UP Xtreme Lite Whiskey Lake SBC is Made for “Developers on a Budget”

AAEON UP Xtreme Whiskey Kake SBC launched last year for 249 Euros via a crowdfunding campaign, and the single board computer can now be purchased from UP shop from $299 for the Celeron 4305UE version with 4GB RAM, and up to $799 with an Intel Core i7-8665UE quad-core processor and 16GB RAM.

But soon, you should be able to purchase a more affordable version as the company just unveiled UP Xtreme Lite board made “for developers on a budget” and “designed to provide developers with a platform that’s flexible, powerful, and great value while not sacrificing performance”.

UP Xtreme Lite specifications with the differences against the original UP Xtreme either stricken though (when removed) or highlighted in bold (for new features):

• SoC (one or the other)
  • Intel Celeron 4305UE dual-core processor @ up to 2.2 GHz with 2MB cache, Intel UHD 610 graphics
  • Intel Core i3-8145UE dual-core 4-thread processor @ up to 2.1 GHz / 3.9 GHz (Turbo) with 4MB cache, Intel UHD 620 graphics
  • Intel Core i5-8365UE quad-core 8-thread processor @ up to 1.6 GHz / 4.1 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, Intel UHD 620 graphics
  • Intel Core i7-8665UE quad-core 8-thread processor @ up to 1.9 GHz / 4.8 GHz (Turbo) with 8MB cache, Intel UHD 620 graphics
• System Memory – Up to 16GB dual-channel DDR4 memory (soldered on-board) via a single SO-DIMM socket
• Storage – 1x SATA connector with power connector, 1x mSATA socket, 1x M.2 socket (See expansion section below for details)
• Video Output
  • 1x eDP with backlight control header up to 4096 x 2304 @ 60 Hz
  • 1x HDMI 1.4/DisplayPort 1.2 Stack connector up to 4096 x 2160 @ 30 Hz and 4096 x 2304 @ 60 Hz respectively
• Video
  • Decode – 4K 10-bit HEVC, 4K 10-bit VP9, 4K H.264/AVC, VP8, MPEG-2, MJPEG, VC-1
  • Encode – 4K 10-bit HEVC, 4K VP9, 4K H.264/AVC, VP8, MPEG-2, MJPEG
• Audio – ALC887 ALC892 audio codec; 3.5mm audio out/mic in jack, I2S header
• Network Connectivity – 2x Gigabit Ethernet via Intel i211 i210 (TSN), and i219LM transceivers
• USB – 4x USB3.2 ports, 1x USB2.0 on-pin header
• Serial Ports – 2x 10-pin RS232/422/485 headers via Fintech F81801, 1x RS232 (TTL)
• Expansion Slot
  • 1x M.2 2230 E Key socket (1x PCIe x1, 1x USB2.0) for wireless cards
  • 1x M.2 2280 B/M Key socket (2 x PCIe / 2xSATA) for high-speed SSD or deep-learning accelerators (e.g. UP AI Core X)
  • 1x M.2 3042/3052 B-key socket
  • 1x mini PCIe with 1x PCIe x1 (option mSATA), 1x USB2.0, and SIM card slot for 3G/4G cellular cards, deep-learning accelerators, or other mPCIe cards
  • 40-pin I/O expansion header with 28x GPIO, 2x SPI, 2x I2C, 1x ADC, 1x I2S, 2x PWM, 1x UART, 3V3, 5V, GND via Intel MAX V CPLD
  • 100-pin high-speed bus with 12V, GND, 3x PCIe x1, 2x PCIe x1 or USB 3.0, and 2x USB2.0 for NET Plus Expansion (3x Gigabit) or UP AI Vision Plus X (3x Myriad X VPU)
  • STM32 I/O header for real-time operations such as motor control
• Misc – Power Button / LED, RTC battery+ CR2032, 4-pin fan connector, power button header, reset pin header
• Power Supply – 12~60V 12-24V DC-IN via lockable connector
• Dimensions – 122 x 120mm
• Temperature Range – 0°C – 50 60°C
• Certifications – CE/FCC class A, RoHS Compliant, REACH

The choice of processors remains the same and there have only been a few changes here and there. One way UP Xtreme Lite board will look much cheaper is that it will likely no come with memory, and instead, people can insert whatever DDR4 SO-DIMM module they want (up to 16GB). Memory bandwidth will be a bit slower since the company moved from dual-channel memory to single-channel memory.

Other modifications include a different audio codec, different Ethernet transceiver, the mini PCIe socket is gone making place for an extra M.2 3042/3052 B-key socket, and they removed the 100-pin high-speed expansion connector. The power circuitry has changed as well since the board supports 12 to 24V DC input instead of 12 to 60V for UP Xtreme SBC, and it appears the STM32 microcontroller used for real-time I/O is gone. The specifications show USB 3.2 instead of USB 3.1, but if it’s USB 3.2 Gen1 then there aren’t any differences, and temperature range seems to have been extended to 60°C max.

The board still supports Windows 10, Ubuntu 18.04 with Linux 5.0, and a Yocto 2.7 built Linux distribution with kernel 4.19.

AAEON did not provide pricing information, instead only asking people to request a quote on the product page. If I had to guess the price, UP Xtreme Lite SBC should likely cost under $250 with the Celeron processor and no RAM installed.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.

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