Posted on by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 4 Comments on Ubuntu 18.04 on Beelink Gemini J45 Mini PC (Fix and Review)

Ubuntu 18.04 on Beelink Gemini J45 Mini PC (Fix and Review)

Windows Mini PC Benchmarks Comparison

When I recently reviewed the Beelink J45 (aka Beelink Gemini J), a mini PC that uses the slightly older Intel Apollo Lake Pentium J4205 processor, whilst Windows 10 Pro ran fine it was unsuitable for Ubuntu because after installation the system became unstable and problems were encountered when running anything that loaded the system. The main issue was that when connected via wired-ethernet performing a command like ‘sudo apt upgrade’ would cause the ethernet to drop after which only a reboot would restore the connection. At the time it, was unclear what the cause was however a solution to the issue was posted by ‘gambetta’ on the Beelink forum. Basically it consists of installing the r8168 module which is the Linux device driver released for RealTek RTL8168B/8111B, RTL8168C/8111C, RTL8168CP/8111CP, RTL8168D/8111D, RTL8168DP/8111DP and RTL8168E/8111E Gigabit Ethernet controllers with PCI-Express interface. To paraphrase the ‘README.Debian’ file, you use ‘r8168-dkms because the in-kernel r8169 does not support your NIC or is not working …

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Posted on by Stephen Vicinanza - 8 Comments on AndesCore 27-Series Linux RISC-V SoC Features a Vector Processing Unit

AndesCore 27-Series Linux RISC-V SoC Features a Vector Processing Unit

AndesCore 27-Series VPU Andes has developed a Linux capable RISC-V based SoC which runs on the first Vector Processing Unit (VPU) that is reported to be groundbreaking in its application ability, especially in the AI sector. The Andes 27 Series CPU has debuted in the RISC-V Summit in San Jose, to a great deal of talk in many quarters.   The AndesCore 27-Series RVV The company reports that the AndesCore 27 offers a user-configurable vector-processing unit that has a scalable data size, flexible microarchitecture implementations and subsystem memory decisions open to system-level optimization. The use of the RISC-V Vector (RVV) instruction extension allows the CPU cores to deliver higher performance and versatility. The TimeTable and Offerings Andes is saying delivery of its first Andes 27 RISC-V based  SoC will begin in Q1 2020.  Already the earliest licensees have seen the delivery of the betas.  Initial availability will center around a 32-bit A27 the 64-bit AX27 and the Vector Register File …

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Posted on by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 1 Comment on A Look at Ubuntu on MINIX NEO G41V-4 and J50C-4 Mini PCs

A Look at Ubuntu on MINIX NEO G41V-4 and J50C-4 Mini PCs

Mini PC Comparison

MINIX Technology Limited recently released two new Gemini Lake mini PCs running Windows 10 Pro namely the MINIX NEO J50C-4 actively-cooled mini PC with an Intel Pentium Silver J5005 processor and the MINIX NEO G41V-4 fanless mini PC powered by an Intel Celeron N4100 processor. Whilst each mini PC comes with 64GB of eMMC with pre-installed Windows 10 Pro together with 4GB of RAM they also support the addition of an optional 2280 M.2 drive and the MINIX NEO J50C-4 allows optional memory upgrades. Prior to testing their performance under Ubuntu, I established a comparison baseline by updating Windows to version 1903 and then running my standard set of benchmarking tools first with the default configuration of each mini PC and then repeated having installed the official MINIX 2280 M.2 240GB drives for each device together with adding an extra 4GB RAM to the MINIX NEO J50C-4. The results can then compared them with other Intel mini PCs: Then for …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on RISC-V based PolarFire SoC FPGA and Devkit Coming in Q3 2020

RISC-V based PolarFire SoC FPGA and Devkit Coming in Q3 2020

Microsemi unveiled PolarFire FPGA + RISC-V SoC about one year ago, but at the time, development was done on a $3,000 platform with SiFive U54 powered HiFive Unleashed board combined with an FPGA add-on board from Microsemi. I’ve now been informed that Microchip has announced its Linux-capable PolarFire FPGA+RISC-V SoC would start shipping in Q3 2020 at the RISC-V summit and that a development kit will be sold for a few hundred dollars. PolarFire SoC FPGA   PolarFire SoC FPGA key features and specifications: Mid-Range FPGA optimized for Low Power High-speed serial connectivity with built-in multi-gigabit/multi-protocol transceivers from 250 Mbps to 12.7 Gbps Up to 461k logic elements consisting of a 4-input Look-Up Table (LUT) with a fracture-able D-type flip-flop Up to 31.6 Mb of RAM Power optimized transceivers Up to 1420 18 × 18 multiply-accumulate blocks with hardened pre-adders Integrated dual PCIe for up to ×4 Gen 2 Endpoint (EP) and Root Port (RP) designs High-Speed I/O (HSIO) supporting …

