which is almost universally available in the embedded environment.
The Thunderbird/MM is intended for OEMs in the gaming machine industry, entertainment and all
other kinds of embedded high performance PC applications.
©
LIPPERT
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