Posted on by Abhishek Jadhav - 1 Comment on uSVC Arduino VGA board – a portable and programmable retro-gaming console (crowdfunding)

uSVC Arduino VGA board – a portable and programmable retro-gaming console (crowdfunding)

Itaca Innovation previously launched uChip, an Arduino-compatible board that has a Cortex M0+ MCU that features 0.3” spacing between rows. Now, next-hack joined Itaca Innovation to come up with an expansion board for uChip. The uChip Simple VGA Console (uSVC) Arduino based retro-gaming console is open hardware and is a programmable console. It will allow creating and playing retro “9-bit” games with standard USB controllers and keyboards. You will get one uChip (pre-soldered) and the uSVC game loader pre-programmed, a PCB with a pre-soldered SMD MicroSD card reader. It also includes all of the components needed to build your uSVC, and Bill of Material (BOM) and assembly drawings will also be provided. uSVC Specifications uChip is the heart of uSVC (48 x 86 x 17 mm), with a Microchip SAMD21 Arm Cortex-M0+ MCU clocked @ 48 MHz (Arduino Zero compatible). A VGA output of 57 Hz vertical frequency, 30 kHz horizontal frequency. It comes with a 3.5mm audio jack, 10-bit […]

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on Box86 is an x86 Emulator for Raspberry Pi and other 32-bit Arm platforms

Box86 is an x86 Emulator for Raspberry Pi and other 32-bit Arm platforms

Last week, we wrote about Raspberry Pi 4 Vulkan project status and future plans, and one person commented they are currently trying to get dxvk to work Box86, and that CNX Software should write about the latter. Cool, but what does that mean? dxvk is an open-source Vulkan-based implementation of D3D9, D3D10, and D3D11 for Linux,  and Box86 is a Linux userspace x86 emulator that works on 32-bit Arm targets like the Raspberry Pi SBC. Nice, and I remember I ran x86 Linux and Windows on Raspberry Pi a few years ago using a closed-source commercial program called Exagear, but having an open-source solution is even better. That means 64-bit Arm is not supported at all, and Box86 can not even be built for Aarch64 targets. Since many x86 games require OpenGL, as opposed to OpenGL ES, Box86 works best in conjunction with gl4es. By installing Box86 on Raspberry Pi 4, or other Arm boards like many of the Rockchip […]

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on AMD Ryzen Embedded V2000 8-core Computer-on-Module supports up to 64GB RAM

AMD Ryzen Embedded V2000 8-core Computer-on-Module supports up to 64GB RAM

AMD Ryzen Embedded V2000 processors with up to eight Zen2 cores and faster Radeon graphics have been officially announced, and one of the first hardware platforms to take advantage of the new processor is ADLINK cExpress-AR COM Express Type 6 Compact computer-on-module suitable for demanding graphics-based applications such as medical ultrasound, image processing, 4K high-speed video encoding and streaming for broadcasting, embedded gaming, and infotainment. ADLINK cExpress-AR specifications: SoC AMD Ryzen Embedded V2516 hexa-core/12-thread processor @ 2.1 GHz / 3.95 GHz (Turbo) with 3MB L2 cache L2, 6 CUs Radeon RX Vega 6 GPU @ 1.5 GHz; TDP: 10-25 W AMD Ryzen Embedded V2546 hexa-core/12-thread processor @ 3.0 GHz / 3.95 GHz (turbo) with 3 MB L2 cache, 6 CUs Radeon RX Vega 6 GPU @ 1.5 GHz; TDP: 35-54 W AMD Ryzen Embedded V2718 octa-core/16-thread processor @ 1.7 GHz / 4.15 GHz (Turbo) with 4MB cache, 7CUs Radeon RX Vega 7 GPU @ 1.6 GHz; TDP: 10-25 W AMD […]

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Posted on by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 4 Comments on MINISFORUM EliteMini H31G Coffee Lake Mini PC Review with Windows & Linux

MINISFORUM EliteMini H31G Coffee Lake Mini PC Review with Windows & Linux

MINISFORUM have launched their EliteMini H31G which combines a desktop CPU with a discrete graphics card in a mini PC form factor. It supports various Intel 9th and 8th gen desktop processors combined with an NVIDIA Geforce GTX1050 Ti graphics card and targets both gamers and content creators. Available as a barebones device and in various configurations MINISFORUM sent a fully configured model for review. Hardware overview The MINISFORUM EliteMini H31G is a remarkably small mini PC for what it offers and physically consists of a 154 mm x 153 mm x 62 mm (6.06 x 6.02 x 2.44 inches) rectangular plastic case with a metal base. It is an actively cooled mini PC that uses Intel’s LGA 1151 socket and supports desktop processors up to a maximum TDP of 65W. The review model came with an Intel Core i5 9500F Coffee Lake processor pre-installed which is a six-core 6-thread 3.00 GHz processor boosting to 4.40 GHz. The included and […]

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on NXP IW620 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 & Bluetooth 5.1 Chip Targets Gaming, Audio, Industrial and IoT Markets

NXP IW620 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 & Bluetooth 5.1 Chip Targets Gaming, Audio, Industrial and IoT Markets

