MINIX NEO J50C-4 (2019) Mini PC Review – Part 2: Windows 10 Pro

MINIX NEO J50C-4 (2019) Review

Last week, I received the latest MINIX NEO J50C-4 (64GB) mini PC that hardware-wise is very much like last year, never released, MINIX NEO J50C-4 mini PC, except it comes with a 64GB eMMC flash instead of just 32GB. I’m now spent time testing the updated version, with a focus on the potential performance benefit of the new storage device, as well as features I was unable to test last year, such as USB-C DisplayPort output, or WiFi AC, and check out if some of the issues I encountered last year are now solved. System Info We’ve got basically the same info as last year with J50C-4 mini PC powered by an Intel Pentium Silver J5005 CPU coupled with 4.00 GB memory and running an activated (i.e. properly licensed) version of Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. We’ve now got more space to play with thanks to a 57GB Windows partition, which […]

Arm Custom Instructions Coming to Armv8-M Embedded Processors

Arm Custom Instructions

So far Arm defined all instructions for their cores with the benefit of code portability between solutions, so code compiled for an Arm Cortex-M33 based microcontroller would run on another without modifications (we’re obviously talking about code running directly on the core, not using specific peripherals here). But with RISC-V open-source architecture many have seen the benefit of custom instructions for specific tasks, at the risk of potential fragmentation. With Arm Techcon 2019 now taking place, Arm has just announced support for custom instructions for ARMv8-M embedded CPUs starting with Arm Cortex-M33 cores. The implementation of Arm Custom Instructions for specific embedded and IoT applications will start in H1 2020 at no additional cost to licensees and without risk of software fragmentation using NOCP exception if the instructions are not available. Arm futher explains: Arm Custom Instructions are enabled by modifications to the CPU that reserve encoding space for designers […]

NanoPI NEO2 Black Allwinner H5 SBC Adds an eMMC flash Module, Up to 1GB RAM

NanoPi NEO2 Black

NanoPi NEO2, now called NanoPi NEO2 LTS, is a great little Allwinner H5 SBC designed for server/headless applications with Ethernet & USB ports, as well as I/O headers. FriendlyELEC is now about to launch a new variant called NanoPi NEO2 Black with the same form factor and Allwinenr H5 64-bit Arm SoC, but adding an eMMC flash module, supporting up to 1GB RAM, modifications to the I/O headers, and featuring a black PCB instead of the blue PCB found in NEO2-LTS. NanoPi NEO2 Black SBC specifications with changes in bold or stricken-through: SoC – Allwinner H5 quad-core Cortex A53 processor with an ARM Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 512 MB or 1GB DDR3 Storage – MicroSD card slot, eMMC flash module connector Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet (via RTL8211E-VB-CG chip) USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port, 1x micro USB OTG port, 2x 1x USB via headers Expansion headers 10-pin header […]

ecoPI STARTER is a Cute Mini PC Kit Based on Rock Pi 4 SBC with Optional M.2 NVMe SSD

ecoPI STARTER mini PC M.2 NVMe SSD

Rock Pi 4 is an affordable single board computer inspired by Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, but equipped with a more powerful Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor, and selling for around $80 with 4GB RAM, Gigabit Ethernet, and 802.11ac + Bluetotoh 5.0 wireless module. I’ve just come across ecoPI STARTER mini PC kit for the board with an aluminum case that can also fit an M.2 extension board to add an M.2 NVMe SSD card. The kit comes with an aluminum housing, an acrylic cover, some screws, bolts and silicon feet, and short ribbon cables for M.2 card. The acrylic cover is designed to let the WiFi & Bluetooth signal go through, but I’m not so confident the case won’t cause issue with WiFi. It’s currently sold for $16.50 on Aliexpress. You’ll also need to get Rock Pi 4A or 4B for $40 and up, M.2 Extension board ($8.39), heatsink ($8.39), […]

