Force Computers Announces CompactPCI and VME Board-Level Products Based on High-Performance PowerPC Processors.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 13, 1998--

Newest Single-board Computers are Based On Force's Core

Architecture Maintaining Software Compatibility Across the Entire

PowerCore(tm) Product Family

Force Computers Inc., a Solectron subsidiary (NYSE:SLR) and processor independent leader in embedded computing platforms, announced today new CompactPCI(R) and VME board-level products, featuring the next generation PowerPC(tm) 740 and 750 processors for real-time applications.

The newest boards are based on Force's core architecture, which maintains software compatibility across the complete PowerCore family.

The PowerCoreCPCI-6750 (6U) and PowerCoreCPCI-3740 (3U) for CompactPCI, as well as the PowerCore-6750 (6U) for VME, with its high-speed processors running at up to 300 MHz clock frequency and an optimized memory architecture with SDRAM, outperform other CPU boards on the market today.

"With the introduction of Force's newest PowerPC boards for CompactPCI and VME, customers can easily migrate from low end to high-end applications while maintaining software compatibility across the entire PowerCore product family," said Chris Williams, vice president of marketing at Force Computers.

Real-time power for demanding applications

Targeted at original equipment manufacturers in the telecommunications, industrial control and command and control markets, the new boards offer flexible I/O and high-performance real-time processing. The PowerCore product family is ideal for the telecommunications market for applications in the wireless infrastructure such as Base Station Controllers (BSC), Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) or Wireless Local Loop applications.

In industrial applications, the PowerCore processing platforms are suitable as a control processor for robot control or test systems. In command and control applications, the boards can be used as a system controller or real-time processing engine. Supporting the most popular real-time operating systems (RTOS), the PowerCore product family provides easy integration into existing or new applications, and shortens product time-to-market cycles significantly.

PowerCore 6750 family provides fast performance and configuration flexibility

To achieve the highest possible performance, the PowerCore 6750 single board computers have an optimized memory sub-system architecture using synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) technology. Through its PCI Mezzanine Card (PMC) expansion capabilities, the boards allow for the installation of off-the-shelf PMC cards.

In the telecommunications environment, PMC slots can be used to host Force's PMC/860 modules, providing E1/T1 connectivity, SS7 protocol processing and optional Telephony bus interfaces.

Both the CompactPCI and VME variants of the PowerCore 6750 product family offer the same feature set, including: a 6U CompactPCI or VME board with the leading edge PowerPC 750 processor running at 233 MHz or 300 MHz and higher; up to 1 Mbyte L2 cache; up to 256 Mbytes of DRAM, and up to 8 Mbytes of Flash Memory.

A Fast Ethernet interface, two serial channels, a Real-Time Clock, Watchdog Timer and dual expansion slots for PMC modules which complete the I/O functionality of the boards. Further variant options are available with four additional serial I/O channels, a Fast/Wide SCSI-2 interface, and one PMC module slot.

For CompactPCI, the interface of the PowerCoreCPCI-6750 supports master or slave functionality on the PCI bus. The master variant of the board can be used as the main supervisory CPU in a CompactPCI system slot, and the slave variant can be used as an intelligent I/O card in an I/O expansion slot.

PowerCoreCPCI-3740 for compact real-time processing

The PowerCoreCPCI-3740 is the smallest yet one of the more powerful members of the PowerCore family. In a compact 3U CompactPCI form factor this board, based on the new 740 Arthur PowerPC(tm) processor, runs at 233 MHz and enables the use of the latest, high performance PowerPC technology in applications requiring smaller size and lower power consumption.

Force's spectrum of PowerPC-based processing platforms now range from 3U boards based on the 603, 604 and 740 processors, to 6U boards with the top-of-the-line 300 MHz 750 processor.

Pricing and Availability

The PowerCoreCPCI-6750 for CompactPCI is priced under at $3500 U.S. for the base configuration. The PowerCore-6750 base configuration for VME is priced at under $4500 U.S. Early access units for both products are available in Q1'98. The PowerCoreCPCI-3740 is priced at $2195 U.S. and is available now.

About Force Computers

Force Computers, a Solectron subsidiary, was founded in 1981 and is a leading supplier of open, scalable system and board-level computer platforms for communication and control applications.

With over 16 years of experience, the processor-independent company delivers products based on SPARC(R), PowerPC(tm), 68K(tm) and Pentium(R) technologies. An ISO 9001 certified company, Force Computers practices Total Quality Management principles in all phases of the company's global operations.

Force's parent company, Milpitas-Calif.-based Solectron Corporation is the 1997 and 1991 winner of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in Manufacturing.

Force's corporate headquarters are located in San Jose, Calif. Force's European headquarters are located in Munich, Germany, and the company's Japanese headquarters are located in Tokyo, Japan. Sales service and support are provided worldwide via direct offices and a network of distributors and representatives. -0-

Note to Editors: PowerCore-6750(tm), PowerCoreCPCI-6750(tm) and the PowerCoreCPCI-3740(tm) are trademarks of Force Computers. All SPARC trademarks are used under license and are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International Inc., in the United States and other countries. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based upon an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems Inc.

PowerPC(tm) is a trademark or registered trademark of Motorola Corporation, IBM and Apple Computer. CompactPCI(R) is a trademark or registered trademark of PICMG. Pentium(R) is a registered trademark or trademark of Intel Corporation. All other brands are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

CONTACT: Force Computers Inc.

Mia Bradway, 408/369-6276 or 408/369-6000

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