Intel Issues Product Discontinuance Schedule for Gemini Lake Processors

Gemini Lake Product Discontinuance

Intel Gemini Lake low power processors based on Goldmont Plus architecture were announced in 2017 as successors of Apollo Lake family with the official launch in 2018 fairly quickly followed by a supply shortage… But the processors have still been used in plenty of sub-$250 mini PCs, and some SBCs like ODROID-H2 or ODYSSEY-X86J4105, as well as a few laptops. More recently, the company announced Gemini Lake Refresh family, but to my surprise, Intel has already issued several product discontinuance notices for the several Gemini Lake (Refresh) processors. Affected Gemini Lake processors include: PCN117653-00 Intel Celeron J4005, J4105, J4115 Intel Celeron N4000, N4100 PCN117657-00 Intel Celeron Processor N4000C Intel Pentium Silver J5005, Intel Pentium Silver N5000 Intel has two end-of-life notifications because the schedule is slightly different: PCN117653-00 Product Discontinuance Program Support Begins: July 6, 2020 Product Discontinuance Demand To Local Intel Representative: October 9, 2020 Last Corporate Assurance Product […]

ODYSSEY-X86J4105 SBC Unboxing and Re_Computer Case Review

ODYSSEY-X86J4105 Re_Computer Case Review

Seeed Studio ODYSSEY-X86J4105 is an Intel Celeron J4105 Gemini Lake SBC that also happens to integrate an Arduino compatible Microchip SAMD21 Arm Cortex M0+ microcontroller that makes it suitable as an all-in-one Arduino platform. But it can do much more with 8GB RAM, an optional 64GB eMMC flash, HDMI & USB-C DisplayPort 4K video outputs, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and support for both SATA and NVMe storage. The board runs Windows 10 Enterprise by default (if you purchase the board with an eMMC flash), and supports Linux distributions as well. Seeed Studio sent me a review sample, so I’ll start by checking out the hardware first. ODYSSEY-X86J4105 Unboxing I received ODYSSEY-X86J4105864 with a built-in 64GB eMMC flash pre-loaded with Windows 10 Enterprise. Let’s have a quick look at the board with USB, Ethernet and video output ports previously described, as well as built-in dual-band Wi-Fi 5 & Bluetooth 5.0 module, and […]

CHUWI LarkBox, the World’s Smallest 4K Mini PC, Launched on Indiegogo for $149 and Up

CHUWI LarkBox

CHUWI LarkBox would just be like many other Intel Gemini Lake mini PCs with an Intel Celeron J4115 Gemini Lake Refresh processor, 6GB RAM, 128GB Storage, as well as the usual HDMI 2.0 ports and USB ports if it were not for its size: 61 x 61 x 43 mm, making it the world’s smallest 4K mini PC. The company sent drips of news to the press in the last couple of months, but it’s getting real as the tiny mini PC has now launched on Indiegogo with rewards starting at $155. CHUWI LarkBox (preliminary) specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J4115 quad-core Gemini Lake Refresh processor @ 1.8 / 2.5 GHz (Turbo) with Intel UHD Graphics 600; 10W TDP System Memory – 6GB LPDDR4 Storage – 128GB eMMC 5.1 flash, M.2 2244 socket for SATA SSD, MicroSD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60 Hz […]

ODROID-H2+ SBC Gets Celeron J4115 Processor, Offers 2.5GbE Networking

ODROID H2+

Harkernel ODROID-H2 is an Intel Celeron J4105 Gemini Lake powered SBC that offers great value and performs reasonably well as we’ve seen in our ODROID-H2 Ubuntu review. But there’s an upgraded model coming soon with ODROID-H2+ getting a slightly faster Intel Celeron J4115 processor, 2.5 GbE networking, a couple of extra I/O on the header for USB 2.0 and HDMI CEC, and a change to the 12V SATA power circuit to improve the suspend-resume power control sequence of 3.5″ HDDs. ODROID-H2+ specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J4115 Gemini Lake Refresh quad-core processor @ 1.8 GHz / 2.5 GHz (turbo single thread) / 2.3Ghz (turbo multi-thread) with 12EU Intel UHD Graphics 600 up to 700 MHz; Noted listed on Ark Intel just yet, but it’s real. System Memory – Dual-channel Memory DDR4-PC19200 (2400MT/s) supporting up to 32GB RAM in total Storage – M.2 PCIe 2.0 x4 slot for one NVMe storage, […]

