“If you need a portable laptop-style computer with an expansion slot or two, there are not many optionsâŠ.
Common Features
Large laptop portables
Two PCIe expansion slots
Fast processing
Lots of connectivity
Two alternatives – X500 and NotePAC-III
If you need a portable laptop-style computer with an expansion slot or two, there are not many optionsâŠ. Thereâs the Portexa NotePAC-PRO and the Getac X500 Server. In this article, we will look at the similarities, differences, and suggested applications. Disclaimer – we cannot sell Getac X500âs – but this will attempt to be fair and unbiased. Members of our staff have extensive experience using and modifying the Getac X500 and have a healthy respect for it.
The X500 (Launched June 2011) is 16.1″ x 12.6″ x 4.6″ (933.2 cubic inches) and the NotePAC-III-PRO-V (Launched February 2019) is 16.75âł x 12âł x 4.5âł (904.5 cubic inches).
The NotePAC of course does feature a triple display monitor, so itâs not quite apples to apples.
The NotePAC-PRO has two PCIe expansion slots as standard, whereas the X500 is expandable using a âsliceâ that replaces the bottom cover (the dimensions listed include the slice). The X500 slice can be PCI or PCIe, so if you need to support a legacy PCI card then the X500 is the one to choose.
Typical configurations of the NotePAC are considerably more powerful than the X500 and include an Nvidia Quadro RTX4000 graphics card in one of the PCIe slots.
Size
X500 – 16.1″ x 12.6″ x 4.6″ (933.2 cubic inches)
NotePAC-III – 16.75âł x 12âł x 4.5âł (904.5 cubic inches)
Quad LAN with IntelÂź Ethernet Controller I350-AM4 (RJ45)
Removable drives
X500 – 2 Drives (six if no PCIe expansion needed)
NotePAC – 4 Drives
Displays
X500 – 15.6â (1920 x 1080)
NotePAC – 3 x 17.1â for (5760 x 1080)
Graphics
X500 – Intel HD 630 or NVIDIA Quadro P2000
NotePAC – Aspeed AST2500 or NVIDIA Quadro RTX4000
“A major advantage of the NotePAC is the 144Hz refresh rate on all displays as standard which allows the use of 3D imaging for various uses including targeting”
Displays
The Getac X500 has a 15.6â FHD (1920 x 1080) display with âQuadraclearâ filters to give it some usability in sunlight. The NotePAC-III-PRO-V has more than three times the screen real-estate, with 3 x 17.1â FHD displays for a total screen area of 5760 x 1080.
The NotePAC-III-PRO-V is the most powerful computer in itâs class. Triple screen portable computers with 16 core Xeonâs and expansion slots are inherently both powerful and require external powerâŠ. Until now!
An additional machined aluminum chassis attaches to the NotePAC-III-PRO-V behind the main chassis, and out of view when using the system. Six x 81Wh batteries give a run-time of over four hours*, without replacement. Using an external charger, unlimited battery powered performance is possible. (With everything maxed out, 100% CPU utilization and Passmark system test maxing out the stress, the battery still lasts for 1.5H.)
Physically mating to the NotePAC-III-PRO-V to form a single transportable package means the system is still robust, reliable and ergonomic to use. The Power PAC chassis is less than 2.75â deep.
The external PSU is a 600W 100-240V AC-DC adaptor putting out 19V and 31.6A through a mil-spec power connector.
Weight: Battery chassis without batteries: 13.2lb, with six batteries: 19.8lb
Includes: USB cable, Power cable, DVD driver.
*Actual run-time may vary according to environmental conditions, workload, battery age etc.
Technical Data
4H+ run-time*
6 x 81Wh hot-swappable batteries
<2.75″ deep
Mil-Spec connection to NotePAC
“What sets the NotePAC-III apart is its combination of very high performance, extreme connectivity and reliable operation. Now it can operate for hours on battery power!”
Many security and surveillance missions rely on video. They need to monitor, capture, and disseminate video feeds. If a picture tells a thousand words, then a video is a library full of information. Capturing, processing, and evaluating video footage in a mobile environment can be challenging. Portexa now has a video capture laptop that makes deployed information gathering and video analysis a reality.
