Ibase announced a Linux-ready, 3.5-inch “IB953” SBC with 11th Gen Core CPUs, quad displays, and 3x M.2. Aaeon recently posted specs for a 3.5-inch “GENE-TGU6” Tiger Lake SBC with 2.5GbE.

Last August, prior to Intel’s September announcement of its 10nm, 11th Gen Tiger Lake processors, Aaeon and Kontron announced 3.5-inch Tiger Lake UP3 SBCs, but only Kontron had full specs on its 3.5”-SBC-TGL model. Aaeon supplied more information on the GENE-TGU6 board at Embedded World 2021 in March, and since then has posted a “preliminary” product page. Now, Ibase has announced its own IB953 3.5-incher. We will compare all three boards followed by spec lists for Ibase and Aaeon.

Ibase IB953 (left) and Kontron 3.5”-SBC-TGL
(click images to enlarge)

Like most of the Tiger Lake based embedded products we have seen, including Aaeon’s community-backed UP Xtreme i11, the Ibase IB953 and Aaeon GENE-TGU6 use the embedded focused Tiger Lake “E” models that were announced after the initial Tiger Lake launch. The “E” models offer extended purchase availability and have slightly lower base and Turbo frequencies than the similarly named UP3 siblings without the “E” suffix.


Aaeon GENE-TGU6, front and back
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The Tiger Lake “E” models available on the Ibase IB953 and Aaeon GENE-TGU6 are as follows:

• Core i7-1185G7E — quad-core with 1.2GHz (12W), 1.8GHz (15W), 2.8GHz (28W) and 4.4GHz Turbo; 96EU Iris Xe Graphics
• Core i5-1145G7E — quad-core with 1.1GHz (12W), 1.5GHz (15W), 2.6GHz (28W) and 4.1GHz Turbo; 80EU Iris Xe
• Core i3-1115G4E — dual-core with 1.7GHz (12W), 2.2GHz (15W), 3.0GHz (28W) and 3.9GHz Turbo; 48EU Iris Xe
• Celeron 6305E — dual-core – other specs TBA

The IB953, which follows earlier Ibase 3.5-inch SBCs such as its 8th Gen Whiskey Lake based IB919, supports Ubuntu and Win 10. No OS support was listed by Aaeon for its GENE-TGU6.

Ibase IB953
(click image to enlarge)

Like the Kontron boards, both SBCs support up to 64GB DDR4-3200 via dual slots. They both supply dual Ethernet ports — the Ibase model has 2x GbE whereas the Aaeon and Kontron boards have GbE and 2.5GbE.

All three boards provide 4x coastline USB host ports. Ibase provides a USB 2.0 port and 3x USB 3.1 ports, but like Kontron with its 4x USB 3.1 ports, the company not specify the generation. Aaeon offers 4x USB 3.2 Gen2 host ports and a Gen2 based Type-C port, which appears to be OTG.

Ibase IB953 detail views
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The Ibase IB953 is the only one of the three with a coastline COM port (RS232/422/485). Like the others it offers additional USB 2.0 and serial headers plus DIO and TPM 2.0.

The IB953 supports quadruple simultaneous displays via 2x DisplayPorts and internal eDP and LVDS. Aaeon offers 2x DP 1.4A plus a single HDMI 2.0b port on the coasline plus internal LVDS or eDP. Like Ibase, Kontron promises quad displays, in this case via 2x coastline DP, internal LVDS, and an optional DP or HDMI interface via an extended B2B connector. Like the Kontron board, the IB953 offers a speaker amp in addition to the onboard audio I/O provided by all three.

Aaeon GENE-TGU6 coastline view (left) and block diagram
(click images to enlarge)

The IB953 supplies 2x SATA III interfaces, in addition to 3x M.2 slots: M-key for NVMe, B-key for 5G, and E-key for WiFi. A SIM card slot is also available.

By comparison, Aaeon’s GENE-TGU6 supplies a single SATA III interface with power plus M.2 M-key and E-key sockets. There is also a full-size mini-PCIe slot, which defaults to mSATA but integrates a nano-SIM slot for cellular. Kontron’s 3.5”-SBC-TGL, meanwhile, has the same triple M.2 slots with SIM as Ibase plus a single SATA III interface.

The Ibase board has a 12-24VDC input while Aaeon gives you a 9-36VDC input or optional 12V. Both SBCs are limited to 0 to 60°C support whereas Kontron offers optional industrial temp models.

Specifications listed for the Ibase IB953 include:

• Processor – Intel 11th Gen “Tiger Lake” UP3 “E” Core and Celeron
• Memory — Up to 64GB of 3200MHz DDR4 via 2x slots; IBECC support on some CPU SKUs
• Storage – 2x SATA III; M.2 M-Key with NVMe support (see expansion)
• Networking — 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports — PCIe with Intel I219LM (model AF) or I219V (model EF) with I211AT
• Display/media:
  • 2x DisplayPort
  • eDP
  • Dual-channel LVDS
  • Quad independent display support
  • Audio I/O (Realtek ALC269 HD audio) with class-D amp
• Other I/O:
  • 3x USB 3.1 host ports
  • USB 2.0 host port
  • 2x USB 2.0 headers
  • 2x RS232/422/485 (1x port, 1x header)
  • 4-in, 4-out DIO
• Expansion:
  • M.2 M-Key 2280 slot with NVMe support
  • M.2 E-Key 2230 slot with CNVi (Intel WiFi/BT) support
  • M.2 B-key 3052 support with 5G support
  • SIM card slot
• Other features — Watchdog; HW monitoring; TPM 2.0; optional heatsink with fan; optional cable kit
• Power — 12-24V DC input
• Operating temperatures — 0 to 60°C; 95% humidity (non-condensing at 60°C)
• Dimensions — 147 x 102mm (“3.5-inch form factor”)
• Operating system — Ubuntu Linux or Windows 10

Specifications listed for the Aaeon GENE-TGU6 include:

• Processor – Intel 11th Gen “Tiger Lake” UP3 “E” Core and Celeron
• Memory — Up to 64GB of 3200MHz DDR4 via 2x slots
• Storage – SATA III with power connector; storage available via mini-PCIe (mSATA) and M.2 M-Key (see expansion)
• Networking — 1GbE port (i219-LM); 2.5GbE port (i225-LM); WoL and Vpro support
• Display/media:
  • 2x DisplayPort 1.4a ports
  • HDMI 2.0b port
  • Dual-channel 18/24-bit LVDS or optional eDP
  • Touchscreen support
  • HD Audio I/O (line-in, line-out, mic)
• Other I/O:
  • 4x USB 3.2 Gen2 host ports
  • USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port
  • 2x USB 2.0 headers
  • 4x RS232/422/485 headers (1x with 5V/12V/RI)
  • 8-bit DIO; SMBus; optional I2C
• Expansion:
  • M.2 M-Key 2280 slot with PCIe x4 support
  • M.2 E-Key 2230 slot for WiFi/BT, PCIe, or USB 2.0
  • Full-size mini-PCIe slot (mSATA by default) with nano-SIM slot
• Other features — Watchdog; TPM 2.0; optional cooler and cables
• Power — 9-24V DC input (optional 12V)
• Operating temperatures — 0 to 60°C; 90% humidity (non-condensing)
• Dimensions — 146 x 101.7mm (“3.5-inch form factor”)

 
Further information

No pricing or availability information was provided for the “launched” Ibase IB953. More information may be found in Ibase’s announcement and product page.

No pricing or availability information was provided for the “preliminary” Aaeon GENE-TGU6. More information may be found on Aaeon’s product page.