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Posted on by Stephen Vicinanza - 7 Comments on EEPD Launches AMD Ryzen Embedded NUC Boards & Mini PCs

EEPD Launches AMD Ryzen Embedded NUC Boards & Mini PCs

EEPD SBC Profive follows embedded NUC Standard Electronic Equipment Production and Distribution, also known as EEPD, has just released its latest Embedded SBCs based on the AMD Ryzen Embedded R1000 and V1000 platforms. Respectively they are the SBC Profive NUCR and NUCR both designed for industrial uses. The NUCv has 4 variants with 2 different V1000 series CPUs to choose from, while the NUCR has two R1000 variants. eNUC and Integrated Graphics All variations and types of SBCs and BoxPCs use the embedded NUC standard utilizing the AMD Ryzen embedded platform and series with Radeon Vega Graphics integrated into the system. SBC Profive NUCR specifications AMD Series R1000 Processors – R1606G / R1505G Integrated GPU – AMD Radeon Vega 3 Graphics Up to 32 GB dual-channel DDR4 memory 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports (Intel I210 with IEEE1588) 1x MicroSD card slot 3x M.2 Type B, Type E, Type M sockets M.2 SATA or NVMe 1x Serial ATA (6G) with a separate power …

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Posted on by Stephen Vicinanza - No Comments on Congatec Conga-SMX8-Nano SMARC 2.0 CoM Features NXP i.MX 8M Nano Processor

Congatec Conga-SMX8-Nano SMARC 2.0 CoM Features NXP i.MX 8M Nano Processor

Congatec Announces Ultra-Low-Power SMARC 2.0 CoM Congatec has come out with a new CoM, the Conga-SMX8-Nano that carries up to 4x ARM Cortex-A53 and 1x Cortex-M7 cores with a full spectrum of options. The SMARC 2.0 module can meet ultra-low-power requirements,  offers low cost, as well as high-level performance. Background Information Background on NXP  i.MX 8M Nano processors and modules have been reported in our report about iWave’s iW-RainboW-G34M-SM SoM and the introduction of the i.MX 8M Nano ARM Cortex-A53 and M7 processor to the market. A Board for the Industry The intention here is to develop a board that has high performance, ultra-low power requirements and can reach high volumes at low cost. The modules are scalable to the conga-SMX-8-Mini CoM, with options for a multitude of setups across types. Example Uses for conga-SMX8-Nano The company offers the example of a complex medical user interface that engineers might want to transform from a button-based interface into a GUI, which …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 40 Comments on ROCK Pi SATA HAT Targets ROCK Pi 4 & Raspberry Pi 4 NAS

ROCK Pi SATA HAT Targets ROCK Pi 4 & Raspberry Pi 4 NAS

Raxda ROCK Pi 4 is a single board computer (SBC) powered by Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor and inspired by Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+. The company has now designed ROCK Pi SATA HAT expansion board to design 4-bay NAS based on Raspberry Pi 4 and ROCK Pi 4. There are 3 models with support for 2, 4 or 5 drives: Dual/Quad SATA HAT connected over two USB 3.0 ports and working with both boards Penta SATA HAT connected over PCIe and compatible with ROCK Pi 4 only ROCK Pi Dual/Quad SATA HAT Specifications: 2x or 4x SATA connectors supporting 2.5″ or/and 3.5″ HDD/SSD 2x USB 3.0 port to connect to RPi 4 via one or two JMS561  USB to SATA controllers Storage Features – HDD suspend mode, UASP, software RAID 0/1/5 Misc Fan and heatsink header for Raspberry Pi 4 CPU cooling Optional PWM control fan for HDD heat dispatching Optional OLED display for IP Address/Storage info Power Supply 1x …

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Posted on by Stephen Vicinanza - No Comments on Versalogic Owl Small Form Factor Apollo Lake Embedded Computer Targets Military & Industrial Applications

Versalogic Owl Small Form Factor Apollo Lake Embedded Computer Targets Military & Industrial Applications

VersaLogic Owl VL-EPU-4012 Embedded System Computer  In October 2019 we reported on the VersaLogic Harrier computer that was slightly bigger than a credit card. Just announced by the company is a new embedded computer system is being developed, the Owl. Basics of the VersaLogic Owl The intended uses are again industry and military-grade applications. The system uses ECC memory and the Embedded Processing Unit (EPU) format. The processing unit is an Intel Atom E39xx Platform,  5th Gen Apollo Lake processor with dual or quad-core options. Strength and Resilience The ECC memory is fixed to the board and can be up to 8 GB in size. This reduces the damage that can be caused by vibration and shock, making the system tough and resilient. Available Ports and Security Hardware-based security is through a TDM 2.0 chip. There are onboard power conditioning, mini-PCIe expansion sockets, analog inputs, standard USB 3.0 and 4x 2.0 host ports and Ethernet I/O ports. Form Factor of …

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