hardkernel News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

February 15, 2025February 15, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

ODROID-H3 and H4 SBCs get NetCard 3 card with four 5Gbps Ethernet ports

Hardkernl NetCard 3 is an expansion card with four 5Gbps Ethernet ports designed for the ODROID-H3 and ODROID-H4 SBCs and adding to the two 2.5GbE ports on the Intel Jasper Lake and Alder Lake-N single board computers. It follows the H2 Net Card with four 2.5GbE ports introduced in 2021 for the ODROID-H2, and tested by Ian with the ODROID-H3+ SBC in 2023. Hardkernel ended up selling more than expected, so they designed the Netcard 3 with 5GbE ports as an upgrade. It remains to be seen whether 5Gbps networking will be as popular as 2.5GbE or users will prefer moving to 10GbE hardware instead… NetCard 3 specifications: 4x 5Gbps Ethernet ports via RealTek RTL8126 5GbE controllers. M.2 edge connector with PCIe Gen3 x4 signaling Cooling with a long heatsink on RTL8126 controllers Compatible with ODROID-H3/H3+ and ODROID-H4/H4+ only, and not earlier ODROID-H2/H2+ boards You may need to flash a […]

September 2, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

DietPi 9.7 and Armbian 24.8 released with improved support for Rockchip, Amlogic, and Allwinner SBCs

Armbian and DietPi are two separate projects that provide Linux-based OS images optimized for Arm-based single board computers. The last time we had a look at both projects was in June with the release of Armbian 24.5.1 and DietPi 9.4, but there have been several updates since then including the releases of the latest DietPi 9.7 and Armbian 24.8 Yelt just a few days ago. So let’s check out the latest changes. DietPi 9.7 DietPi is a lightweight Debian-based Linux distribution for SBCs and server systems that ships as a minimal image but users can install any packages they want, including the ones required for desktop environment, to match the requirements of the applications. It’s notably used by the Linamp project – a Raspberry Pi 4-based project that brings WinAMP to real life – that we covered a few weeks ago. DietPi 9.7 was released on August 25, 2024 with […]

August 22, 2024August 23, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 22 Comments

ODROID-M2 low-profile SBC features Rockchip RK3588S2 SoC, up to 16GB LPDDR5, 128GB eMMC flash

Hardkernel has just launched the ODROID-M2 low-profile SBC based on a Rockchip RK3588S2 octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 AI SoC with up to 16GB LPDDR5, 64GB eMMC flash, an M.2 PCIe socket, support for three displays through HDMI, USB-C, and MIPI DSI interfaces, gigabit Ethernet, and more. The ODROID-M2 follows the ODROID-M1 and ODROID-M1S single board computers based on respectively Rockchip RK3568 and RK3566 quad-core Cortex-A55 processors, but a significantly more powerful Rockchip RK3588S2 processor, and a larger 90x90mm form factor to accomodate for extra features and interfaces. ODROID-M2 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588S2 CPU – Octa-core processor with 4x Cortex-A76 cores @ up to 2.3 GHz (+/- 0.1Ghz), 4x Cortex-A55 cores @ up to 1.8 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G610 MP4 GPU @ 1 GHz compatible with OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 2.2, and Vulkan 1.2 APIs VPU – 8Kp60 video decoder for H.265/AVS2/VP9/H.264/AV1 codecs, 8Kp30 H.265/H.264 video encoder AI accelerator – 6 […]

July 14, 2024July 14, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

ODROID-H3/H4 x86 SBCs get M.2 PCIe Gen 3 x4 expansion cards with two or four M.2 sockets

ODROID-H3 and ODROID-H4 x86 single board computers have gotten two affordable M.2 expansion cards with the M.2 2×2 card adding two PCIe Gen 3 x2 slots and the M.2 4×1 adding four PCIe Gen 3 x1 slots (ODROID-H4 only) to the Intel SBCs. We’ve seen plenty of PCIe HAT+ boards for the Raspberry Pi 5 since the launch of the Arm SBC last year, but it’s limited by its PCIe Gen2/Gen3 x1 interfaces, and Hardkernel now provides two new M.2 cards leveraging the M.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 socket of the ODROID-H3/H4 family allowing users to add up to four M.2 PCIe modules for storage, wired or wireless connectivity, and/or AI acceleration. M.2 2×2 card for ODROID-H3 and H4 series The M.2 2×2 card also named “M.2 – NVME” adds two M.2 Key-M PCIe sockets for 2280 size modules with each having a PCIe 3.0 x2 interface supporting up to 16GT/s. […]

