Intel Processor U300/U300E penta-core Raptor Lake CPU find its way into mini PCs and network appliances

Intel Processor U300 mini PC

Some mini PCs and firewall/network appliances are starting to show up with the Intel Processor U300/U300E penta-core CPU on Aliexpress and Amazon. It looks to be a 15W entry-level part for the 13th Gen Raptor Lake processor that may provide a more powerful and slightly more expensive alternative to the popular Alder Lake-N Processor and Core i3-N305 SoCs. The Processor U300 offers one Performance core clocked at 1.10 GHz to 4.30 GHz (Turbo) and four Efficiency cores clocked at up to 3.20 GHz, with the embedded part (U300E) handling slightly lower max frequencies for a wider operating temperature range. As usual, the Performance core supports multi-threading, so the Processor U300 supports six threads. Intel Ark shows it can support up to 96GB DDR5-5200 RAM, embeds a 48EU Intel UHD Graphics capable of driving up to four independent displays, and offers 20 lanes of PCIe Gen4 (vs 9-lane for Alder Lake-N), […]

The first OpenWrt One WiFi 6 router board samples are ready, some will be auctioned at OpenWrt Summit on May 18-19

OpenWrt One router board

John Crispin has recently received the first samples of the “OpenWrt One/AP-24.XY” Filogic 820-based WiFi 6 router board, manufactured by Banana Pi. Those will be officially supported by OpenWrt developers with assistance from MediaTek. Announced in January 2024, we only had the specifications of the OpenWrt One router so far, but since the first samples are now available we have more details including several photos of the board, and some units will be auctioned away at the OpenWrt Summit taken place in Cyprus on May 18-19. John explains fifteen prototypes will be manufactured, a website will be set up (maybe openwrt dot one), and that MediaTek helped with documentation: Just dropping a quick update on the  OpenWrt One project. I’ve received the first batch of three PCBs for testing today. I am in the process of testing the hardware to make sure everything works as intended. There are twelve further […]

Industrial MicroATX motherboards support Intel Core 12th-14th Gen processors with up to four 2.5GbE/10GbE ports

DFI industrial microATX motherboard

DFI has recently unveiled two new Industrial MicroATX Motherboards, the RPS310 and ADS310, that claim to have support for Core 12th Gen (Alder Lake-S), 13th Gen (Raptor Lake-S), and 14th Gen (Raptor Lake-S Refresh) processors. The motherboards can be built around R680E or Q670E chipset and support a range of peripherals including VGA, DP++, HDMI, PCIe, M.2 M key, SATA3.0, and much more. The key difference between the two is that the RPS310 supports DDR5 memory, features 4x Intel 2.5GbE network connections, and has a 10-year CPU lifecycle with optional 5-year extended support. In contrast, the ADS310 supports DDR4 memory, features 2x Intel 10GbE + 2x Intel 2.5GbE network connections, and boasts a longer 15-year CPU lifecycle support. We’ve previously covered motherboards with a similar form factor, including the HiFive Pro P550 and Milk-V Pioneer, both powered by RISC-V CPUs. If you’re interested in alternative architectures, you might also enjoy […]

Get $200 discount on GEEKOM A7 AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS mini PC (Sponsored)

GEEKOM A7 $200 coupon code

GEEKOM A7 is a powerful mini PC based on an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS octa-core/16-thread processor that normally sells for $849 with 32GB RAM and a 2TB SSD. But you can get $200 off using cnxa7off coupon code to get the discount on GEEKOM US or GEEKOM UK bringing the price down to $649. The mini PC also supports up to four 4K displays through HDMI 2.0 and USB-C ports, provides fast networking via a 2.5GbE jack and a WiFi 6E + Bluetooth 5.3 module, and offers plenty of USB ports for expansion in a compact form factor. GEEKOM A7 specifications: SoC – AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS 8-core/16-thread processor up to 4.0GHz with 16MB cache, AMD Radeon 780M Graphics; TDP: 35 to 54W System Memory – 32GB dual-channel DDR5-5600 via 262-pin SODIMM sockets, upgradeable to 64GB Storage 2TB NVMe PCIe x4 Gen 4 SSD Full-size SD card reader Video Output […]

ODROID-H4 – A Compact Alder Lake N-Series SBC with up to dual 2.5GbE and four SATA III ports

