The 3040 is very small and compact and, as a result, there is negligible internal space for 'add ons' other than the socket provided for the M.2 wireless module.
The label on the 3040, as well as identifying it as a 3040, also says 'Reg Model:N10D'. I assume the N10D name is the 'Regulatory Model' which explicitly identifies the hardware that has undergone various EMC, recycling and other certification tests. The '3040' moniker is the marketing name which could change depending on what software is installed and the market it is being sold into.
It was launched in March 2017. My example was manufactured in October 2019.
The basic specs are:
Processor Type
SpeedIntel Atom x5 Z-8350 (Quad core)
1.44GHzMemory Flash
RAM8GB/16GB
2GBVideo Chip
Max resolutionBuilt in
2560 x 1600 32-bit colour (x2)Ports Video
Network
USB
Serial
Parallel
PS/22 x Display Port
10/100/1000
1 x USB2.0, 1 x USB3.0 (front)
2 x USB2.0 (rear)
0
0
0Power Supply
Plug
Off
Idle
Running5V
Coax 4mm/1.7mm
0.5W
4W
5WDimensions H x W x D (mm) 28 x 102 x 102
Operating systems:
ThinLinux 1.0.4 (post RTS)
ThinOS 8.3.2
PCoIP enabled Wyse ThinOS
My 3040 came fitted with 16GB of flash.
Unusually for modern thin clients the 3040 runs off 5V. The coax plug is 4mm x 1.7mm.
In May 2021 I heard from April who had got hold of a 3040 but hers ran off 12V. Investigating this led me to the Dell community pages where, in August 2020, somebody posted the as yet unanswered comment:
"...our latest 3040 clients come with 12v supply and 12v stated on the underside but our older 3040 clients say 5v on the underside and 5v on the supply.Both plugs fit in both clients so I would also like to know if they are interchangeable. Otherwise it is just an accident waiting to happen that someone plugs in the wrong adapter."
On a revisit to that page I see there have been several requests for an update including one in November 2021:
"Update would be nice.... One of my interns just killed a 5v model plugging it in to a 12v adapter....."...which I guess answers the question.
At least with DELL thin clients the required supply voltage is marked either by the power socket or on the product label. The pictured label is off my 3040.
In January 2024 I heard from James who pointed out that if you were after a 5V power supply for your 3040 then those PSUs advertised for the Orange Pi PC or the Sony PlayStation Portable were suitable. They are 5V PSUs fitted with the same 4mm x 1.7mm plug.
Intel Cherry Trail x5 Z-8350 (1.44 GHz Quad Core).
vendor_id : GenuineIntel cpu family : 6 model : 76 model name : Intel(R) Atom(TM) x5-Z8350 CPU @ 1.44GHz stepping : 4 flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology tsc_reliable nonstop_tsc cpuid aperfmperf tsc_known_freq pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes rdrand lahf_lm 3dnowprefetch epb pti ibrs ibpb stibp tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid tsc_adjust smep erms dtherm ida arat
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series SoC Transaction Register (rev 36) 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 36) 00:0b.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Power Management Controller (rev 36) 00:11.0 SD Host controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series SDIO Controller (rev 36) 00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series USB xHCI Controller (rev 36) 00:1a.0 Encryption controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Trusted Execution Engine (rev 36) 00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series PCI Express Port #1 (rev 36) 00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series PCU (rev 36) 01:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 15)
Click on the photo for a larger version.
Flash: The internal memory is either an 8GB or 16GB eMMC flash chip soldered to the motherboard. It is not replaceable unless you have a hot air solder station. René and others have replaced it - see the links tab.
RAM: There is 2GB of DDR3L RAM soldered to the motherboard. You are stuck with 2GB.
Wireless: There is a socket on the board to take a wireless module.
This is a M.2 socket with a key ID of E. The 3040 datasheet gives the factory fit part
as 'WLAN+BT Combo Module: Azurewave AW-CM389MA w/Marvell 8897chip, M.2 2230 (SDIO interface)'.
Note the SDIO interface above. Whilst a M.2 E slot can support 2x PCIe x1, USB2.0, I2C, SDIO, UART and PCM interfaces, the slot on the 3040 only supports SDIO.
By far the majority of wireless cards use a PCIe interface for WiFi and USB for Bluetooth. None of these will work in the 3040.
If you need to add WiFi connectivity to your 3040 the best bet would appear to be a USB dongle. If you're thinking of using a AW-CM389A there is further information here.
In July 2024 I heard from Jaromir:
There is an M.2 SDIO WiFi module widely available that works with 3040. It is the AC200 made by FriendlyElec and it is primarily designed for their R2S Plus router.
WiFi works out of the box (tested on Ubuntu 24.04). Bluetooth is not available, possibly due to lack of UART lines on the M.2 connector.
There is a push button near the WLAN card pillar labelled 'CMCLR1' which is I assume there
to let you clear the CMOS memory.
There is a push button near the battery labelled PWCLR1 which I assume is there to let you clear
any set passwords.
In November 2023 I heard from Phil who had recently acquired a working 3040 but it wouldn't power up for him. Instead it sat there flashing a 4/2 (four flashes then two flashes) error code on the power LED. The BIOS manual decodes this as a 'Generic POST Video Error'. Like me, not having a monitor with a Display Port input, he was using a Display-Port-to-DVI adapter. He had used this particular adapter with various other HP and Wyse thin clients without any problems.
As to 'what have I got?' - the photo shows two of my working adapters which have '++DP' molded into them. Whether that is indicative of an active adapter I don't know.
I found the following words online:
Standard DisplayPort (DP) can only support DP signals and will require an active adapter to convert to HDMI or DVI signals. Dual-Mode DisplayPort (DP++) offers flexibility since it supports DP signals and will convert HDMI and DVI signals.
Connector 2 Pins 2 Wires 1.0mm Pitch
Subsequently I heard from another correspondent who pointed out that the backup battery was also compatible with that for the Raspberry Pi 5. These have the advantage of having many vendors selling the variant with a battery box which simplifies the replacement process in the future. They are also cheap.
....and in December 2024 Valentin contributed another drop-in replacement battery from an eBay seller whose listing was headlined: Acer Aspire 6920 6920G 8920 8920G 8930 8930G CMOS BIOS RTC Battery 09P1162