The NotePAC-III is a triple screen portable laptop. Machined from aluminum, and with high-end graphics and a video capture card designed for use in theatre. The NotePAC-III has passed Mil-Std 461 (EMC/EMI), DTE-901E (Shock/Torpedo Strike) and 810G (environmental).
“We are proud to have helped develop this excellent deployed solution.”
Technical specifications:
Deployable Video Editing Laptop:
Small and light enough to travel with you and go in an airline overhead bin, the NotePAC-III packs a lot of power into its robust chassis.A 16 core Intel Xeon and up to 512GB of RAM means you can run more virtual machines than most people need.Four 7.6TB removable SSD drives give you space for video files and other storage.If thatâs not enough, you can attach a NAS (Network-attached storage) through one of the two 10G fiber ports, and still have multiple Gigabit ports free.
Intel Xeon 16 Core Processor
512GB RAM
30TB removable SSD storage
The standard capture card supports H.264 hardware compression for a multitude of formats:
MaxFPS: 1920Ă1200p@60/50fps in â 1920Ă1200p@30/25fps out
1920Ă1080p@60/50fps in â 1920Ă1080p@60/50fps out
1ĂSDI Embedded Audio, 1ĂHDMI Embedded Audio, A Pair of RCA Audio Connector (Audio L/R Through Component Cable) Stereo / 16-bit / 32 ~ 48KHz
Recording Video Resolution
1920Ă1200p@30/25/24fps
1920Ă1080p@60/50fps
1920Ă1080p@30/25/24fps
1920Ă1080i@60/50fps
1280Ă720p@60/50fps
1280Ă1024p@60fps
1280Ă960p@60fps
1024Ă768p@60fps
800Ă600p@60fps
640Ă480p@60fps
720Ă480p@60fps
720Ă576p@50fps
720Ă480i@60fps
720Ă576i@50fps
The computer video card is an Nvidia Quadro P4000, which is the world’s most powerful single-slot professional video card.It has 8GB of DDR5 RAM and can process 5.2 TFLOPS Single Precision floating point 32 bit.There is a custom cooling vent for the video cardâs fan to ensure maximum performance under load. This hardware makes video editing feel seamless and productive.
Three 17.1â HD monitors unfold to give a 5760 x 1080 display.High-quality friction hinges allow the displays to be adjusted for rake and the outer displays tilted in for optimum ergonomics.
The backlit keyboard allows use in low-light conditions such as the CIC (Combat Information Center) or other C4ISR operations center.A touchpad is provided, and there is a conveniently placed USB port for mouse operation for those that prefer it.
The latest touch screen technology is now available on large deployable workstation screens.The ACME MegaPAC is now available with Projected Capacitive Touch screens.Single, dual and triple screen workstations are available, and whichever system suits your needs, all screens support multi-touch input.
Almost everyone today is using touch-enabled mobile devices, tablet devices, or laptops on a daily basis. Multi-touch capabilities are merely table stakes now in mobile computing devices, and the gaming or signage industries.
Touch screens on mobile devices were revolutionized in 2007 when Apple released the first iPhone.Of course, Apple did not invent the technology, but it was the first time it was made available on a mass-market device.What made the iPhone tech interface different?Gestures, pinch and reverse pinch- to zoom out and in, swiping, etc.Before that, touch devices were restricted to single points (like clicks).
Now multi-touch gestures are available on the 24â displays of the MegaPAC portable workstation.
If we take a look at the original touch-screen technologies we can trace the evolution and understand the technology behind multi-touch displays:
Some of the earliest touch displays used infra-red beams of light in a grid.Sensors would ordinarily âseeâ the beam, but when a finger was placed on the display, it broke one or more beams, giving the touch screen controller an X & Y coordinate for the âbreakâ and provide a âtouchâ input.This technology is still in use as it allows the display glass to be made really tough, unlike the restive and capacitive alternatives.
