Congatec unveiled “Conga-TC670” Type 6 and “Conga-HPC/cALP” COM-HPC Client A modules that run Linux or Windows on Intel’s 12th Gen, up to 14-core Alder Lake-H CPUs. There is also a “Conga-HPC/cALS” Client C with up to 16-core Alder Lake-S.

Congatec announced three COM Express compute modules that showcase Intel’s new 12th Gen Alder Lake Core processors. The two smaller modules — the 95 x 95mm, Compact Type 6 Conga-TC670 and the 120 x 95 mm, COM-HPC Client Size A form-factor Conga-HPC/cALP — offer the same three Alder Lake H-series options provided by Adlink for its Express-ADP Type 6 and COM-HPC-cALP Client Size B modules, which were also announced this week. The 120 x 160mm Conga-HPC/cALS, meanwhile, taps the higher-end Alder Lake S-series.

Conga-HPC/cALS, Conga-HPC/cALP, and Conga-TC670 (l to r)
(click image to enlarge)

The Alder Lake-H SKUs available for the Conga-TC670 and Conga-HPC/cALP are as follows:

• Core i7-12800HE — 14 Alder Lake-H cores (6P+8E/20T); 1.8GHz/3.5GHz; 24MB L3; 45W TDP (35W cTDP); Iris Xe GPU
• Core i5-12600HE — 12 Alder Lake-H cores (4P+8E/16T); 1.8GHz/3.3GHz; 18MB L3; 45W TDP (35W cTDP); Iris Xe GPU
• Core i3-12300HE — 8x Alder Lake-H cores (4P+4E/12T); 1.5GHz/3.3GHz; 12MB L3; 45W TDP (35W cTDP); UHD GPU

All three modules — or all 10 if you use Congatec’s count of each SKU — ship with BSPs for Linux (including Yocto), Android, Windows 11, Win 10, and Win 10 IoT Enterprise. They all support Real-Time Linux and Wind River VxWorks, as well as Real-Time Systems’ RTS Hypervisor technology.

Like the 11th Gen Tiger Lake-U and Tiger Lake-H processors, 12th Gen Alder Lake uses a 10nm fabrication process, in this case, an “Enhanced SuperFin” design called Intel 7. The 12th Gen CPUs debut a hybrid, heterogeneous core architecture somewhat like Arm’s Big.Little with DynamIQ multi-core orchestration. Alder Lake uses a combination of “Golden Cove” Performance-cores (P-cores) and lower power “Gracemount” Efficient-cores (E-cores).

Like Tiger Lake, Alder Lake features up to 96EU Iris Xe graphics, as well as Intel Deep Learning Boost (DL-Boost) and Intel Advanced Vector Extensions 2 (AVX2) for AI acceleration across CPU and GPU cores. The 12th Gen platform advances to up to 4800 MT/s DDR5 RAM and up to 16-lane PCIe Gen5. The Alder Lake-S and Alder Lake-H are the two higher end models, followed by Alder Lake-P and the 9-15W Alder Lake-U. (For more details, see our 12th Gen Alder Lake report.)

 
Conga-TC670

The Conga-TC670 Compact Type 6 module, which follows the larger, 11th Gen Tiger Lake-H powered Conga-TS570 Basic Type 6 module, can load up to 64GB of up to 4800 MT/s DDR5 via dual sockets. There is an option for an NVMe x4 SSD, which presumably means you would sacrifice a PCIe x4 interface. PCIe support is listed as 8x PCIe Gen4 PEG and up to 8x PCIe Gen3. As with the Adlink modules, there is no PCIe Gen5 support, which is offered on the Conga-HPC/cALS.

Conga-TC670, front and back (renders)
(click images to enlarge)

The module ships with an Intel i225 LM controller for a 2.5GbE port with TSN. I/O includes up to 2x SATA, up to 2x UART, and optional CAN. The device supports up to 8x USB, up to 4x of which can be USB 3.2, with the others designated as USB 2.0. Other interfaces include SPI, LPC, SMBus, SPI, I2C, and GPIOs.


