Intel Atom E3826 socket: BGA 1170

What the Atom E3826 is

Intel Atom E3826 is a dual core Bay Trail-I embedded SoC that Intel released in October 2013 for fanless boxes and industrial designs. It uses the Silvermont core design on a 22 nm process, running at 1.46 GHz with no CPU burst. The cache is 1 MB L2 (512 KB per core). Power is 7 W with no scenario rating, since embedded boxes are sized by TDP. Graphics come from Intel HD Graphics for Atom Z3700 series (533 MHz to 667 MHz).

The cores are complete Silvermont cores with no Hyper-Threading, so threads equal cores at 2. The SoC integrates the memory controller with ECC support, graphics and industrial I/O on die. ECC matters for controllers, gateways and signs that run for months without reboot. Temperature range extends to minus 40 C on listed SKUs, which value notebook parts do not offer.

At 7 W the Atom E3826 belongs to the Atom E3800 embedded group. The fixed 1.46 GHz clock suits deterministic control loops and kiosk playback with passive cooling. Boards pair it with soldered or SODIMM DDR3L and SATA or eMMC storage. The How to find your CPU socket type guide shows how to confirm the package before ordering parts.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The Atom E3826 solders to BGA 1170 with 1,170 balls in a 25 by 27 mm footprint and cannot be moved to another board. Embedded makers qualify each model with a specific carrier and BIOS for a locked lifecycle, so even another Bay Trail-I part is not a drop in swap. Boards follow COM Express, Qseven and Pico-ITX formats with the SoC, memory and I/O wired per carrier.

Lifecycle and firmware decide embedded builds more than raw speed. The Atom E3826 carries extended availability for industrial buyers, and the board BIOS must list the exact string. The CPU cooler compatibility by socket guide notes that soldered embedded parts have no desktop mount pattern. Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works covers Intel pairing basics.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory support is ddr3l-1067, two channels, up to 8 gb, ecc. ECC catches single bit errors in long running control tasks, which is the main reason to pick Bay Trail-I over Bay Trail-M. Two channels feed the cores and graphics block, so matched modules help. Capacity reaches 8 GB where the carrier allows.

PCI Express is PCIe 2.0 with 4 lanes in a 1 by 4 split. Embedded carriers wire lanes to NICs, fieldbus, mini PCIe and mSATA rather than graphics slots. USB, UART, CAN and display outputs follow the carrier wiring, so the maker manual is the final word on ports.

Cooling uses the carrier heatsink or spreader, often passive at 7 W. The industrial temperature range needs validation with the enclosure, not just the SoC rating. Repaste helps only where the carrier design permits service.

Upgrade paths

There is no CPU upgrade path on soldered BGA 1170. The Atom E3826 cannot be removed, so a faster Bay Trail-I part means a new carrier. Within the family, Intel Celeron N2920 shares the BGA 1170 footprint but not the ECC or lifecycle positioning, so it is not a substitute in qualified builds.

A platform move means a new embedded carrier. Current Intel embedded lives on newer BGA packages with DDR4, more lanes and current OS support, which no BGA 1170 carrier can reach. Storage and wireless age with the carrier as well, so a whole box replacement usually beats a carrier swap in qualified fleets.