AAEON’s UP Squared line of single-board computers with Intel Atom chips is getting a spec bump with the introduction of a new UP Squared Pro 7000 with support for up to a 15-watt, 8-core Intel Core i3-N305 processor based on Intel Alder Lake-N architecture.
The company hasn’t announced pricing yet, but previous-gen models in the Up Squared series currently sell for between $179 and $219.
Intel’s Alder Lake-N chips are basically 12th-gen Intel Core processors that use only Efficiency cores (other 12th-gen chips have a hybrid architecture that pairs Performance cores with Efficiency cores).
While the chips aren’t as powerful as the 12th-gen Core P-series processors available in systems like the UP Xtreme i12, they offer double-digit gains in CPU and graphics performance over previous-gen Intel Atom, Celeron, and Pentium processors. And it’s likely that the UP Squared 7000 will be a lot cheaper than the UP Xtreme i12, which sells for $399 and up.
AAEON says the new board measures 102 x 102mm (about 4″ x 4″) and it will be available with four different processor options:
| Chip | Cores | Threads | Base / Boost freq | L3 Cache | GPU | Power |
| Core i3-N305 | 8 | 8 | Up to 3.8 GHz | 6MB | Intel UHD (32EU / up to 1.25 GHz) | 15W |
| Intel Processor N97 | 4 | 4 | Up to 3.6 GHz | 6MB | Intel UHD (24EU / up to 1.2 GHz | 12W |
| Atom X7425E | 4 | 4 | Up to 3.4 GHz | 6MB | Intel UHD (24EU / up to 1 GHz | 12W |
| Intel Processor N50 | 2 | 2 | Up to 3.4 GHz | 6MB | Intel UHD (16EU / up to 750 MHz) | 6W |
All models include support for up to 16GB of LPDDR5 memory and up to 64GB of eMMC storage, both of which are soldered to the mainboard. But there’s also support for expanding the storage thanks to an M.2 2280 slot with support for PCIe Gen 3 storage and a SATA 3 connector for a hard drive or SSD. There’s also an M.2 2230 E-Key slot for a wireless card and a 40-pin header.
Ports include:
- 1 x HDMI 2.0b
- 1 x DisplayPort 1.2
- 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C
- 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A
- 2 x USB 2.0 Type-A
- 1 x 3.5mm audio combo
- 2 x 2.5 GbE Ethernet
- 2 x RS232/422/485
The system can support up to three displays if you use the HDMI, DisplayPort and USB Type-C ports simultaneously.
With TPM 2.0 security, the UP Squared 7000 should support Windows 11 and most GNU/Linux distributions. But AAEON only lists Windows 10 IOT Enterprise, Windows IoT Core, Ubuntu 22.04 and Yocto 4 as “compatible operating systems,” so it’s possible that those will be the only officially supported options at launch.
And while the computer is a low-power PC designed for fanless operation, there’s also a header that you can use to attach a fan for active cooling.
AAEON will also offer an UP Squared Pro 7000 Edge kit that included a chassis with an integrated heat sink designed for passive cooling, and an Edge Computing Kit that includes the case, heat sink, and a power supply and power cord.
via CNX Software