Conga-TC670 block diagram (left) and block diagram for Intel’s mobile Alder Lake CPUs, including Alder Lake-H
(click images to enlarge)

The Conga-TC670 supplies 3x DDI links for up to 5K plus LVDS or optional eDP. There is also an option for VGA, as well as HDA audio.

The module provides TPM 2.0, ACPI 6.0 power management with battery support, the Congatec Embedded BIOS, and the Congatec Board Controller with watchdog, monitoring, etc. You can choose between 0 to 60°C or -40 to 85°C operating ranges, both with 10-90% non-condensing relative humidity tolerance.

 
COM-HPC-cALP

As noted, the COM-HPC-cALP has the same three Alder Lake-H options as the Conga-TC670. The 64GB DDR5 support is the same, and the NVMe SSD option is listed as x1 instead of x4.

COM-HPC-cALP, front and back
(click images to enlarge)

The COM-HPC-cALP provides 2x 2.5 GbE TSN controllers as well as 3x DDI for up to 8K and an eDP interface. PCIe support includes up to 8x PCIe Gen4, 2x PCIe Gen4 x4, and up to 8x PCIe Gen3.

Congatec also lists up to 2x Thunderbolt, a variant of USB4, while the block diagram shows 4x USB4 with no mention of Thunderbolt. It is unclear if the Thunderbolt/USB4 connections use some of the PCIe lanes, or in the case of the Adlink Express-ADP, redirect from the DDI interfaces, providing display alternative modes. The Adlink COM-HPC-cALP, meanwhile, offers a pair each of dedicated Thunderbolt and DDI-based USB4 dual mode links.

COM-HPC-cALP (left) and COM-HPC-cADS block diagrams
(click images to enlarge)

The COM-HPC-cALP enables 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 “x1,” 8x USB 2.0, 2x UART, 2x MIPI-CSI, 12x GPIOs, and up to 2x SATA. You also get eSPI, SMBus, and GSPI. The module offers the same ruggedization options, ACPI 6.0, TPM 2.0, Congatec Embedded BIOS, and Congatec Board Controller as the Conga-TC670.

 
Conga-HPC/cALS

The high-end Conga-HPC/cALS adopts the LGA packaged Alder Lake-S rather than the BGA-packaged Alder Lake-H. Four 65W S-series options are available: a quad-core i3, hexa-core i5, 12-core i7, and a 16-core (8P/8E), 24-thread Core i9-12900E, which has its P-cores clocked to 2.3GHz/5.0GHz and its E-cores at 1.7GHz/3.8GHz. The i3 and i5 options lack E-cores. Graphics are limited to 32EU or 24EU in the case of the i3. (See our 12th Gen Alder Lake report for more S-series details.)

Conga-HPC/cALS, front and back
(click images to enlarge)

You can load up to 128GB DDR5 at up to 3600 MT/s via 4x sockets. There is no NVMe option, but I/O supports includes up to 2x SATA. Like the COM-HPC-cALP, there are 2x 2.5 GbE TSN controllers as well as 3x DDI and eDP interfaces (resolution not listed). In addition to HDA audio, you get 2x Soundwire and optional I2S.

PCIe support is more extensive than on the other two modules, led by a PCIe Gen5 x16 PEG interface. Also available are PCIe Gen4 x4 and 2x PCIe Gen3 x4. There is no mention of Thunderbolt or USB4, but you get 4x USB 3.2 Gen2 per the datasheet and block diagram. The product page makes no mention of USB 3.2, but both pages list 8x USB 2.0.

The Conga-HPC/cALS is further equipped with 2x UART and 12x GPIOs. Ruggedization, ACPI, TPM, BIOS, and the Board Controller are all the same as the other modules.

 
Further information

No pricing or availability information was provided for the Conga-TC670, Conga-HPC/cALP, and Conga-HPC/cALS. More information may be found in Congatec’s announcement and its Conga-TC670, Conga-HPC/cALP, and Conga-HPC/cALS product pages.