How did Advantech go about conceiving and designing these space-saving AiMC systems? By combining its packaging and integration expertise with its ready access to a vast lineup of embedded systems boards and components to create a unique solution.

The result is a powerful, easily configurable machine automation micro computer with a footprint of just 9 x 9 inches and a height of just 3.5 inches. It's made possible by using a PICMG 1.3 half-size backplane (in our review system a PCE-3B03A-00A1E) and a PICMG 1.3 half-size SHB CPU board (the PCE-3026) that can accommodate LGA 1155 Intel Core processors and was specifically designed for industrial applications that require high computing power in compact systems. That takes up the right 2/3rd of the package.

The left side accommodates an energy-efficient 250 watt 80 Plus certified PSU (see Wiki on 80 Plus). On top of that is a bay for two stacked 2.5-inch hard disks, each mounted with rubber bushings. The picture below shows how the AiMC-3200 looks from all sides.

Like all of Advantech's industrial PCs, the AiMC-3200 has an impressively solid steel chassis on which are mounted the various subframes, brackets, and electronic components. Opening the enclosure for maintenance or reconfiguration is as easy as can be: turn two thumb-screws and the top and side of the enclosure (one piece) lift right off.

Since the AiMC-3200 employs desktop-class technology with powerful standard voltage Core processors, it has both a CPU fan and dual system fans.

Fans being moving parts that may require maintenance or replacement, Advantech mounted them on an externally accessible steel panel so they can easily be reached. That panel also has an easily cleaned reusable filter to keep dust away from the inside of the unit. The presence and easy accessibility of the filter can be a major plus in dusty industrial environments where dust can quickly clog up the interior of a system and potentially lead to equipment failure.

The pictures below show, on the left, the rapid way to gain access to the interior of the AiMC-3200 for maintenance or reconfiguration, and, on the right, the way the fan assembly can also easily be opened for potential repair and, more importantly, for quick cleaning of the filter. Could this simple access be a potential problem? Possibly, and so Advantech installed a springloaded sensor that detects removal of the cover and can be programmed to issue alerts.

In terms of functionality and connectivity, the Advantech AiMC-3200 doesn't only pack a hefty processing punch thanks to its underlying high-power SHB, it's also well equipped to interface with a wide variety of general industrial applications. Our review unit was configured to offer the following external ports:

• 4 x USB 2.0 (three on front panel, one internal as software key)
• 2 x Serial RS232
• 2 x RJ-45 gigabit LAN
• 1 x PS/2 (still used for keyboard or mouse in legacy systems)
• Power (AC)
• 1 x 15-pin VGA video
• 1 x DVI-D

Available CPUs (see full specs)	Intel Core i7	Intel Core i5	Intel Core i3
Model	2600	3550S	3220
Lithography	32nm	22nm	22nm
Cores/Threads	4/8	4/4	2/4
Base Clock Speed	3.40 GHz	3.00 GHz	3.30 GHz
Turbo Speed	3.80 GHz	3.70 GHz	No turbo
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	95 watts	65 watts	55 watts
Smart Cache	8MB	6MB	3MB
Integrated graphics	HD Graphics 2000	HD Graphics 2500	HD Graphics 2500
Graphics base speed	850 MHz	650 MHz	650 MHz
Graphics max speed	1.35 GHz	1.15 GHz	1.05 GHz
Intel vPro	Yes	Yes	No

On the processor side, Advantech offers the AiMC-3200 with three fairly different CPUs. There are two quad-core chips, the Sandy Bridge based Core i7-2600 with eight threads, and the Ivy Bridge based Core Core i5-3550S with four threads.

The low end option is the Ivy Bridge dual-core Core i3-3220 which lacks the turbo boost feature of the other two, and also has less Intel Smart Cache and does't support Intel vPro. Note that these three processors have very different Thermal Design Powers as well (95, 65 and 55 watts, respectively).

The large variation in TDP may necessitate different CPU coolers. Our test unit came with a 1U fan/heatsink, where 1U means it's 29mm tall or less. Advantech says that if a 1.5U (i.e. up to 45mm tall) is used, and i5/i7 processors require that, only one of the two PCIe slots will still be available, so that's a consideration when deciding on which CPU to go with. Here we need to mention that our AiMC-3200 was not a very quiet unit, with the fans generating considerable noise. That may not be an issue in factory installations, but anywhere else it might be distracting.

