Want a Twin Lake Pico-ITX SBC? That’s what AAEON offers with the PICO-TWL4 single board computer equipped with either an Intel Processor N150 quad-core CPU or an Intel Core 3 N355 octa-core SoC, and available in either commercial or industrial temperature grade.
The board features a SO-DIMM socket for DDR5 memory, a SATA and mSATA storage, two display interfaces (HDMI and eDP/LVDS), 2.5GbE and GbE RJ45 ports, USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, and M.2 and mPCIe sockets for expansion. By default, the board supports 12V DC power, but AAEON offers a 9V to 36V DC input option.
AAEON PICO-TWL4 specifications:
- Twin Lake SoC (one or the other)
- Intel Processor N150 quad-core processor @ 800 MHz / 3.6 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD graphics @ 1.0 GHz; TDP: 6W
- Intel Core 3 N355 octa-core processor @ 1.9 GHz / 3.9 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 32EU Intel UHD graphics @ 1.35 GHz; TDP: 15W
- System Memory – Up to 16GB DDR5 4800 MHz via SO-DIMM socket (advertised, but the max should be 64GB RAM)
- Storage
- SATA III connector
- mSATA socket
- Video Output
- HDMI 1.4 up to 3840 x 2160 @ 30Hz (4Kp30)
- Dual-channel 18/24bit LVDS up to 1920 x 1200 @ 60Hz
- Optional eDP 1.4 up to 3840 x 2160 (multiplexed with LVDS)
- Up to 2x independent displays
- Optional audio, not available for WiTAS SKUs (see Temperature Range below)
- Realtek ALC256 codec
- Line-out header
- Networking
- 2.5GbE RJ45 port via Intel I226-V controller
- Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port via Realtek RTL8111H-CG controller
- Optional WiFi and Bluetooth via M.2 socket
- USB
- 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 ports
- 4x USB 2.0 via pin header
- Serial – 4x serial interfaces via internal connector with COM 1~2 supporting RS-232/422/485 with 5V/12V/RI, and COM 3~4 RS-232 only
- Expansion
- Full-Size mSATA/mPCIe socket with PCIe x1, SATA, USB 2.0 (default: mSATA, select with BIOS)
- M.2 2230 E-Key socket (PCIe 3.0 [x1] + USB 2.0)
- Optional 80-pin high-speed BIO connector (requires customized BIOS) with USB 2.0, SMBUS, DDI, LPC, PCIe [x1]
- 4-pin DIO connector
- SMBus/I2C connector
- Security – TPM 2.0
- Misc
- 3V/240mAh RTC battery
- Watchdog timer
- AMI Aptio UEFI/BIOS with Wake-on-LAN support
- 4-pin smart fan connector
- HDD LED, PWR LED, Power Button, Buzzer, Reset
- Power Supply
- +12V DC via 2-pin Phoenix connector (Default) or lockable DC jack connector (Colay)
- Optional 9V to 36V input
- AT/ATX type
- Power Consumption @ 12V (Intel Core 3 N355, 16GB DDR5)
- Typical: 3.53A or about 42.4 Watts
- Max: 5.25A or around 63 Watts
- Dimensions – 100 x 72 mm (Pico-ITX form factor)
- Weight – 80 grams
- Temperature Range
- Operating – Commercial: 0°C ~ 60°C; WiTAS 2: -40°C ~ 85°C
- Storage – -40°C ~ 85°C
- Humidity – 0% ~ 90% relative humidity, non-condensing
- MTBF – 2,219,397 hours
- EMC – CE/FCC Class A
AAEON officially provides support for Windows 10/11 64-bit and Ubuntu 22.04.2 with Linux 5.19 for the board. It’s almost identical to the PICO-ADN4 Pico-ITX SBC powered by a choice of Alder Lake-N processors instead of Twin Lake CPUs. The most obvious difference is that the company replaced the soldered-on LPDDR5 memory with a DDR5 SO-DIMM memory, probably because customers preferred a more flexible memory option at the cost of a slightly thicker board.
Other small differences are the removal of the 80-pin BIO connector, which gave the ability to connect add-on boards for triple display setups and other features available through DDI, PCIe, USB 2.0, and/or SMBUS. The PICO-TWL4 SBC gains two extra USB 2.0 interfaces on internal connectors for a total of four, and the same is true for serial ports (from 2 to 4) via a new connector. The MTBF has also increased from about 124 years to over 250 years…
AAEON has yet to list the PICO-TWL4 SBC in its eShop, but for reference, the earlier PICO-ADN4 Pico-ITX motherboard is sold there for $317 and up with 16GB LPDDR5 memory, and I can also see a PICO-ADN4 Rev.B with the same layout as the Twin Lake SBC for $258.00 with N97 CPU, a lower price since it relies on SO-DIMM memory. The Intel N150-based PICO-TWL4 SBC should just cost a few dollars more. Additional information, including the datasheet, the user manual, BIOS, and Linux and Windows drivers, can be found on the product page.
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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