Beelink AP42 Apollo Lake mini PC Linux Review with Ubuntu, KDE Neon, Elementary OS….

Beelink’s latest Intel mini PC offerings includes the AP34 and AP42 which are their first models using Intel Apollo Lake processors. The former uses an Intel Apollo Lake Celeron N3450 processor (burst frequency 2.2GHz, Intel HD Graphics 500 with Graphics Burst Frequency 700MHz and 12 Execution Units) while the latter uses the slightly more powerful Pentium N4200 (burst frequency 2.5GHz, Intel HD Graphics 505 with Graphics Burst Frequency 750MHz and 18 Execution Units). Both support Windows 10 (Home) and Beelink’s marketing claim they “support Linux system”. GearBest has given me the chance to review running Linux on the AP42 model so here are my findings. Normally I first make a disk image before booting Windows or installing Linux. However initial attempts at booting a Live USB with a variety of Linux systems failed so both the reseller and manufacturer were contacted for comment. Interestingly there was no immediate reply but early […]

OpenELEC 8.0 Released with WeTek Play 2 & Hub, and Raspberry Pi Zero W Support

In recent months, I’ve written more about LibreELEC, a fork of OpenELEC, but the latter project is still being worked on, and OpenELEC 8.0 has been released adding builds for WeTek Play 2 & WeTek Hub TV boxes, as well as Raspberry Pi Zero W board, and upgrading to Kodi 17.1. and newer packages such as Linux 4.9 and ffmpeg 3.2. The developers also removed some unused or dropped features such as HFS and HFS+ filesystem, iSCSI, NFS/NBD/iSCSI network boot, and LIRC. X11 AMDGPU, ATI (Radeon) and Intel GPU driver driver has been replaced by X11 Modesettings GPU driver. They also updated some drivers & firmware files for WLAN and DVB, as well as update Nvidia Legacy driver to xf86-video-nvidia-340 (VDPAU only supported now). You can download or update OpenELEC 8.0, not only for the new WeTek and Raspberry Pi platforms, but for also x86 64-bit images for Intel & […]

GIGABYTE BRIX IoT Apollo Lake Fanless mini PC is Designed for the Internet of Things, Digital Signage, Thin Clients

GIGABYTE has unveiled BRIX IoT mini PC powered by either Intel Celeron N3450 or Pentium N4200 processor both part of Intel’s Apollo Lake family, and as the name implied the devices target Internet of Things applications. GIGABYTE BRIX IoT specifications: SoC (one or the other) Intel Celeron  N3450 quad core processor @ up to 2.2GHz with Intel HD graphics 500 (6W TDP) Intel Pentium N4200 quad core processor @ up to 2.5GHz with Intel HD graphics 505 (6W TDP) System Memory – 2x SO-DIMM DDR3L slots @ 1333/1600/1866 MHz up to 8GB Storage – 1x M.2 slot, 1x micro SD slot, optional 32 or 64GB eMMC flash Connectivity Dual Gigabit Ethernet via Realtek RTL8111HS Intel Dual band Wireless-AC 3165 module with two SMA antenna connectors 3G via mini PCIe slot and SIM card slot with one SMA antenna connector Video Output – Dual HDMI 1.4b up to 3840×2160 @ 30 […]

ECDREAM EC-V26 is a Mini PC with a 8″ Touchscreen Display Powered by an Intel Celeron/Pentium Apollo Lake Processor

Mini PCs with a touchscreen display targeting consumer markets, and looking like very thick tablets started with PiPo X8, and later other companies joined the fray with products like GOLE 1, but the form factor appears to have become popular with even more manufacturers, as Shenzhen EC Technology has now launched ECDREAM EC-V26 powered by Intel Celeron or Pentium “Apollo Lake” processor, and equipped with an 8″ touchscreen display. ECDREAM EC-V26 mini PC specifications: SoC (one of the other) Intel Celeron N3350 dual core processor @ 1.1 GHz / 2.4 GHz with a 12 EU Intel® HD Graphics 500; 6W TDP Intel Celeron N3450 quad core processor @ 1.1 GHz / 2.2 GHz with a 12 EU Intel® HD Graphics 500; 6W TDP Intel Pentium N4200 quad core processor @ 1.1 GHz / 2.5 GHz with an 18 EU Intel HD Graphics 505; 6W TDP System Memory – 2GB on-board […]

