Although system designers can’t always control the operating conditions of embedded computing applications, they now have new cost-effective options for delivering 3U CompactPCI (cPCI) board compatibility in harsh, extreme temperature environments. A new modular rack system design that adapts affordable, standard convection-cooled boards to demanding conduction-cooled applications offers off-the-shelf availability for both PowerPC and Intel-based platforms, with versatile I/O-intensive capabilities for applications such as graphics, touch screens, serial interfaces, fieldbus controllers, binary I/O and more.