Below you can see the top (left) and bottom (right) of the board with their ISA and PCI connectors. Note that the top picture doesn't show the optional cooling sink sitting on top of the Atom processor and chipset.

In terms of size, PC/104 boards measure an almost square 3.55 x 3.775 inches. Height of a PC/104-Plus is usually determined by the height of the connectors (though in the case of the PCM-3362 it's the cooling sink that determines height). PC/104 modules are designed to be stackable, allowing for embedded solutions with multiple PC/104 boards.

In terms of specs, the PCM-3362 supports up to 2GB of DDR2 667 SDRAM, uses the ICH8M chipset, 2 or 4GB of flash, support for three COM ports (2 RS232, 1 RS422/485), four USB 2.0 ports, gigabit LAN, VGA and 18-bit LVDS. The system also has a Serial ATA interface (up to 300mb/s).

Systems like the PCM-3362 may be used to operate in a wide variety of temperatures. As a result, Advantech offers them in different versions that can handle operating temperatures from 0 to about 140 degrees Fahrenheit (US$319), -4 to about 176 degrees Fahrenheit (US$510), and an extreme one for temperatures between -40 and 185 degrees Fahrenheit (US$541).

What's in the box

• the PCM-3362 SBC
• SATA data cable
• SATA power cable
• Keyboard/Mouse cable
• Y cable for KB/MS extension
• Ethernet RJ-45 conn. cable
• VGA cable (up to SXGA (1400 x 1050 pixel)
• USB cable/bracket with 2 ports
• RS-422/485 COM cable
• RS-232 COM cable
• ATX power cable
• AT power cable
• Manual and CD with drivers

OS, APIs and utilities

Like many of Advantech's hardware products, the PCM-3362 supports a variety of embedded APIs (GPIO, I2C, watchdog timer, hardware monitor, brightness control, backlight on/off, etc.) and software utilities (monitoring, eSOS, embedded security ID).

Why pick the PCM-3362?

Why use a PC/104-Plus standard board instead of just ditching the old-style ISA part completely and go for a PCI-104-based solution? Because in embedded systems that are often used for byte-oriented "real-world" data acquisition and control functions, many applications require, or benefit from, having the two separate buses. With the PCM-3362 developers and system integrators essentially get this flexibility of having both buses in a product that also includes a state-of-the-art low power processing and chipset solution in the Intel Atom N450 and its accompanying ICH8M chip.

In essence, a PC/104-Plus based system such as the PCM-3362 is a full miniaturized desktop PC that can either function by itself, or be part of a more complex carrier board project that may contain multiple stacked PC/104 type "mezzanine" cards. From a mechanical perspective, the PC/104-Plus form factor with its four corner-mount holes makes for a rugged solution that can handle shock and vibration. And the availability of extended temperature range versions of the board add additional design flexibility.

As for the Intel Atom N450 processor used in the PCM-3362, it's part of Intel's second generation of Atom processors introduced in December of 2009. This chip is already power millions of netbooks, has decent integrated graphics, and very modest power consumption with a thermal design power of just 5.5 watts.

Below is a schematic of the Advantech PCM-3362:

With their small size and great versatility, PC/104-Plus based solutions continue to be suitable building blocks for many embedded systems projects. And by offering the PCM-3362 with Intel's Atom N450 processor, Advantech now has a PC/104-Plus solution that combines the inherent flexibility of the standard with intel's latest high-volume Atom processor technology.

Advantech PCM-3362 Specs: