One significant advantage of the Intel® Architecture family of microprocessors is the many ways that embedded design teams can deploy modular systems based on those processors. The breadth of IA offerings in terms of performance, power consumption, and integrated functions such as graphics mean that manufacturers of board-level products typically support IA processors first on any new modular standard. I've written several times recently on modular standards for small form factors such as ...Read More

Embedded system engineers that contemplate a system design based on Intel® Architecture (IA) processors have a broad choice of both form factors and processor feature sets. The ever-increasing integration of more features on chip means that design teams can get the latest in processor technology in very small packages. Compact designs based on the latest Intel® QM57 Express Chipset can deliver advanced features such as video support for industrial-control applications or media-centric...Read More

Look back over the last decade, and you will find two distinct paths toward performance in the Intel® Architecture (IA) processor world. The Intel® NetBurst® microarchitecture used in Pentium 4 and early Intel® Xeon™ series processors stressed clock rate. Beginning with the Intel® Core™ microarchitecture and continuing with Nehalem, the focus has been on multi-core designs with the cores running at a lower clock rates than processors from the end of the NetB...Read More

Low power is a tough subject to tackle. You have active and standby power issues that come into play. And you must always think system power rather than component power. The Intel® Atom N450 isn't the lowest-power member of the Atom family. But if you consider power along with feature integration and system power and performance, the new N450 may be the very best choice for your low-power embedded system design. The processor is already finding use in products destined for automotive, indu...Read More

The Atom™ family of Intel® Architecture processors continues to expand allowing design engineers flexibility when using the low-power family of products. In the embedded area, the offerings now include the choice of 64-bit processors, dual cores, and higher levels of integration. Lanner Electronics* has taken advantage of the new products to deliver both tiny fan-less computers and network security systems.   The newest members of the Atom family for embedded designs include the...Read More

We all hear about the tough operating environment in IT data centers with servers densely packed in racks and operating continuously. I'd bet that a lot of you in the embedded space chuckle a bit when the IT-centric guys complain about their tough design task. Embedded designers have to design for the worst of environments such as the heat and vibration found in a military vehicle, on the factory floor, or even in a server-like setting in a communications application. Many embedded applications...Read More