ADLINK cExpress-R8 is a COM Express Type 6 Compact CPU module powered by a choice of AMD Ryzen Embedded 8000 SoCs, up to the 8-core Ryzen Embedded 8845HS SKU with up to 39 TOPS of AI performance, support for up to 96GB of DDR5 (ECC or non-ECC) memory, and optional NVMe SSD BGA storage.
The module also features an Intel i226 2.5GbE controller, a SEMA board controller, and a debug connector, and exposes all I/Os through two standard 220-pin COM Express board-to-board connectors with four SATA III, up to 16x PCIe Gen4 lanes, DDI, LVDS, and/or eDP interface for up to four displays, and more.
cExpress-R8 specifications:
- Hawk Point SoC (one or the other)
- AMD Ryzen Embedded 8845HS octa-core processor up to 5.1GHz with 6 WG (WorkGroup) AMD Radeon RDNA 3 Graphics Core; TDP: 35-54W
- AMD Ryzen Embedded 8840U octa-core processor up to 5.1GHz with 6 WG AMD Radeon RDNA 3 Graphics Core; TDP: 15-30W
- AMD Ryzen Embedded 8645HS hexa-core processor up to 5.0GHz with 4 WG AMD Radeon RDNA 3 Graphics Core; TDP: 35-54W
- AMD Ryzen Embedded 8640U hexa-core processor up to 4.9GHz with 4 WG AMD Radeon RDNA 3 Graphics Core; TDP: 15-30W
- AI accelerator (on all four SKUs) – 16 TOPS XNDA NPU; note: up to 39 TOPS of AI performance for the SoC as a whole
- System Memory – Up to 96GB (2x 48GB) dual-channel DDR5 non-ECC/ECC @ up to 5600 MHz; note: now that 64GB DDR5 modules are available, 128GB of RAM might be feasible.
- Storage
- On-board PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD (build option in place of SATA)
- 32MB SPI flash for AMI UEFI with CMOS backup
- Networking – Intel I226 2.5Gbps Ethernet controller (TSN in Linux OS by build option)
- 2x 220-pin standard COM Express connectors
- Storage – 4x SATA 6Gb/s (PCIe-to-SATA)
- Display
- DDI 1/2/3 Digital Display Interfaces
- Single/dual channel 18/24-bit LVDS (eDP-to-LVDS IC)
- 4-lanes eDP 1.4b (build option in place of LVDS)
- 4 concurrent display combinations of DisplayPort/HDMI/LVDS/eDP
- Audio – Codec on carrier Express-BASE6 R3.1 (ALC888 standard support)
- Networking – 2.5GbE interface
- USB
- 4x USB 3.X/2.0/1.1
- 4x USB 2.0/1.1
- Serial – 2x UART ports
- Expansion
- PCIe x8 Gen4 (lanes 16-23)(1 x8, 2 x4)
- 4x PCIe x1 Gen4 (Lanes 0-3)
- 4x PCIe x1 Gen4 (Lanes 4-7)
- LPC bus (via ESPI-to-LPC bridge IC)
- SMBus (system), I2C (user)
- 4x GPIO and 4x GPI
- SEMA Board Controller – Voltage/current monitoring, power sequence debug support, AT/ATX mode control, logistics and forensic information, flat panel control, general purpose I2C, watchdog timer, fan control, and failsafe BIOS (dual BIOS by a build option)
- Debugging – 30-pin multipurpose flat cable connector for use with DB30-x86 debug module providing BIOS POST code LED, EC access, SPI BIOS flashing, power testpoints, debug LEDs
- Security – TPM 2.0 (Infineon)
- Misc – Super I/O supported on carrier if needed (standard support W83627DHG-P)
- Power Supply
- Standard Input – ATX: 12V±5% / 5Vsb ±5%; or AT: 12V±5%
- Wide Input – ATX: 8.5-20V / 5Vsb ±5%; or AT: 8.5-20V
- Management – ACPI 5.0 compliant, Smart Battery support
- Dimensions – 95 x 95 mm (PICMG COM.0: Rev 3.1 Type 6 Basic size)
- Temperature Range – Standard operating: 0°C to 60°C; storage: -20°C to 80°C
ADLINK provides support for Windows 11 22H2 and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. The user manual also mentions Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 64-bit and Yocto Linux 64-bit, with a link to the meta layers for ADLINK x86 hardware. The company can also provide the Express-BASE6 R3.1 carrier board pictured below if you don’t already have a compatible COM Express Type 6 carrier board.
Six cooling options are available for the cExpress-R8 computer-on-module:
- Heat Spreaders
- HTS-cR8-B heatspreader for cExpress-R8 with threaded standoffs for bottom mounting
- HTS-cR8-BT heatspreader for cExpress-R8 with through-hole standoffs for top mounting
- Passive Heatsinks
- THS-cR8-BL low-profile heatsink for cExpress-R8 with threaded standoffs for bottom mounting
- THS-cR8-BT low-profile heatsink for cExpress-R8 with through-hole standoffs for top mounting
- THSH-cR8-B high-profile heatsink for cExpress-R8 with threaded standoffs for bottom mounting
- Active Heatsink – THSF-cR8-B high-profile heatsink with fan for cExpress-R8 with threaded standoffs for bottom mounting
It’s the second COM Express Type 6 CPU module based on the AMD Ryzen Embedded 8000 family, and the congatec Conga-TCR8 introduced last year offers very similar features to the cExpress-R8 covered in this article, including the same four Ryzen Embedded 8640U to 8845HS SKUs.
ADLINK did not provide pricing information for the cExpress-R8 computer-on-module, and all information on the product page is currently preliminary and subject to change.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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