Wyse 9455XL: Hardware 

• Hardware
• Firmware
• Linux

The WT9455XL is a 'fat' thin client! It is physically larger than most thin clients. Like some other early Wyse thin clients (eg Wyse WT941GXL) It is using a standard EPIA mini-itx motherboard. The case is large enough to fit a CDROM drive, hard drive and floppy drive. Mine came with a USB interfaced floppy drive and a Wireless PCI card fitted.

My 9455XL was manufactured in October 2004.

Specifications

The basic specs are:

Processor
Type    Speed	VIA C3 Samuel 2 550MHz
Memory
Flash    RAM	256MB 256MB (512MB max)
Video
Chip    Resolution	integrated Trident Blade 3D 1024 x 768 @ 32-bit colour
Ports
Network    USB    Serial    Parallel    PS/2	10/100 2 x USB1.1 1 1 2 (Kybd & Mouse)
Power
Plug    Off    Idle    Running	Coax 5.5mm/2.1mm 1W 8W 14W
Dimensions
H x W x D (mm)	270 x 75 x 200 (foot pushed width to 103)

The embedded operating system is Windows XPe SP1.

CPU

For those to whom it matters here is some detail from Linux's /proc/cpuinfo

vendor_id	:	CentaurHauls
cpu family	:	6
model	:	7
model name	:	VIA Samuel 2
stepping	:	3

Power Supply

The unit requires a 12V supply and uses a standard 5.5mm/2.1mm coaxial connector.

Expansion

Almost everything you need to know is in the motherboard manual.

Flash: The flash is a DOM plugged into the second of the two 40-pin IDE connectors.

RAM: The RAM is a conventional stick of 168-pin PC133 SDRAM plugged into one of the two DIMM sockets. According the manual each DIMM socket will take up to 512MB DIMMs giving a 1GB maximum (2x512MB).

PCI: There is a small riser board carrying a PCI socket so that a small expansion board can be added - such as another ethernet interface, wireless LAN card or USB2.0/USB3.0 interface card. Mine came with a riser fitted along with a Wireless card.

USB: Although there are symbols for two USB ports on the front panel there is nothing there other than a blanking plate. The connector for two additional two ports that's on the motherboard is used to interface to the floppy disc drive.

What with the PCI slot and the available internal space there is considerable scope to turn this into a useful appliance of some kind. The most obvious upgrade for those who want more power would be to replace the mini-ITX board with a more modern one.

Click on the photo for a closer look at the internal hardware.