Ampro Extends PCI Express(TM) Leadership to Embedded Motherboards

Small form factor motherboards widen embedded market adoption of high-end graphics and I/O BOSTON, MASS., September 26, 2006. - Ampro Computers, Inc., a leading supplier of standards-based computer systems and single board computers, introduced today at the Embedded Systems Conference the MightyBoard(TM) 821 and ReadyBoard(TM) 820 embedded motherboards. Featuring the small Mini-ITX and EPIC Express(TM) form factors, respectively, these advanced technology single board computers (SBCs) allow embedded system manufacturers to greatly improve graphics, communications, and data processing bandwidth while reducing overall system footprint. These products complement Ampro's existing PCI Express Computer-on-Module product line (XTX form factor) for applications that do not need a custom carrier board, using Intel® processors to 2.0 GHz with PCI Express(TM) graphics and I/O, Gigabit Ethernet, Serial ATA (SATA) storage, USB 2.0, up to 2GB DDR2 RAM, and ACPI power management. In addition, Ampro's MightySystem(TM) and ReadySystem(TM) computers include these boards, for ready-to-run applications. "With today's announcement, Ampro furthers its reputation for driving leading-edge technologies into the embedded systems marketplace," said Joanne Mumola Williams, president and CEO of Ampro. "Our contribution to standards such as EPIC Express, now managed by the PC/104 Consortium, combined with our global design and manufacturing teams, have allowed us to provide building blocks right when customers are ready to embrace these new technologies." At 170mm x 170mm (6.75" x 6.75"), MightyBoard 821 offers a choice of 2.0 GHz Pentium® M 760 or 1.5 GHz Celeron® M 370 processor, along with the Intel® 915GM chipset and up to 2GB DDR2 533 RAM using two DIMM slots. A rich set of I/O includes (6) USB 2.0 ports, both EIDE and Serial ATA interfaces, (2) Intel 82573 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet ports, x16 ("by-sixteen") PCI Express slot for high-end graphics, as well as integrated chipset graphics. MightyBoard 821 supports VGA and LVDS video interfaces, plus ACPI power management functionality including S3 Suspend-to-RAM. The product is RoHS-compliant, fits in standard Mini-ITX and ATX enclosures, and is well-suited for gaming, medical imaging, video surveillance, and other graphics-intensive applications. MightyBoard 821 is revision controlled to ensure product consistency and reliability. Customers can expect the same high quality year after year, and will always receive notifications of form, fit, or function changes in advance. Visit ampro.com/html/Mini-ITX_FormFactor_MightyBoard_821.html for product information. For very small applications, the ReadyBoard 820 implements high CPU and I/O performance in a mere 115mm x 165mm (4.5" x 6.5") size, 34% smaller than the Mini-ITX form factor. Processors up to 1.8 GHz Pentium M 745 are offered with the Intel 915GM chipset and up to 1GB DDR2 400 SODIMM RAM. I/O support includes (4) USB 2.0 ports, (2) Serial ATA ports, EIDE, Intel 82573 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet, 10/100 Ethernet with Wake on LAN support, LVDS, (2) UART serial ports, (8) general-purpose I/O (GPIO) pins, and integrated chipset graphics. ACPI power management and RoHS compliance are also important attributes. Three lanes of PCI Express are provided for high-speed I/O expansion, whether in the form of Gigabit Ethernet ports or custom I/O, allowing customization with simple I/O card designs rather than full custom baseboards and power supply circuitry. This EPIC Express compliant SBC is the world's smallest PCI Express motherboard. Visit ampro.com/html/EPIC_FormFactor_ReadyBoard_820.html for product information. QuickStart Kits for these products include drivers and Board Support Packages (BSPs) for Windows® XP, Windows XP Embedded, Windows CE, and a full Linux® 2.6 distribution. Pricing and Availability MightyBoard 821 samples will be available within 90 days. ReadyBoard 820 samples will be available in Q1 2007. Prices start in the low $500's in production quantities including CPU (installed by Ampro). For product photos, please use the following links: ampro.com/html/MB821.gif ampro.com/html/RB820.gif About Ampro Computers, Inc. Ampro Computers, Inc. is the leading global provider of modular embedded computing solutions for OEM applications. Ampro's mission is to provide time saving solutions for embedded systems designers that accelerate the product deployment process. Ampro pioneered the embedded PC industry creating the popular PC/104 and EBX standards, and recently co-invented the new EPIC and EPIC Express standards. Ampro offers the ReadySystem, ReadyPanel, and MightySystem Computers as complete turnkey industrial computer solutions, ETX and XTX Computer-on-Modules, PC/104-compatible CoreModule CPUs and MiniModule I/O expansion products, EBX form factor LittleBoard single-board computers (SBCs), EPIC form factor ReadyBoard SBCs, and Mini-ITX form factor MightyBoard SBCs. For more information about Ampro Computers, please visit www.ampro.com. AMPRO is a registered trademark and CoreModule, LittleBoard, Little Board, MightyBoard, MightySystem, MiniModule, ReadyBoard, ReadyPanel and ReadySystem are trademarks of Ampro Computers, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.