IR Touch screens are suitable when a harsh environment (for example one that will be used by the public) is expected.They are:
Vandal-proof, wear-resistant
Maintenance-free, longer life expectancy
Versatile touch object (Pointer or finger or glove)
Super transparency (no membranes between the display and user)
Operable in various light conditions, indoors and outdoors
These sorts of touch displays are usually found in POS, ATM, Kiosks, gaming machines, and industrial control systems.
Touch Screen Technologies
Resistive touch screens
Resistive touch screens work by sensing the closing of a contact between two conductive membranes.There are typically an array of dots, visible upon close inspection, that holds the two membranes apart until the ringer or pointer closes the gap by deforming the membrane.This highlights one of the advantages of resistive screens over capacitive technologies – the pointing device does not need to be conductive, so a fingernail, a glove or a stylus can all work.Resistive touch screens can be quite precise and donât suffer from calibration drift as much as some capacitive screens.
Disadvantages are that there are at least two layers of membrane – typically plastic – between the display and the user, which reduces light output, and therefore reduces brightness.Over time, the flexible membrane can become fatigued and âcloudyâ further reducing display clarity.The other big disadvantage is that resistive touch screens can only detect a single pressure point – so there are no multi-touch gestures like pinch to zoom.
Surface acoustic wave
Surface acoustic wave touch screens work by sending an ultrasonic wave (ultra-sound wave) across the surface of the glass.Sensors detect the reflected wave and in some cases the attenuated wavefront that is caused by the pointer or finger.This is then translated into an X-Y coordinate for the touchpoint.
Traditional capacitive touch
Otherwise known as surface capacitive – work by detecting a change in capacitance of the field in front of the screen caused by a conductive entity of some sort.Usually a finger.Capacitive touch screens are commonly made of two layers – a surface insulator and a transparent conductive layer below it. As the human body is an electrical conductor when the touch panel is touched with a finger the electrostatic field of the panel is distorted.The touch screen controller then decodes the changes in capacitance and returns a touchpoint to the system. The advantages are that there is no membrane that needs to flex, so the touch-screen should last longer.Disadvantages include possible drift over time on large displays, which require periodic re-calibration.Because the sensor is a glass panel, there is less visual degradation than with resistive screens.
Projective capacitive touch
Instead of one capacitive sensor, there are many, usually on two layers of transparent conductors.
Projected Capacitive Technology (PCT) is fast becoming one of the most prevalent touch technologies for touchscreens. PCT technology is what allows us to tap, pinch, zoom, and scroll with various gesture controls and using multiple fingers, and can be used in a wide range of applications from consumer devices to commercial products.
PCT devices identify touch by measuring the capacitance at each addressable electrode in a dual-layer grid. When you touch the surface of a capacitive device, there is a disturbance in its electrical field (capacitance), which allows the device to determine when and where the touchpoint occurred.
PCT technology uses two main types of sensing methods, self-capacitance and mutual capacitance, each having its own advantages and disadvantages. In short, self-capacitance devices offer a higher signal strength and sensitivity to touch but does not support multi-touch (more than 2 touch-points) like mutual-capacitance devices.
âProjected capacitive technologies detect touch by measuring the capacitance at each addressable electrode. When a finger or a conductive stylus approaches an electrode, it disturbs the electromagnetic field and alters the capacitance. This change in capacitance can be measured by the electronics and then converted into X,Y locations that the system can use to detect touchâ ( from 3M)
ACMEâs addition of PCT technology to the MegaPAC results in a superior portable computing platform with a durable, UHD multi-touch touchscreen. The MegaPAC is a high performance, high-fidelity interactive solution that meets customers’ expanding user interface requirements.
For more information please contact sales@portexa.com
Introducing the MegaPAC-RD. The all-new MegaPAC-RD is available with one, two, three or four displays. Displays can be mounted on the left or right, and also on top of the main chassis. In other words, the MegaPAC-RD gives the ultimate in flexibility to arrange the workspace for optimum ergonomics. Above all, the MegaPAC-RD is the most flexible multi-display portable workstation on the planet! Displays may also be purchased at a later date to add to capability.
Each display is 24″, and in HD boasts a 120Hz refresh rate – there are also much higher resolution displays available as options.
