The COM-HPC architecture, explained

The PICMG Computer-on-Module standard for high-performance edge computing: 800 pins, PCIe Gen4/Gen5 and server-class memory. It extends COM Express, it does not replace it.

Why COM-HPC: the edge server no longer fits in 440 pins

COM-HPC is the PICMG open standard for a family of high-performance Computer-on-Modules, addressing the very high end of the industrial edge computing market.

The reason for the new specification is concrete: digital transformation drives demand for high-bandwidth embedded computers, and COM Express's 440 pins are no longer enough for edge servers — nor is its connector guaranteed to sustain PCIe generations beyond Gen 3. COM-HPC answers with a pair of 400-pin connectors (800 total) capable of 32 GT/s, PCIe Gen4 and Gen5, up to 65 PCIe lanes and up to 8× 25 Gbps Ethernet KR interfaces.

Officially released in Q1 2021, COM-HPC extends the success of COM Express without replacing it: as in COM Express, the module requires a compatible carrier board for I/O and power. It supports CPUs up to 150 W, up to 8 full-size DIMMs (1 TB), FPGA and GPU modules as PCIe targets, and non-x86 CPUs such as ARM64.

Exploded view: the carrier board at the bottom, the COM-HPC module above it, the heat spreader on top — How it stacks, bottom-up: the carrier board with its two connectors side by side in the middle, the COM-HPC module plugging in above with processor and memory, the heat spreader closing the stack and taking the heat out. I/O and power live on the carrier — that's the part you design.

The two COM-HPC connectors, carrier side and module side, dimensioned: 5 or 10 mm height, 68.62 mm length, 8 mm width — The connector, in its two halves: 400 pins each, 68.62 mm long and 8 mm wide. The height — 5 mm or 10 mm — sets the gap between module and carrier, and with it the room for cooling. This is the part that carries the 32 GT/s the COM Express connector was not guaranteed to sustain beyond Gen 3.

The service: COM-based SWaP systems How the engineering team works

What the specification says

Client and Server, item by item

Two module types with optimized pinouts: carriers are not interchangeable between them.3 entries

Client

Sizes A · B · C — up to 251 W

For high-end embedded clients with one or more displays: 12 V fixed input or 8–20 V wide range, CPUs up to 100 W with wide-range power. Applications: medical, test & measurement, rugged embedded, transportation.

Server

Sizes D · E — up to 358 W

For headless edge servers: 12 V fixed input, up to 8 DIMMs on size E, 64 PCIe Gen5 lanes, IPMI/IPMB management independent of the CPU. Applications: mission-critical servers, robotics, medical imaging, autonomous driving.

Carrier board

As in COM Express

The module does not live alone: I/O and power go through a carrier designed around the application, with Client- or Server-optimized pinout and 5 or 10 mm stack heights.

COM-HPC and COM Express, in tables

What actually changes between the two PICMG standards, numbers in hand.2 tables

The comparison

From the technical page: the declared differences.

	COM-HPC	COM Express
Module–carrier pins	800	max 440
Connector bandwidth	32 GT/s (≈3×)	PCIe Gen 3 (8 GT/s)
Memory	8 full-size DIMMs (1 TB) + 4 SO-DIMMs	SO-DIMMs
CPU power	up to 150 W	up to ~80 W
Interfaces	65 PCIe · 8× 25G KR · USB 4.0	24–32 PCIe · GbE/10GbE · USB 3.x

The sizes

Three Client sizes, two Server sizes.

Size	Dimensions	Type
A	95 × 120 mm	Client
B	120 × 120 mm	Client
C	160 × 120 mm	Client
D	160 × 160 mm	Server
E	200 × 160 mm	Server

The interfaces of COM-HPC Server, COM-HPC Client and COM Express Type 6 compared in three columns — The interfaces, column by column: Server carries 65 PCIe lanes and eight 25 Gb Ethernet KR; Client counts 49 and two, and takes MIPI-CSI for cameras, three Digital Display Interfaces and SoundWire/I²S audio in exchange. On the right, COM Express Type 6 gives the measure of the step: 24 PCIe lanes and one Gigabit Ethernet.

The five COM-HPC sizes to scale — Server E and D, Client C, B and A — with a COM Express Basic module for reference — The five sizes to scale, and at the bottom the reference: a 125 × 95 mm COM Express Basic. The two connectors — J1 and J2, the dashed outlines — sit top and bottom on all five: what changes is how much memory fits around them. Eight full-size slots on Server E (200 × 160 mm), four on D, two down to one on the Client sizes, which go all the way to 95 × 120 mm on size A.

Where COM-HPC works

Where server-class computing lives inside an embedded system: imaging, robotics, industrial edge.

Transport & railway

Onboard train, signaling and vehicles.

Industrial automation

Line control, robotic cells and machine-side HMIs.

markets served

Aerospace & defense, transport & railway, industrial automation: applications, references and qualifications.

All markets

The Computer-on-Module family, from low power to server class.

COM ExpressComputing as a component: pinout types and four PICMG sizes.SMARCThe module that comes from mobile: ARM and x86 under 6 watts.QsevenThe 70 mm square: 230 pins, 5 volts, low power's middle road.

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