Windows 11 Category - Page 2 of 65 - CNX Software

May 20, 2026May 20, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments

ODROID-H5 – A $250 Intel Core i3-N300 SBC with 10GbE networking, four M.2 PCIe slots

Hardkernel ODROID-H5 is an affordable Intel Core i3-N300 octa-core Alder Lake-N SBC providing a 10GbE RJ45 networking jack, and four M.2 PCIe slots for storage, wired/wireless networking, or AI accelerator expansion. It relies on the same SoC as in the earlier ODROID-H4 Ultra SBC, but trades a single PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 slot and four SATA ports for four M.2 slots, and upgrades from dual 2.5GbE to single 10GbE. It still features four USB ports, but only one USB 3.0 port, and three USB 2.0 ports. ODROID-H5 specifications: SoC- Intel Core i3-N300 CPU – Octa-core “Alder Lake-N” processor @ up to 3.8 GHz (Turbo single-core) or 2.3 GHz (Turbo multi-core) with 6MB cache GPU – 32EU Intel UHD Graphics @ 1.25 GHz TDP: 7W System Memory – Up to 64GB DDR5 4800 MHz SO-DIMM memory Storage Up to 4x 2280 NVMe SSDs via M.2 slots (See Expansion section) eMMC flash […]

May 14, 2026May 14, 2026 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

DEEPX DX-AIPlayer N97 mini PC combines Intel N97 SoC and 25 TOPS DX-M1 AI accelerator

DEEPX has just launched the DX-AIPlayer, an ultra-compact edge AI mini PC with an Intel Processor “Alder Lake-N” N97 SoC and the company’s DX-M1 M.2 AI accelerator module. The system is designed for real-time vision AI applications in robotics, smart cities, and factory automation. We’ve seen plenty of Alder Lake-N mini PCs like the Jetway B420UADN1, the Avalue EPC-ASL, the AAEON UP 710S, and various others, but the DX-AIPlayer N97 is different as it integrates the DX-M1 module via an M.2 2280 M-Key (PCIe Gen 3 x4) slot. The NPU delivers up to 25 TOPS of INT8 AI performance while consuming only 1 to 5 Watts of power, and features 4GB of dedicated LPDDR5 memory to handle larger workloads and multi-model execution without bottlenecking the host system’s RAM. DEEPX DX-AIPlayer N97 specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N97 quad-core processor up to 3.6 GHz with 6MB cache, 24 EU Intel UHD graphics […]

May 11, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Mind xPlay display and keyboard review using Khadas Mind and Mind 2 mini PCs

Khadas xPlay connected to Crowview USB C display

In this review, I’ll report my experience with the Khadas Mind xPlay display and keyboard using the Mind and Mind 2 mini PCs, as well as a CHUWI CoreBook Air Plus 16 laptop to test it as a standard external display. Using Mind xPlay with the Mind 2 mini PC I received the Mind xPlay with the Mind 2 Meteor Lake mini PC, and I already showed how to connect it and get started in the first part of the review. So I’ll continue the review with it initially. I used the EIZO monitor test website to evaluate the display panel itself. I went through all 13 tests, including dead pixel and gradients tests. The pattern above looks fine too, so I compare the Mind xPlay monitor to the 16-inch display of the ASUS Vivobook 16 to find differences. Both were set to maximum brightness. The xPlay delivers noticeably more […]

May 10, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

My experience upgrading the BIOS of a Windows 11 mini PC (with BitLocker) in 2026

I don’t always update the BIOS of my system, but when I do, I always make sure to waste several hours doing so. Last time I did that was in 2020, but this happened again when I updated the BIOS for the Khadas Mind 2 to test it with the Mind xPlay display and Mind Graphics 2 dock. Khadas provides the BIOS with instructions to update the Mind 2 mini PC, and it’s supposed to take five minutes, but I ended up wasting two about hours… The first step is to download and extract a zip file (mind-2-bios-v1.07-260122.zip), then start the Flash_BIOS upgrade program, and finally wait for the upgrade to complete. That part went great. No problem, but when the system rebooted, I was greeted by a BitLocker window asking me to enter a recovery key to carry on with the boot process. There’s no way to avoid this, […]

May 8, 2026May 7, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Arbor ARES-2100 Wildcat Lake fanless box PC targets industrial automation, machine vision, and Edge AI applications