The NVidia Quadro graphics card supports the 3D Vision wireless glasses kit.
This system is a fully customizable configuration including higher resolution displays. For instance, we have made systems with broadcast quality 4K displays.
Similarly, there is a choice of keyboard and pointing device.
Wheeled transit case with custom high-grade foam for robust and reliable transportation.
This fast deployment high-performance workstation is powerful enough to be the main server in a deployed incident room.
The lockable transit case protects the system from blowing sand, dust, and rain.
Should you need processors with a higher core count, they are available on request. The frequency will be reduced – contact us for processor options.
The standard system contains no camera, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth radio. Other security-related options can be included.
In addition – the workstation has a Trusted Platform Module chip – TPM 2.0
In conclusion – if you need a portable workstation that makes a MAC PRO look like an amateur, please contact us.
The brief? Make the most powerful portable computer on the planet. Oh – and all the drives must be removable. Must be capable of copying a high speed network in real time. Can you make it so it fits in between 19″ rack rails?
01
Best in the Industry
There has never been a portable server like the NetPAC-RHD-16. Dual Xeon processors. 1TB RAM. 120TB+ of removable, high speed, high reliability SSD drives. Separate removable system drive.
02
Reliable Operation
Robust aluminum construction and attention to detail ensure that the NetPAC-RHD16 just works when you get to the work-site. Micron 5200 series SSDs are robust and reliable.
03
Configured for your application
Maybe you don’t need the most powerful portable computer ever built? We can build the NetPAC-RHD16 with significantly less costly components, tailored to meet your real-world requirements.
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Seize the moment
Right now, you can get a quote for the NetPAC-RHD16. Click here->
PCI Express, PCIe, or Peripheral Component Interconnect Express, can be a somewhat complicated computer specification. When your computer first boots, PCIe is what determines the devices that are attached or plugged into the motherboard. It identifies the links between each device, creates a traffic map, and negotiates the width of each link. This identification of devices and connections uses the same protocol as PCI, so no changes were required when changing from PCI to PCIe in either software or operating systems.
A PCIe connection consists of one or more (up to sixteen, at the moment) data-transmission lanes, connected serially. Each lane consists of two pairs of wires, one for transmitting and one for receiving. There are 1, 4, 8 or 16 lanes in a single PCIe slot â denoted as x1, x4, x8, or x16. This is the difference between PCI connections which are parallel (32-bit or 64-bit bidirectional parallel bus) and PCIe which is basically a serial version of PCI.
PCIe is a multi-layered protocol â the layers being a transaction layer, a data link layer, and a physical layer. The Data-link layer is sub-divided to include a media access control (MAC) layer. Each lane consists of two unidirectional differential pairsoperating at 2.5, 5, 8 or 16 Gbit/s, depending on the negotiated capabilities. While on the other hand, transmit and receive are separate differential pairs, adding up to a total of four data wires per lane.
Each lane is an independent connection between the PCI controller of the processor chip-set (Southbridge) or the processor itself (which is almost always the graphics card slot) and the expansion card. Bandwidth scales linearly, so a four-lane connection will have twice the bandwidth of a two-lane connection. Depending on the expansion cardâs bandwidth requirements, the slot may need to be sized accordingly.