NXP has announced the IW62X WiFi 6 & Bluetooth 5.1 family of chips designed for high-end gaming, audio, industrial and IoT markets. The family currently consists of IW620 and IW620S parts with respectively PCIe and SDIO host interfaces. Both chips integrate dual-band Power Amplifiers (PAs), Low Noise Amplifiers (LNAs), and switches in order to reduce the board-level BOM (Bill of Materials). IW62X key features and specifications: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 DB (802.11ax) 1024 QAM, 80MHz Peak Throughput: 1.2 Gbps Improved wideband noise & MU-MIMO performance Advanced active channel scanning 802.11s, EasyMesh 802.11mc Bluetooth & Bluetooth Low Energy 5.1 BLE 2Mbps + Long Range BLE direction finding with Angle of Arrival (AoA) and Angle of Departure (AoD) BLE Mesh Antenna support 2×2 5G 1×1 2.4G + BT Multimode energy-efficient support (TWT, Micro AP, TX Power Control, Wi-Fi Direct, BT5.1) Host Interfaces IW620 – PCIe 1.0 IW620S – SDIO 3.0 UART for Bluetooth only I2S/PCM audio Power Supply Integrated PMIC […]

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Posted on by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 7 Comments on Intel NUC 9 Extreme “Ghost Canyon” Kit – NUC9i9QNX Review

Intel NUC 9 Extreme “Ghost Canyon” Kit – NUC9i9QNX Review

I’ve previously written about Intel’s (relatively) new NUC 9 range of mini PCs and now I am following up with my experiences of having bought one. Whilst I’ll cover some performance metrics from both Windows and Ubuntu I’ll also discuss the benefits and drawbacks of using either OS together with a comparison of gaming, thermals, and power usage as well as a brief look at overclocking potential and implications together with highlighting the issues encountered. NUC9i9QNX Hardware Overview The model I purchased and will be reviewing here is the NUC9i9QNX from Intel’s Ghost Canyon lineup and is formally known as the Intel NUC 9 Extreme Kit – NUC9i9QNX. It contains a “Compute Element” with an i9-9980HK which is an eight-core 16-thread 2.40 GHz processor boosting to 5.00 GHz with Intel’s UHD Graphics 630. The full specifications of the NUC9i9QNX include: The NUC9i9QNX is sold as a kit which essentially means barebones as it consists of a case containing a baseboard, […]

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on gKINO-V1000 and gKINO-R1000 Mini-ITX SBC’s Feature AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000/R1000 SoC

gKINO-V1000 and gKINO-R1000 Mini-ITX SBC’s Feature AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000/R1000 SoC

While we reported earlier AMD Ryzen Embedded V2000 is coming later this year, companies are still launching boards with the previous generation AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000 or R1000 processors. ICP Germany has just announced four AMD Ryzen Embedded Mini-ITX boards with gKINO-V1000 boards equipped with either Ryzen Embedded V1202B or V1605B and gKINO-R1000 SBC’s coming with either Ryzen Embedded R1505G or R1606G processors. gKINO-V1000/R1000 key features and specifications: SoC gKINO-V1605B-R10 SBC – AMD Ryzen Embedded V1605B quad-core processor @ 2.0 / 3.6 GHz with 2MB cache, Radeon Vega8 GPU; 12-25W TDP gKINO-V1202B-R10 SBC – AMD Ryzen Embedded V1202B dual-core processor @ 2.3 / 3.2 GHz with 1MB cache, Radeon Vega3 GPU; 12-25W TDP gKINO-R1606B-R10 SBC – AMD Ryzen Embedded R1606G dual-core processor @ 2.6 / 3.5 GHz with  1MB cache, Radeon Vega3 GPU; 12-25W TDP gKINO-R1605B-R10 SBC – AMD Ryzen Embedded R1505G dual-core processor @ 2.4 / 3.3 GHz with 1MB cache, Radeon Vega3 GPU; 12-25W TDP System Memory – […]

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on BCM MX4305UE Industrial Mini-ITX Motherboard Features Intel Celeron 4305UE Processor

BCM MX4305UE Industrial Mini-ITX Motherboard Features Intel Celeron 4305UE Processor

Yesterday, as I wrote about AAEON UP Xtreme SBC, I realized that while I had seen some other Intel Celeron 4305UE Whiskey Lake boards with 3.5-inch and Pico-ITX form factors, I’ve just found out an industrial mini-ITX motherboard from BCM Advanced Research equipped with the processor. Just like other similar industrial Whiskey Lake SBC’s, Intel Core i3/i5/i7 Whiskey Lake-U Embedded processors are offered as options/upgrades for BCM MX4305UE motherboard, and the company says the board is designed for power-sensitive IoT devices and embedded applications such as video wall control management system, point-of-sales systems (POS), kiosks, automated vending machines, panel PCs, digital signage, medical and gaming devices. BCM MX4305UE mini-ITX board specifications: SoC Default – Intel Celeron 4305UE dual-core Whiskey Lake processor @ 2.0 GHz (base, no turbo frequency)  with Intel UHD Graphics 610; 15W TDP Options Intel Core i7-8665UE quad-core processor up to 4.40 GHz max – TDP: 15W Intel Core i5-8365UE quad-core processor up to 4.10 GHz max – […]

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