Portwell’s Linux-ready “PCOM-B657VGL” Basic Type 6 module runs on an 11th Gen H-series CPU with up to 64GB DDR4, quad and 8K display support, 2.5GbE, 4x SATA, PCIe Gen4 x16, 8x PCIe Gen3, and 4x USB 3.2 Gen 2.

Portwell announced a COM Express Basic Type 6 module equipped with Intel’s 11th Gen H-series (Tiger Lake-H) processors. The PCOM-B657VGL is designed for mission critical use conditions and AI edge computing applications in industrial automation, machine vision, communication, IoT, edge computing, medical equipment, transportation, and automated test equipment. The module is also suitable for graphic-intensive applications including gaming, digital signage, smart retail, and more.

PCOM-B657VGL, front and back
(click images to enlarge)

The PCOM-B657VGL follows Portwell’s COM Express Compact Type 6 form-factor PCOM-B656VGL, which offers the lower-power 11th Gen Tiger Lake-U. It also follows its 10th Gen Comet Lake-S powered PCOM-B655VGL Basic Type 6 entry. Other Tiger Lake-H based Basic Type 6 modules include Advantech’s SOM-5883, Adlink’s Express-TL, and Congatec’s Conga-TS570.

Like the 12-28W TDP Tiger Lake UP3, Tiger Lake-H is fabricated with a 10nm process and provides the same, advanced Intel Iris Xe graphics and support for PCIe Gen4, USB 4.0, TSN, and Intel TCC. It similarly supports Intel’s AVX-512 VNNI (Vector Neural Network Instructions) for AI acceleration. The desktop class Tiger Lake-H doubles the CPU core count to eight and offers at least twice the Level 3 cache as Tiger Lake-U at 24MB.

The PCOM-B657VGL supports Core i3/i5/i7 parts up to the the octa-core, 16-thread Core i7-11850HE, which is clocked to 2.6GHz/4.7GHz with 35W/45W TDP and 32-EU Iris Xe graphics. Other options include the dual-core, 2.6GHz Celeron 6600HE plus a choice of 6x Xeon W MRE and MLE models led by the octa-core, 2.6GHz/4.2GHz Xeon W-11865MRE.

Like the other H-series parts, the MRE models can operate at as low as 35W while the MLE models start at 25W. Portwell supports CentOS, Ubuntu, and Yocto Linux flavors plus Windows 10.

The module can load up to 64GB DDR4-3200 via dual slots and offers 2.5GbE with TSN) and GbE controllers. Four SATA III slots are available along with more storage and I/O expansion available via configurable PCIe Gen4 x16 and 8x PCIe Gen3 x1. The latter supports “Intel RST for PCIe Storage.”

Quad independent displays are available via 3x DDI (HDMI 2.0b up to 4K or DP 1.4 HBR3 up to 8K) plus VGA and 24-bit, dual-channel LVDS, which is shared with eDP 1.4B HBR3. Other features include 4x USB 3.2 Gen2, 8x USB 2.0, UART, SMBus, I2C, 8-bit GPIO, and more.

PCOM-B657VGL block diagram (left) and PCOM-C60B carrier board
(click images to enlarge)

The 125 x 95mm module has a TPM 2.0 chip and a 12VDCAT/ATX power input. The module operates at 0 to 60°C for general embedded Tiger Lake-H or Industrial 25W SKUs and -40 to 85°C for Industrial 45W/35W SKUs.

The module is available with the same PCOM-C60B Type 6 carrier as the two Portwell modules listed above. The ATX form-factor, -40 to 85°C tolerant PCOM-C60B provides DP, VGA, LVDS, 4x USB 3.1, 8x USB 2.0, 4x SATA, and 2x serial ports. You also get 8-bit GPIO, PCIe Gen3 x16, and 8x PCIe Gen3 x1 connectors.

 
Further information

No pricing or availability information was provided for the “in development” PCOM-B657VGL. More information may be found in Portwell’s announcement and product page.