From How Stuff Works
A physical PCIe x16 slot can accommodate a x1, x4, x8, or x16 card, and can run a x16 card at x16, x8, x4, or x1. A PCIe x8 slot can accommodate a x1 or x4 or x8 card but cannot fit a x16 card. Just to confuse the matter further, there are different versions of PCIe interface. Itâs also possible that a motherboard may have multiple slot sizes and also different PCIe versions: 1.0a, 1.1, 2.0, 2.1, 3.0, 3.1, 4.0 and coming soon 5.0. (Link to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express#PCI_Express_5.0)
BUS & Theoretical Bandwidth Available
BUS
Bandwidth
PCI
1056 MBps
AGP 8x
2.1 GBps
PCIe 1.0 / x4
1 GBps
PCIe 1.0 / x8
2 GBps
PCIe 1.0 / x16
4 GBps
PCIe 2.0 / x4
2 GBps
PCIe 2.0 / x8
4 GBps
PCIe 2.0 / x16
8 GBps
PCIe 3.0 / x1
1.97 GBps
PCIe 3.0 / x4
3.94 GBps
PCIe 3.0 / x8
7.88 GBps
PCIe 3.0 / x16
15.75 GBps
PCIe 4.0 / x1
3.94 GBps
PCIe 4.0 / x4
7.88 GBps
PCIe 4.0 / x8
15.75 GBps
PCIe 4.0 / x16
31.5 GBps
PCIe 5.0 / x16
Firewire 400/800
63 GBps
400/800 Mbps
USB 1.0
12 Mbps
USB 2.0
480 Mbps
USB 3.0
4.8 Gbps
USB 3.1
10 Gbpsâ
Gigabit Ethernet
1 Gbps
IDE (ATA 100)
800 MBps
IDE (ATA 133)
1064 MBps
SATA
1.5 Gbps
SATA II
3 Gbps
SATA III
6 Gbps
Why do PCIe Lanes matter?
Functions your CPUâs PCIe Lanes Control:
Onboard Video
PCIe 3.0 x16 Slot (usually for video card)
2/U.2 (on some Enthusiast Boards)
LAN (on some Enthusiast Boards)
Other functions use your CHIPSETâs PCIe bus lanes. Functions CHIPSETâs PCIe Lanes control may control:
SATA hard drives
Onboard Sound
Onboard RAID
Onboard Network Controller/LAN
All PCIe slots except the first one
Thunderbolt
2/U.2
Quoted amounts of PCIe bandwidth required by individual components:
8-16 Lanes â x16 PCIe Video Cards (Each)
8-16 Lanes â Other Specialized PCIe Cards
4 Lanes â M.2 Drive
4 Lanes â Thunderbolt (uses 4 lanes PCIe 3.0)
4 Lanes â Hardware Based RAID Controllers
2 Lanes (Each) â SSD Drives
2 Lanes â USB 3.1 (Gen. 2)
1 Lane â USB 3.0 (USB 3.1 Gen. 1)
1 Lane â Sound
1 Lane â Network Controllers
Which chips have the most PCIe lanes?
Different chips support different numbers of PCIe lanes. For example: Intel Core i5 or i7-8700K or i9-8950HK have up to 1Ă16, 2Ă8, 1Ă8+2Ă4 with a maximum of 16 PCIe lanes. In addition, the 6850K and up i7âs have 40 lanes. The Intel Xeon E5-4669 v4 has a maximum of 40 PCIe lanes at PCIe 3.0, whereas the E7-8894 v4 has âonlyâ 32 lanes (per processor). AMD has upped the ante with their EPYC CPUâs â they have 128 PCIe lanes 3.0.
In the tech industry today, what makes this really complicated is that motherboard manufacturers have to make their motherboards support a range of processors which may have different numbers of PCIe lanes supported. So a motherboard using an i7-6850K chip may have the capability to address multiple slots at x16, whereas with a âlesserâ chip ie. i7-8700K may be fewer lanes available, with only one slot being x16. Just to complicate things further, NVME and other types of expansions require PCIe lanes. With NVME being a must-have feature for a modern motherboard, there are now even fewer lanes available to the expansion slots.
Working out how to get the most out of a motherboard in terms of application performance becomes even harder when you need to choose how to connect to the real world. PCIe lane allocation can make or break the performance of high-speed boards like RAID controllers when they are operating near-maximum capacity (which is now possible due to fast SSD storage).
While there are some non-PCIe interface options being explored by computer manufacturers, they would also require major hardware changes. All in all, PCIe looks to remain crucial for a while longer, even while the form factor of the connection continues to evolve.
Links:
Adam Savage’s Tested.com did a nice explanation of PCIe speeds and comparison with Thunderbolt.
Anandtech did a nice writeup of the Z170 chipset and the trade-offs that board manufacturers have to make when selecting how to configure the PCH
Resistive touch screens
Surface acoustic wave
Traditional capacitive touch
Projective capacitive touch
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