The Beckhoff CX Series is a family of embedded controllers built on a 32-bit Arm Cortex-M7 processor at 480 MHz, with one core and up to 4 GB of RAM. The Thinvent IPC1 is a fanless Industrial PC with an Intel Celeron N5095A (4 cores), up to 64 GB of RAM and up to 2 TB of SSD storage, and it runs Windows, Linux or no operating system.
Beckhoff CX Series vs Thinvent IPC1
| Beckhoff CX Series (CX2040) | Thinvent IPC1, Intel Celeron N5095A | Thinvent IPC1, AMD Ryzen 5 7530U | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Arm Cortex-M7, 480 MHz | Intel Celeron N5095A, up to 2.9 GHz | AMD Ryzen 5 7530U, up to 4.5 GHz |
| Cores/Threads | 1 | 4 cores | 6 cores |
| RAM | 4 GB (32 MB SDR main memory listed for the CPU module) | Up to 32 GB (8 GB configuration) | Up to 64 GB |
| Storage | 512 MB MicroSD (optional 16 GB) | Up to 2 TB SSD | Up to 2 TB SSD |
| Form Factor | Industrial PC | Industrial PC, fanless | Industrial PC, fanless |
| Operating System | Not confirmed | Windows 11 Pro (also Windows 11 IoT, Ubuntu Linux, Thinux Embedded Linux, Without OS, DOS) | Windows 11 Pro (also Windows 11 IoT Value, Ubuntu Linux, Thinux Embedded Linux, Without OS, DOS) |
| Displays | 1 | 1 HDMI, 1 VGA | 1 HDMI, 1 VGA |
| Ethernet | 2 | 1 Gbps Ethernet | 1 Gbps Ethernet |
Key differences
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The Thinvent IPC1 has a 4-core Intel Celeron N5095A, and the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U variant has 6 cores. The Beckhoff CX2040 has one Arm Cortex-M7 core.
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The Thinvent IPC1 supports up to 64 GB of RAM, against the 4 GB the CX2040 includes.
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The Thinvent IPC1 supports up to 2 TB of SSD storage. The CX2040 uses a 512 MB MicroSD card, with an optional 16 GB card.
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Both Thinvent IPC1 variants are fanless with passive cooling and have an aluminium housing.
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The Beckhoff CX2040 has 8 multifunction inputs and 4 multifunction outputs (24 V DC), which the Thinvent IPC1 does not have. The IPC1 has a 2.5-inch-class SSD bay as standard-free storage via its SSD, and it has USB 3.0 and front USB 2.0 ports.
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The Beckhoff CX2040 is the simpler device for direct PLC processing with its I/O. The Thinvent IPC1 is the better choice where a full Windows or Linux operating system is needed.
Which one should you choose?
Choose the Beckhoff CX Series if your application is a compact controller that processes PLC programs with built-in digital inputs and outputs. Choose the Thinvent IPC1 if you need a fanless Industrial PC with a full operating system, more memory and more storage, with Intel Celeron N5095A or AMD Ryzen 5 7530U processing.