Ugoos AM6 Review – An Android 9.0 TV Box with Plenty of Options

Ugoos AM6 Review

Karl here….With another review. Today we look at the AM6 from Ugoos. Ugoos has been around for quite some time. I recently did a review of the Beelink GT-King with the same S922X processor and I will do some comparisons with that. I have to say with everything except the UI, I like this box much better (You can read my rant in the Beelink article about Android on the TV). The AM6 is built well. It is solid with a metal enclosure and just feels good when you pick it up. I know weight doesn’t really matter but it feels substantial. Like I stated I don’t really like UI but Ugoos ticks quite a few boxes that appeal to my nerdiness. I will go more into that later. Below are the specs per Ugoos Website. I highlighted the interesting ones. Hardware Specs: Operation System – Android 9.0 Language – […]

ctxLink Open Hardware WiFi Debug Probe is based Black Magic Probe (Crowdfunding)

ctxlink

Last month, we wrote about Blip nRF52840 dev board that also included an STM32F103 MCU running the open source Black Magic Probe (BMP) firmware for debugging and programming. Based on the original Black Magic Probe hardware product page, BMP is a JTAG and SWD adapter used for programming and debugging ARM Cortex MCUs, and does not require intermediate programs such as OpenOCD or STLink server. Instead, you can run GNU Debugger (GDB) and select the virtual COM port offered by the debug board. The reason I’m bringing BMP again today, is because a new open source hardware wireless debugging probe for Cortex-M based on Black Magic Probe has been launched in the last few days. ctxLink key features and specifications: Microcontroller – STMicro STM32F401RE Arm Cortex -M4F MCU at up to 84 MHz Connectivity – 802.11b/g/n WiFi via Microchip WINC1500 module USB – 1x micro USB port for connection to […]

AMD Ryzen Embedded SBC Supports 4x 4K Displays Ready for Linux and Windows

The Release of the IB918 SBC The IBASE Technology Inc has released its IB918 3.5″ disk sized SBC, based on the AMD Ryzen V1000 or R1000 SoC with several different options for the base chip system. The new computers can support Windows or Ubuntu and offer several different core options. The Basics The board supports 4 simultaneous 4K displays through 2 HDMI ports, eDP and LVDS, as well as 2x GbE 2.0  and storage options include a SATA III port, and an M.2 NVMe socket.  The supports offer a choice in which SoC can be loaded, either the Ryzen Embedded R1000 SoC or the already marketed and more powerful V1000 which supports both Ubuntu and Windows. Background and other AMD Ryzen Embedded SBC’s AMD Ryzen Embedded R1000 Series SoC’s UDOO BOLT AMD Ryzen Embedded Sapphire FS-FP5R 5×5 Motherboard with the embedded AMD Ryzen R1606G or R1505G processor onboard. IBASE MI988 […]

Commell Unveils LP-178 Whiskey Lake Pico-ITX SBC

Whiskey Lake Pico ITX SBC

We’ve previously covered several Intel Whiskey Lake-U SBCs in various form factors such as the Commell LE-37N 3.5″ board, ASRock IMB-1216 mini-ITX motherboard, or UP Xtreme with a custom 122×120 form factor. But if your project or application requires a more compact form factor, Commell has just announced LP-178 Whiskey Lake Pico-ITX SBC with either  Intel Core i7-8665UE or Celeron 4305UE 8th generation embedded processor. LP-178 board  specifications: SoC (one or the other) Intel Core i7-8665UE quad-core/octa-thread processor @ 1.7GHz / 4.4GHz (Turbo) with Intel UHD Graphics 620; 8MB cache; 15W TDP Intel Celeron 4305UE dual-core processor @ 2.0GHz with Intel UHD Graphics 610; 2MB cache; 15W TDP FCBGA1528 package System Memory – SO-DIMM socket for up to 16GB DDR4 RAM Storage – 1x SATA 3.0 interface Video Output / Display I/F HDMI port up to 4K resolution DisplayPort output DP to VGA or LVDS via an optional adapter Triple […]

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