June 4, 2024June 3, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

SBC software news – Armbian 24.5.1, DietPi 9.4, and Otii server for the Raspberry Pi 4/5

There’s been some notable software news for single board computers (SBCs) in the last few weeks with the release of Armbian 24.5.1 Havier with a focus on stability and UX improvement, the release of DietPi 9.4 lightweight Debian distritions for SBCs, and Otii server, the software for Qoitech Arc power supply, meter, and DAQ, has been finally released for the Raspberry Pi 4/5. Armbian 24.5.1 Havier Armbian announced 24.5.1 Havier on May 25 with bug fixes and improvements as a point release, but also some new boards. Here are some of the highlights. New boards Orange Pi 5 Pro FriendlyElec CM3588 NAS board Radxa ROCK 5 ITX Radxa Zero 3E/3W Avaota A1 SBC SK-AM68 board tqma8mpxl board CSC Hinlink H6xk boards RK3588-based Cool Pi CM5 EVB Improve Khadas support Resolve Rockchip patch maintenance nightmare Add functionality to freeze git resources Improve support for Radxa Rock S 0 and test USB […]

May 26, 2024May 26, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

ODROID-H4 Plus review – Part 2: Intel N97 NAS Kit and fanless SBC tested in Ubuntu 24.04

In the first part of the ODROID-H4+ kit review, I checked out the hardware and showed how to install the Intel N97 SBC into the H4 Type 3 case taking up to four 2.5-inch SATA drives. I’ve now had time to test the ODROID-H4 Plus with Ubuntu 24.04 both as an actively cooled NAS kit and a fanless SBC and will report benchmark results, 2.5GbE and storage test results, 4K and 8K YouTube video playback capability, check IBECC memory support, measure power consumption, and more in the second part of the review. Ubuntu 24.04 installation on ODROID-H4 Plus The ODROID-H4 Plus SBC does not come with any preinstalled OS since there’s no storage by default, so I installed Ubuntu 24.04 on the 128GB M.2 NVMe SSD I inserted into the board. The installation went relatively smoothly, but in hindsight, I would have probably installed the OS before installing the SBC […]

May 11, 2024May 26, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

ODROID-H4+ kit review – Part 1: Unboxing, H4 Type 3 case assembly, and first boot

I’ve just received a kit comprised of an ODROID-H4+ SBC along with a Type 3 enclosure taking up to four 2.5-inch SATA drives and related accessories for review. I’ll start with an unboxing, followed by an assembly guide, and a quick first boot in the first part of the review, before testing performance, features such as IBECC memory, power consumption, and more in the second part of the review. ODROID-H4+ kit unboxing The package I received included small packages for the “H4 Type 3” enclosure and the ODROID-H4 PLUS SBC, a 15V/4A (60W) power supply with US plug adapter, a large fan with screws, as well as four sets of SATA data and power cables. We’ve already provided the ODROID-H4, H4+, and H4 Ultra specifications in the announcement post, but let’s have another quick look at the Intel Processor N97 fanless SBC. The rear panel comes with a DC jack, […]

May 5, 2024May 6, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

LibreELEC 12 released with Kodi 21, 64-bit Arm support for Raspberry Pi 4/5, and platforms

As one should have expected after the Kodi 21 “Omega” release last month, the LibreELEC 12 lightweight Linux media center distribution is now out with many devices updated to 64-bit, including the Rasberry Pi 4 and 5 SBCs. LibreELEC 11 was released last year based on Kodi 20 “Nexus” and bringing back support for Amlogic devices. LibreELEC 12 builds on that and benefits from the new features added to Kodi 21 such as FFmpeg 6 and works on Arm platforms based on Allwinner, Amlogic, Broadcom (Raspberry Pi), and Rockchip processors, as well as generic x86 computers. It’s an easy option to create a dedicated HTPC based on a range of hardware with all the features brought by Kodi 21 media center. Since so many platforms are supported there are always some limitations for each and known problems: Raspberry Pi – 50/60fps H.264 HW decoding may need force_turbo=1 or core_freq_min=500 in […]