MINISFORUM S40 Celeron N4000 PC Stick with HDMI & miniDP Goes for $190

MINISFORUM S40 Gemini Lake PC Stick HDMI miniDP

MINISFORUM S40 is yet another Gemini Lake mini PC, but it comes in a super-compact PC Stick form factor and combines an Intel Celeron N4000 dual-core processor with 4GB DDR4 RAM and 64G eMMC flash storage. All that for just $189.99 on Banggood. MINISFORUM S40 specification: SoC – Intel Celeron N4000 dual-core Gemini Lake processor @ 1.1GHz / 2.6GHz (Turbo) with  Intel UHD Graphic 600; 6W TDP System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – 64GB eMMC flash and microSD card slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60 Hz, mini DisplayPort port up to 4K @ 60 Hz Connectivity – Dual-band 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 USB – 1x USB 3.0 port, 1x USB 2.0 port Misc – Power button, reset pinhole, Kensington lock support, cooling fan, ventilation hole with dustproof net Power Supply – 12V? via USB-C port Dimensions – 133 x 46 […]

Palm-Sized Chuwi LarkBox Mini PC Packs a Celeron N4100 Processor, 6GB RAM, and 128GB Storage

CHUWI LarkBox

One of the smallest Intel mini PC we’ve seen so far was ECS LIVA Q2 Micro PC which Ian reviewed last year with an Intel Celeron N4000 Gemini Lake processor, 4GB RAM, and 32GB eMMC flash housed into a 70 x 70 x 33.4 mm (163.66 cm3) enclosure. CHUWI LarkBox is a similar mini PC with an Intel Celeron N4100 SoC, 6GB RAM, 128GB, and various ports into a 61 x 61 x 43 mm enclosure, that’s a bit taller but marginally smaller with a volume of 160 cm3. CHUWI LarkBox (preliminary) specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N4100 quad-core Gemini Lake processor @ 1.1 / 2.4 GHz with Intel UHD Graphics 600; 6W TDP System Memory – 6GB LPDDR4 Storage – 128GB eMMC storage, MicroSD card slot Video Output – HDMI up to 4K resolutions Audio – 3.5mm audio jack, digital audio via HDMI Connectivity – Bluetooth 5.0, and I […]

ODYSSEY-X86J4105800 SBC Combines Intel Gemini Lake SoC and Arduino Compatible MCU

ODYSSEY-X86J4105864

Would it be good to have an all-in-one Windows platform used to both develop Arduino code and run that code to control I/O of your project? Or alternatively, have a single board computer capable of video processing and real-time I/Os? That platform already exists. UDOO X86 II SBC features an Intel Braswell processor combined with an Arduino Leonardo compatible Microchip ATmega32U4 MCU. But there’s now another, more powerful option courtesy of Seeed Studio with the oddly named ODYSSEY-X86J4105800 SBC equipped with an Intel Celeron J4105 quad-core Gemini Lake processor to run Windows 10 or Linux distributions, and a Microchip SAMD21 ARM Cortex-M0+ microcontroller compatible with Arduino Zero. ODYSSEY-X86J4105800 SBC specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J4105 quad-core processor @ 1.5/2.5 GHz (Turbo) with 12EU Intel UHD Graphics 600 @ 250-750 MHz; 10W TDP System Memory – 8GB LPDDR4 RAM Storage Optional 64GB eMMC flash (fitted to ODYSSEY-X86J4105864 model), 1x SATA III data […]

Beelink Gemini T45 Pentium N4200 Mini PC Review

Beelink T45-Pentium N4200 Mini PC Review

No sooner had I written ‘Beelink T45 Review with Windows and Linux, and Tweaking BIOS Power Limits’ than Beelink announce they wouldn’t in fact sell that configuration but an ‘updated’ version. And it is significantly different because this new version is now actively cooled and uses an Apollo Lake N4200 processor. It also still has the same name: the Beelink Gemini T45. I’ve now reviewed this new version and you may experience déjà vu on reading the following as in keeping with Beelink’s philosophy I’ve basically reused the same text as before and just updated where appropriate. Beelink have further extended their ‘Gemini’ range of mini PCs by adding the T45. This is an actively cooled mini PC that uses the slightly older Apollo Lake Intel Pentium N4200 CPU which is a quad-core 4-thread 1.10 GHz processor boosting to 2.50 GHz with Intel’s HD Graphics 505. The T45 is a […]