Precedence TCX3: Hardware 

• Hardware
• Firmware
• Linux

What have you got?

This physically small thin client carries the label identifying it as a "LT 310". It was advertised on eBay as a "Devon IT LT310 Personal Computer Desktop PC". The Devon IT website under Product Identification/Legacy products does say:

Model	:	8050
OS	:	Windows XPe
s/n location	:	These terminals may also have a secondary model name of LT-310. Serial numbers are 20 digits long and printed on a white sticker found on the side of the unit.
Example	:	95126K44004H64702485

Mine does have a 20-digit serial number: 95120813603H64901822 which implies it is a Devon IT product. However it was not running Windows XPe and on boot up the information on the splash screen led me to http://www.thinit.info which took me on to http://www.precedence.co.uk. Further research identified this as a Precedence TCX3. I have also seen it on sale as a "Jupiter LT 310".

Specifications

Processor
Type    Speed	VIA C7 1GHz
Memory
Flash    RAM	128MB 128MB (max 1GB)
Video
Chip    Max resolution	CN700 1600 x 1200 16-bit colour
Ports
Network    USB    Serial    Parallel    PS/2	10/100 6 x USB2.0 1 1 Kybd & Mouse
Power
Plug    Off    Running	12V 2 W 14W (400MHz CPU)
Dimensions
H x W x D (mm)	205 x 45 x 215

The embedded operating system is ThinIT.

CPU

Having booted Tiny Core, /proc/cpuinfo shows:

vendor_id	:	CentaurHauls
cpu family	:	6
model	:	10
model name	:	VIA Esther processor 1000MHz
stepping	:	9

Power Supply

The unit comes with an external 12V 5A supply - quite beefy in view of its modest power consumption. It has a four-pin connector rather than the more usual coax connector. Details can be seen in the photograph.

The power socket is mounted on a separate small PCB and connected to the motherboard via the yellow & black wires. If you source a TCX3 without a power supply it would easy to remove the 4-pin socket and replace it by a coaxial socket. (Either an in-line one or bulkhead mounting depending on your hardware skills).

Motherboard

The guts of the thin client is an Elite C7VCM Version 1.2 mini-itx motherboard. The Northbridge is a CN700 and the Southbridge a VIA 8237R Plus. Google will find variants of this motherboard that are apparently fitted with a 1.5GHz processor.

Note: Google will also find you LT-310s for sale where the fitted motherboard is a C7VCM2. The C7VCM2 is slightly different in that the RAM is a 240-pin DIMM and there is an additional 44-pin IDE socket.

Expansion

Flash: The Flash memory (bottom right in the photograph) is easily replaceable. It's a DOM plugged into a standard 40-pin IDE connector.

RAM: The RAM is a standard 200-pin SODIMM. The unit came fitted with a 128MB PC2700(CL2.5) module. I replaced that with a G-TEK DDR333 512MB module with out any problems.

PCI: There is a PCI slot on the board but the design of the case does not support its use.

USB: There are already 6 USB sockets provided. There is another unused on-board header labelled USB3.

Click on the photo for a larger version.