DFI ALF51-BN-86E40 Intel Atom x5-E3940 1.8″ Femto-ITX SBC with Dual GbE and 8GB LPDDR4 Memory

Digital signage players and browser-based HMIs are often limited by memory rather than processor, because a modern browser, cached media and a management agent all want their share. The ALF51-BN-86E40 is a 1.8″ Femto-ITX SBC in the DFI ALF51 series with 8 GB of memory soldered down, the most in the range, alongside the quad-core Intel Atom x5-E3940.

The x5-E3940 runs four Apollo Lake cores at 1.6 GHz, reaching 1.8 GHz, within a 9.5 W TDP. The 8 GB of single-channel LPDDR4 at 2400 MHz and the 64 GB of eMMC are both soldered to the board. Intel HD Graphics drives a DP++ output at up to 4096 x 2160 at 60 Hz, enough for a 4K screen or a detailed operator display. DFI lists Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 64-bit and Linux support with UEFI boot, and the board includes a firmware TPM 2.0 and a watchdog timer.

Two GbE ports on Intel I210 controllers bring in content or plant data and leave a second port for a local device. Two USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports and a USB 2.0 header take a touch controller, camera or storage, an RS-232/422/485 header connects an older peripheral, and an 8-bit DIO header reads buttons or drives lights. The full-size mini PCIe socket accepts a Wi-Fi module.

The ALF51-BN-86E40 runs from 12 V DC on a terminal block with passive cooling, rated from 0 to 60 °C, and carries CE, FCC and RoHS compliance. The ALF51-TN-86E40 offers the same 8 GB build at -40 to 85 °C, and the ALF51-BN-46E40 is the 4 GB option when the application is lighter.