There are many M.2 USB4 or Thunderbolt enclosures on the market, but the MAIWO K2024 USB4 enclosure is a little different as it takes up to four M.2 NVMe 2230 to 2280 SSDs and features a button to use the device as 1-to-3 SSD duplicator. Based on the ASMedia ASM2464PDX USB4 controller, the MAIWO K2024 is suitable for people needing lots of NVMe SSD storage with high-performance random I/Os, for instance for video editing, and users needing to duplicate SSDs quickly and easily, e.g. to duplicate a Raspberry Pi OS installation on several SSDs. MAIWO K2024 key features: Chipset – ASMedia ASM2464PDX USB4/Thunderbolt 3 to PCIe/NVMe controller with USB 3.2 and USB 2.0 backward compatibility Storage Up to 4x M.2 NVMe M-Key SSDs 2230/2242/2260/2280 sizes supported Up to 32TB storage when using 4x 8TB SSDs Transfer rate of 16 Gbps with one SSD (PCIe Gen4 x1), 10 Gbps each with […]
PCIe3.0 to Dual M.2 HAT+ for Raspberry Pi 5 features ASMedia ASM2806 PCIe 3.0 switch
We’ve already covered Raspberry Pi HAT+ boards with multiple M.2 sockets with various keyings including the Geekworm X1004 HAT+, Pineboards HatDrive! AI, and HatDrive! Dual with two sockets, and the Geekworm X1011 with four M.2 Key-M sockets. So when I saw Seeed Studio introduced a dual M.2 HAT+ board I initially thought it was uninteresting being a very similar board. However, all aforementioned PCIe to M.2 HAT+ boards are based on either the ASMedia ASM1182e or ASM1184e PCIe Gen2 x1 packet switches with 5GT/s shared bandwidth, and Seeed Studio’s PCIe3.0 to Dual M.2 HAT+ for Raspberry Pi 5 features instead an ASMedia ASM2806 PCIe 3.0 switch supporting up to 8GT/s shared bandwidth through the Raspberry Pi 5’s PCIe Gen3 x1 interface. Seeed Studio PCIe 3.0 to Dual M.2 HAT+ key features and specifications: Supported SBC – Raspberry Pi 5 and potentially other SBCs with a PCIe FFC connector like the […]
iBASE IB996 full-size PICMG 1.3 CPU card features Intel Q670E chipset, supports 12th to 14th Gen Intel Core desktop processors
The iBASE IB996 full-size PICMG 1.3 CPU card, built on the Intel Q670E chipset, supports 12th to 14th Gen Intel Core desktop processors. It is designed for industrial and embedded applications with dual 2.5GbE LAN, DDR5 support, and extensive I/O options including PCI and PCIe x16 interfaces. We haven’t covered this type of card on CNX Software before, so some basic explanations are needed. PICMG 1.3, or SHB Express, is an industrial standard for System Host Boards (SHBs) supporting PCIe, PCI, and PCI-X interfaces first ratified in 2005 (PCIMG 1.0). It uses a backplane to separate the processing unit from I/O, enabling modular design and easy integration. Commonly used in industrial automation, medical systems, and embedded computing, it ensures compatibility and scalability for high-performance applications. iBASE IB996 CPU card specifications: Supported SoC – 14th, 13th, and 12th Gen Intel Core i9/i7/i5/i3 desktop processors (LGA1700 socket) based on the Raptor Lake-S […]
Raspberry Pi CM5 gets carrier boards with built-in PoE/PoE+
Waveshare has recently launched CM5-PoE-BASE-A, a compact development and evaluation board that supports all variants of the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 (CM5). While searching for more information about this product I came across Modulo5 IO PoE+, another development board from Pineboards also designed for the RPi CM5 module. Pineboards’ Modulo5 IO PoE+ offers a premium UK-manufactured PoE+ module capable of delivering 25W continuous power, with support for NVMe storage and compatibility with the Raspberry Pi 5 Active Cooler. On the other hand, Waveshare’s CM5 PoE Base Board features a Gigabit Ethernet port featuring 802.3af/at PoE compliance, peripheral options include dual HDMI, USB 3.2 ports, and NVMe support. Both boards feature specifications similar to the official Raspberry Pi CM5 IO board with the main difference being built-in PoE/PoE+ support, along with some cosmetic changes. While the Raspberry Pi CM5 IO board does come with a 4-pin PoE connector, it requires […]