ODROID-H4 Ultra SBC

Hardkernel has just launched an upgrade to their ODROID-H3/H3+ Jasper Lake SBC, with the ODROID-H4, ODROID-H4+, and ODROID-H4 Ultra boards powered by Intel Processor N97 or Intel Core i3-N305 Alder Lake N-Series processors. The ODROID-H4 family supports up to 48GB DDR5-4800 memory and NVMe SSD storage, comes with up to two 2.5GbE, four SATA III ports, three 4K capable video output ports (HDMI and DisplayPort), a range of USB ports, and a 24-pin GPIO header. ODROID-H4 specifications compared to previous generation ODROID-H2+ and ODROID-H3 boards. The GPIO header offers the following interfaces for all models except for the ODROID-H2+: 2x I2C, 3x USB 2.0, 1x UART, 1x HDMI-CEC, ext. power button. The H2+ header has similar interfaces, but only one USB 2.0 and two UART. Some may note the maximum RAM capacity numbers differ from the data on Intel Ark, but the latter is not usually correct, and Hardkernel have […]

Review of GEEKOM XT12 Pro (Intel Core i9-12900H) Mini PC – Part 1: Specs, unboxing, and teardown

Review GEEKOM XT12 Pro mini PC Windows 11 Pro

GEEKOM XT12 Pro is a Windows 11 Pro mini PC powered by a 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900H 14-core Alder Lake processor clocked up to 5 GHz with support for 8K video output, up to four 4K displays, 2.5Gbps Ethernet, and a WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 wireless module. The mini PC supports up to 64GB DDR4 memory, 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD, and 1TB M.2 SATA SSD, and also comes with multiple USB ports (USB4, USB 3.2, and USB 2.0), a 3.5mm stereo audio headset jack, and a Kensington lock slot. GEEKOM has sent us an XT12 Pro mini PC with 32GB RAM and a 1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD for review. Today, we’ll go through the GEEKOM XT12 Pro specifications, do an unboxing to check the mini PC’s ports and accessories, perform a teardown to understand the hardware design better, and finally give it a try with Windows 11 […]

SolidRun Bedrock R8000 is the first Industrial PC to feature AMD Ryzen Embedded 8000 series

Bedrock 8000 AMD Ryzen Embedded 8000 industrial PC

Israeli embedded systems manufacturer, SolidRun, has recently introduced the Bedrock R8000, a new fanless, Industrial PC targeted at edge AI applications. The Bedrock R8000 integrates the newly-announced AMD Ryzen Embedded 8000 series processors with 8 Zen 4 cores and 16 threads clocked at up to 5.1 GHz. The Ryzen Embedded 8000 Series has a 16 TOPS NPU for AI workloads and offers up to 10 years of guaranteed availability. Also, up to 3 AI accelerators (either Hailo-10 or Hailo 8) can be combined with the onboard NPU to achieve over 100 TOPS for generative or inferencing AI workloads. Apart from the Ryzen Embedded 8000 series, the Bedrock R8000 series also supports other Accelerated Processing Units (APU) in the “Hawk Point” family. The CPU power limit can be adjusted in the BIOS within a range of 8W to 54W. Memory goes up to 96GB DDR5 ECC/non-ECC and three NVME PCIe Gen4 […]

Variscite DART-MX95 SoM – Edge Computing with dual GbE, 10GbE, Wi-Fi 6, and AI/ML capabilities

Variscite DART MX95 SoM

Introduced at Embedded World 2024, the Variscite DART-MX95 SoM is powered by NXP’s i.MX 95 SoC and features an array of high-speed peripherals including dual GbE, 10GbE, and dual PCIe interfaces. Additionally, this SoM supports up to 16GB LPDDR5 RAM and up to 128GB of eMMC storage. It features a MIPI-DSI display interface, multiple audio interfaces, MIPI CSI2 for camera connectivity, USB ports, and a wide range of other functionalities, making it highly versatile for a variety of applications. Previously, we have covered many different SoMs designed by Variscite, including the Variscite VAR-SOM-6UL, Variscite DART-MX8M, and Variscite DART-6UL SoM, among others. Feel free to check those out if you are looking for products with NXP SoCs. Variscite DART-MX95 SoM Specifications SoC – NXP i.MX 95 CPU Up to 6x 2.0GHz Arm Cortex-A55 cores Real-time co-processors – 800MHz Cortex-M7 and 250MHz Cortex-M33. 2D/3D Graphics Acceleration 3D GPU with OpenGL ES 3.2, […]