Arbor ARES-2100 fanless box PC is another industrial platform based on the new Intel Core Series 3 “Wildcat Lake” processor family, which specifically targets industrial automation, machine vision, and lightweight Edge AI applications. The fanless computer supports up to 64GB DDR5 SO-DIMM memory, UFS 3.1 and/or M.2 NVMe/SATA storage, and offers up to three video outputs, up to three 2.5GbE ports, optional WiFi, Bluetooth, and 4G LTE via M.2 expansion slots, an RS232/RS485 RJ45 connector, and two optional CAN Bus interfaces through a terminal block. As an industrial machine, it’s designed to operate in the -20 to +60°C temperature range, takes 9 to 36V DC input, and received MIL-STD-810H certification for shock and vibration. Arbor ARES-2100 specifications: SoC – Intel Core Series 3 Wildcat Lake processors with five or six cores, Intel Xe3 Graphics, and up to 40 TOPS of combined AI performance. TDP: 15W System Memory – Up to […]

May 7, 2026May 7, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Khadas Mind Graphics 2 and Mind xPlay display + keyboard review – Part 1: Unboxing, teardown, and first try

Khadas has sent us the Mind Graphics 2 dock, Mind xPlay portable display and keyboard, as well as the Mind 2 mini PC for review. In the first part of the review, I’ll start by listing specifications, an unboxing of all three packages, a teardown of the graphics dock, and a first try of the xPlay and Mind Graphics 2 with the mini PC. While the Mind 2 will be used for testing, I won’t go into details here since it’s quite similar to the Mind 2 AI Maker Kit we reviewed last year. Instead, in the next parts, I’ll do a review of the xPlay with it, the first-generation Mind, and maybe another platform with USB-C video output. I’ll follow that by detailed testing of the Khadas Mind 2, including graphics and AI performance with the built-in NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB card, and check all its features. […]

May 5, 2026May 5, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Congatec conga-TC300 COM Express module features up to Intel Core 7 350 Wildcat Lake processor

Intel Wildcat Lake COM Express Compact module

congatec conga-TC300 is an entry-level edge AI COM Express Type-6 Compact module powered by 15W Intel Core Series 3 “Wildcat Lake” SoCs up to the Core 7 350 hexa-core processor. The module supports up to 64GB DDR5 SO-DIMM memory and features optional on-board UFS 3.1 storage, an Intel i226 2.5GbE controller, and two standard 220-pin board-to-board connectors exposing I/Os such as SATA, DDI and LVDS or eDP display interfaces, USB4, USB 3.2, USB 2.0, PCIe Gen4/Gen3, and more. congatec conga-TC300 specifications: Wildcat Lake SoC (one or the other) Intel Core 3 305 6-core CPU – 2x P-cores @ 1.5/4.3 GHz (Turbo) + 4x LPE-cores @ 1.4/3.3 GHz (Turbo) GPU – 1-core Intel Xe3 Graphics @ 2.3 GHz (9 TOPS) NPU – N/A Intel Core 5 320 6-core CPU – 2x P-cores @ 1.5/4.6 GHz (Turbo) + 4x LPE-cores @ 1.4/3.4 GHz (Turbo) GPU – 2-core Intel Xe3 Graphics @ 2.5 […]

April 24, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Axiomtek PICO570 – An Intel Core Ultra Meteor Lake Pico-ITX SBC with DDR5-5600 SO-DIMM memory, HDMI 2.1 up to 4Kp120

Axiomtek PICO570 Pico ITX SBC with Intel Core Ultra Processors

Axiomtek has recently introduced the PICO570, a high-performance Pico-ITX SBC built around Intel Core Ultra (Series 1) Meteor Lake-U processors. Measuring just 100 x 72 mm, this ultra-compact board with its 11 TOPS NPU is designed for edge AI applications. The PICO570 board is very similar to the AAEON PICO-MTU4 Pico-ITX SBC, but it features a physical 262-pin DDR5 SO-DIMM slot that allows users to upgrade or replace the RAM instead of solder-on LPDDR5 memory, and features an HDMI 2.1 supporting up to 4K resolution at 120Hz. The SBC also features an RS-232/422/485 serial interface, two USB 3.0 ports, and a dedicated SMBus connector for system management. With an operating temperature range of -20°C to +60°C, a watchdog timer, hardware monitoring, and a 12V DC input, it can be used for AI inference nodes, automation controllers, medical systems, and intelligent infrastructure. Axiomtek PICO570 specifications: Meteor Lake-U SoC (one of the other) […]