Axiomtek Introduces PICO312 Fanless Apollo Lake Pico-ITX SBC

Axiomtek has recently introduce PICO312, a fanless pico-ITX single board computer powered by either Intel Pentium N4200 quad core processor or Celeron dual code N3350 processor N3350 part of “Apollo Lake” family. The board is equipped with a SO-DIMM socket supporting up to 8GB RAM, LVDS, VGA or HDMI output, and working within -20°C to +60°C without the need for a fan, but just a heat spreader with heatsink. Axiomek PICO312 Apollo Lake Pico-ITX board specifications: SoC – Intel Pentium N4200 quad core procesoor @ up to or Celeron N3350 processor @ up to with respectively 18EU or 12 EU Intel HD Graphics Gen 9. System Memory – 1x DDR3L-1867 SO-DIMM supporting up to 8GB Storage – 1x SATA-600 port, 1x mSATA via mini PCIe slot (both on the back of the board) Video Output / Display IF 1x LVDS; 18/24-bit single/dual channel 1x HDMI (N4200 model) or 1x VGA […]

Beelink AP42 Apollo Lake Mini PC Comes with a VESA Mount, an M.2 SSD Slot

Beelink has launched an update to their Beelink BT7 Cherry Trail mini PC with Beelink AP42 using a similar mechanical design, but upgrading the processor to an Intel Pentium N4200 coupled with 4GB DDR3 memory, and a 64GB eMMC flash. Like the previous model it can be mounted behind a VESA compatible monitor or TV, and can also be upgraded with your own M.2 SSD. Beelink AP42 specifications: SoC – Intel Pentium N4200 quad core Apollo Lake processor @ 1.10 GHz (baseline) / 2.50 GHz (burst) with Intel Gen9 HD graphics @ 200/750 MHz with 18EU (6W TDP) System Memory – 4 GB DDR3 Storage – 64 GB eMMC storage, SD card slot, M.2 SSD slot up to 320 GB Video Output – HDMI 1.4 up to 4K @ 30 Hz Audio – 3.5mm headphone jack and HDMI Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band 802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0 […]

LibreELEC v8.0.0 Released with Kodi 17.0 (Krypton)

LibreELEC is a JeOS (Just enough Operating System) based on Linux that creates a media center appliance platform for Kodi (formelly XBMC), and a fork of OpenELEC. The developers have now released LibreELEC v8.0.0 with the latest Kodi 17.0 “Krypton”. Beside the update to Kodi 17, some of the changes since the last stable version (v7.95.3) include: Fix for TVheadend issues in the WeTek Play 2 DVB driver Fix for interactive governor causing slowdown issues on the WeTek Core Fix for missing Bluetooth “connect and trust” option when pairing Fix for missing ir-keytable streamzap support after recent changes Updates to refine lirc repeat timing changes Update WeTek Play 2 remote keymap to expose more buttons Updates to linux-amlogic 3.10 (arm) and 3.14 (aarch64) kernels Add hexdump busybox applet needed for Odroid_C2 overclocking The full list of changes can be found on github. While it’s possible to update from an existing […]

Intel Atom Z3735F (Bay Trail) vs Intel Celeron N4200 (Apollo Lake) Benchmarks Comparison

Intel introduced new processors every year, but in most cases the performance improvement from new processor with a similar power profile is only incrementally better, as we’ve seen in our Atom X7-Z8700 vs Pentium N4200 benchmarks comparison, which means it’s not really worthwhile to upgrade performance-wise, unless you really a specific feature or interface found in the new processor. But what if we compare to processor from 2 to 3 years ago? Intel Atom Z3735F was a popular choice two years ago, and if you’re looking for a cheap Intel mini PC or TV box, that’s still the cheapest option with prices under $80. So I’ve decided to compare Intel Atom Z3735F (Bay Trail) processor with 2W TDP to the latest Pentium Celeron N4200 (Apollo Lake) with 6W TDP. To do so, I gathered benchmarks results from MeLE PCG03 mini PC (PCMark 8) and PCG01 TV stick (Passmark + 3Dmark) […]