ORICO COM2-T3 review – A 40Gbps SSD enclosure tested with a 7000MB/s M.2 NVMe SSD
ORICO sent me a COM2-T3 SSD enclosure capable of 40 Gbps speeds for review along with the company’s 1TB O7000 NVMe SSD rated at up to 7000MB/s read speed which converts to about 56 Gbps and should be plenty enough to test 40 Gbps SSD enclosure. Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 are not always equivalent But before going into the review itself, here’s some background information. When I test the USB-A and USB-C ports in mini PC reviews, I rely on an ORICO M234C3-U4 NVMe SSD enclosure with an Apacer SSD. That enclosure was falsely advertised as a “USB4″ enclosure but still works at 40Gbps with an Intel JH7440 Thunderbolt 3 chip that works with 40 Gbps USB Type-C ports and a JMS583 “USB 3.1 Gen 2 to PCIe NVMe Gen3” bridge for USB 3.0 ports up to 10 Gbps. I always assumed a 40Gbps USB-C peripheral would always work with […]
Beelink EQ14 mini PC features Intel N150 quad-core “Twin Lake” processor, built-in power supply
Last month we noted the Intel Processor N150, Processor N250, and Core i3-N355 Alder Lake-N Refresh CPUs were found in the upcoming ASUS NUC 14 Essential mini PC family, but availability was unclear. The Beelink EQ14 is the first Intel N150 mini PC which can be purchased today on either AliExpress (with EU plug) or Amazon for $182 and up for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024. Beelink calls the CPU family “Twin Lake” instead of “Alder Lake-N Refresh”, but we can’t confirm that since the N150 has not been officially launched yet and it’s not listed on Intel Ark. The computer is equipped with 16GB DDR4 memory, a 512GB NVMe SSD, two HDMI ports, two gigabit Ethernet ports, WiFi 6, etc… It also comes with a more unusual feature: a built-in AC power supply, something we previously saw in the Beelink EQ13 with an Intel N200/N100 CPU. Beelink EQ14 […]
ASUSTOR Flashstor Gen2 NAS features AMD Ryzen Embedded V3C14, 10GbE networking, up to 12x NVMe SSD sockets
ASUSTOR Flashstor 6 Gen2 and Flashtor 6 Pro Gen2 are NAS systems based on AMD Ryzen Embedded V3C14 quad-core processor with up to two 10GbE RJ45 ports and taking up to 6 or 12 M.2 NVMe SSDs respectively. The Flashstor Gen2 models are updated to the ASUSTOR Flashtor NAS launched last year with similar specifications including 10GbE and up to 12 M.2 SSDs, but based on a relatively low-end Intel Celeron N5105 quad-core Jasper Lake processor. The new Gen2 NAS family features a more powerful AMD Ryzen Embedded V3C14 SoC, support for up to 64GB RAM with ECC, and USB4 ports. The downside is that it lacks video output, so it can’t be used for 4K/8K video consumption like its predecessor. Flashstor Gen2 NAS specifications: SoC – AMD Ryzen Embedded V3C14 quad-core/8-thread processor @ 2.3/3.8GHz; TDP: 15W System Memory Flashstor 6 Gen2 (FS6806X) – 8 GB DDR5-4800 Flashstor 12 Pro […]
Raspberry Pi SSD Kit and Class A2 microSD cards review with Raspberry Pi 5
Selecting a microSD card, and to a lesser extent an SSD, for your Raspberry Pi may feel like walking through a landmine field with fake microSD cards that may perform poorly and severely impact the performance and/or reliability of your Raspberry Pi, and you’ll find plenty of articles helping you select a good microSD card for your Raspberry Pi. That’s probably why Raspberry Pi Holdings decided to launch its own Raspberry Pi-branded class A2 microSD cards and NVMe SSDs, so users can be sure they got a certified storage device that should perform as advertised as long as they purchase those from some authorized resellers. The company sent me 32GB and 64GB Raspberry Pi microSD cards and a 256GB Raspberry Pi SSD kit for testing, so I’ll test those in this review and compare them against other SSDs and microSD cards I’m currently using. Since we’ve not covered the new […]