Sam440, also known bySam or its codenameSamantha,^[1][2] is a line of modularmotherboards produced by the Italian companyACube Systems Srl.^[3] The Sam440ep version is a motherboard based on thePowerPC 440EPsystem-on-a-chip processor which includes a double-precisionFPU. It is made byAMCC.^[4][5] Their primary targets are the industrial and embedded markets, running operating systems such asLinux andAmigaOS 4.^[6]

At the time of AmigaOS 4.1 release in 2008, it was the only AmigaOS 4 compatible hardware available^[7] since the manufacturing ofAmigaOne machines ceased in 2005; Sam440 was later succeeded by theSam460ex (AmigaOne 500) andAmigaOne X1000.

Notable features of the Sam boards (including all versions):^[8]

• Low power consumption
• Passive cooling (noCPU fan)
• Scalability

Sam440ep was the first modular motherboard produced by ACube Systems Srl.^[4]

• 400/533/600/667 MHz AMCC PowerPC 440EP SoC processor
• Cache L1/L2: 32KB/-
• 128/256/512 MB 266 MHzDDR SDRAM soldered to the motherboard
• 1× 32-bit, 33 MHzPCI slot
• 1×Flash memory device controller
• 4×USB2 ports, 1× USB1
• 2×Ethernet 10/100 ports
• 4×Serial ATA ports
• Cirrus Logic CS4281 andRealtek ALC655 audio
• ATIRadeon Mobility M9 graphics with 64 MBVRAM,s-video andDVI out.
• GPIO expansion connector
• Lattice XP expansionFPGA

The specifications are the same as for the revisions before, except for:

• 1× DDR RAM slot supporting up to 512 MB RAM (in place of soldered RAM modules)

There is no graphics chip on the Sam440ep-flex, so you have to use a PCI-graphics board.^[9]

• 400/533/667 MHz AMCC PowerPC 440EP SoC processor
• Cache L1/L2: 32KB/-
• 512 MBDDR SDRAM soldered to the motherboard
• 1× 32-bit, 66 MHzPCI slot
• 2× 32-bit, 33 MHz PCI slot
• USB 2.0 OHCI/EHCI NXP PCI controller
• 2×Ethernet 10/100 ports
• 4×Serial ATA ports
• Cirrus Logic CS4281 andRealtek ALC655 audio
• GPIO expansion connector
• FPGA Lattice XP with 80 pin I/O expansion connector
• Zigbee module (optional)

The specifications^[10] are the same as for the flex prototype, except for:

• 2× DDR SDRAM, max 1 GB RAM

On 2 April 2009, ACube announced the availability of SAM440ep-flex revision 2, it has the same specifications as the flex prototype except for:^[11]

• 667/733/800 MHz AMCC PowerPC 440EP SoC processor (passive cooling, 733 and 800 MHz are achieved by overclocking)
• Cache L1/L2: 32KB/-
• 2× DDR SDRAM, max 1 GB RAM
• RAM clock running at 133 MHz (667 and 800 MHz models) or at 147 MHz (733 MHz models)^[12]

OSNews review provided view by someone who never used AmigaOS computer before: Thom Holwerda commended silent CPU-fan-less operation, but criticized higher price. His evaluation of AmigaOS was mixed; although the platform offered "whole new world of technology to explore and play around with", it was still a relic of the past mainly due to lack of modern features like memory protection and unusual user interface.^[6] Review of the Sam440ep in theAmiga Future magazine noted performance comparable to older AmigaOne generation, but criticized non expandable RAM and lack of legacy interfaces (ATA, floppy). Also some features of the new board were still unsupported by AmigaOS (USB 2.0).^[13] Testing the 800 MHz variant of the Sam440ep-flex,Amiga Future highlighted CPU speed behind the MicroA1 (750FX 800 MHz), but surpassing it in graphics, memory and harddisk performance.^[14]

• Sam460ex
• AmigaOne
• AmigaOne X1000
• Pegasos

• ACube Systems Srl
• Sam4x0 Home page

• Motherboard
• PowerPC mainboards
• Amiga

• CS1 German-language sources (de)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata