Alongside of energy efficiency and legacy-interface support, the PEM-E205VLA is designed with powerful 32-bit multi-core processor technology and programmable graphics processing unit (GPU) compatible with Microsoft Windows-based, Linux and many other popular 32-bit RTOS.

Efficient, Effective and Economical Solutions Using ETX Technology

When designing the PEM-E205VLA and its carrier board, Portwell applied the successful mother-daughter relationship of the highly-integrated computer-on-module ETX form factor, and came up with a compact, efficient and economical combination.

The ultra low power Vortex86DX3 system-on-a-chip (SoC) is housed on the PEM-E205VLA module board and the development kit carrier board comes with all of the necessary connectors. In this way, Portwell is able to maximize ETX 3.02 technology to produce a unit that not only outputs under 5W for fanless applications, but also supports a wide -40°C to 85°C industrial temperature range, enabling faster and better integration with Portwell's best-in-class industrial solutions.

Furthermore, the PEM-E205VLA ETX module supports up to 2GB DDR3 memory, 32KB write through 8-way L1 cache, 512KB write through/write back 4-way L2 cache, PCIE bus at 2.5 GHz, ROM controller, ISA, I2C, SPI, IPC (Internal Peripheral Controllers with DMA and interrupt timer/counter included), Fast Ethernet, UART FIFO, USB 2.0 Host and IDE/SATA.

Expansion for the PEM-E205VLA ETX module includes ISA interface with controllers integrated into processor-enhancing capabilities to support 8/16-bit ISA device with Zero-Wait-State. In addition, the module supports dual displays, VGA and LVDS with greater graphic performance compared to its previous generation.

The resolution for one display interface supports up to 1920x1440@60Hz with 234MHz video clock, and the other, 1920x1200, 1x DVO (24bits) and 1x D-SUB or 2x DVO (12bits x2). The GPU control unit integrated in the processor supports H.264 1080P video decode.

In the networks and automation sectors, safety with accuracy and precision are paramount. As the markets change, Portwell's versatile ETX modules adapt to these changes by enabling designers to partition commodity host-processors from proprietary baseboards, thereby minimizing current and future design risks during the initial phase of development.

This design of separating the CPU-upgradable module from system specific I/O carrier boards further safeguards development investments and lowers total cost of ownership. In addition, Portwell can also provide services to clients on the carrier board design and development, review schematics and BIOS customization.