We usually like to provide an idea of the relative performance of the devices we test in our lab, and so we ran our two standard benchmark suites, PassMark and CrystalMark. For comparison, we're listing the results of three other Advantech industrial PCs and panels we have reviewed and benchmarked over the past year. The idea is to show how a variety of processors and configurations perform in such devices.

Advantech Intel Core- and Atom based IPC and Panel Benchmarks

PERFORMANCE COMPARISON	Advantech	Advantech	Advantech	Advantech
Model	AiMC-3200	ARK-2150L	PPC-3120	ARK-1122
Model (click pic for review)
Year tested	2014	2013	2013	2013
Intel processor	Core i3-2120	Core i7-3517UE	Atom D2550	Atom N2800
CPU Speed	3.3GHz	1.7/2.8GHz	1.86GHz	1.86GHz
OS Software	WES7-64	WES7	WES	WES7-32
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 watts	17 watts	10 watts	6.5 watts
CPU Mark	3,875.3	3,164.8	553.8	546.1
2D Graphics Mark	570.9	475.8	40.1	NA
Memory Mark	1,417.0	923.3	260.3	254.3
Disk Mark	369.0	1,322.0	548.0	948.2
3D Graphics Mark	269.2	253.1	70.9	57.0
Overall PassMark	1,487.4	1,382.1	320.1	389.7
CM ALU	49,338	41,554	12,391	11,474
CM FPU	48,306	39,544	9,289	9,003
CM MEM	43,431	23,799	8,502	8,757
CM HDD	6,852	34,772	9,195	25,739
CM GDI	17,927	11,924	1,878	1,271
CM D2D	3,524	1,991	853	370
CM OGL	5,514	6,318	9,319	8,016
Overall CrystalMark	174,892	159,902	51,427	64,630

A couple of commentaries here: First, while the chips listed in the "Available CPUs" table above are the ones that Advantech offered a the time of this writing, our review unit came with a Core i3-2120, which is roughly a Sandy Bridge version of the officially listed Ivy Bridge i3-3220, so our benchmark results for the AiMC-3200 are almost certainly lower than those achievable with even the current low-end i3-3220. The i3-2120, however, is not a mismatch for the AiMC-3200 — it's one of the much larger variety (nine in all) chips offered for the PCE-3026 half-size SHB that's inside the AiMC-3200.

Second, take the above benchmark table for what it is intended: to provide an idea how very different chips perform in various Advantech industrial-grade devices. The table shows the large difference between Intel's Core and Atom chips, with the former providing superior performance and numerous features, and the latter fanless, low-cost operation. Do note that in virtually all of our benchmarks, the type of mass storage has a large impact on bottomline benchmark numbers. Conventional hard disks drag down performance whereas speedy SSDs can give it a major boost. But that boost usually comes at the expense of cost and lower capacity. It's always a game of balance and compromise.

As far as choosing between the available i3, i5 and i7 processors available for the AiMC-3200, it's a relatively minor cost issue, a more noticeable performance issue, and it can definitely be an issue which of Intel's advanced integrated technologies are needed for a given project. And also do remember that some of the higher-power chips will need the larger 1.5U heatsink/fan that'll block one of the PCIe slots.

Like many Advantech embedded products, the AiMC-3200 includes SUSIAccess software, a remote management API that can be used to monitor, configure, and control terminals in a centralized, real-time maintenance system. Our review system also included Advantech's Booting Manager, EWF (Enhanced Write Filter) Manager, and a FBWF (File Based Write Manager) utility.

The Enhanced Write Filter is especially interesting. What it does is provide the ability to write-protect a run-time image. It does that by redirecting write operations to another storage location and totally write-protects the run-time image, thus preventing any damage that might be caused by an unexpected power failure, vibration or even a virus attack.

As is, the Advantech AiMC-3200 is a remarkably compact, remarkably well-conceived, and remarkably configurable turnkey solutions for systems integrators of any number of machine automation applications. Its PICMG 1.3 compliant design based on half-size SHBs and SHB backplanes offers desktop PC functionality in a passive backplane implementation optimized for more demanding environments such as industrial automation, but also military, medical and telecom applications. -- Conrad H. Blickenstorfer, June 2014

Advantech AiMC-3200 Intelligent Micro Computer Specs: