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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on ZimaBoard 2 micro server review – Part 1: Unboxing, teardown, and ZimaOS interface

ZimaBoard 2 micro server review – Part 1: Unboxing, teardown, and ZimaOS interface

ZimaBoard 2 review

We’ve just received a review sample of the ZimaBoard 2 micro server and mini PC powered by an Intel Processor N150 “Twin Lake” CPU. The system features two 2.5 Gbps Ethernet ports, two SATA III ports, two USB 3.1 ports, and a miniDP video port supporting 4K resolution. IceWhale Technology provided us with the ZimaBoard 2 model 832 prototype with 8GB RAM and 32GB eMMC flash preloaded with the ZimaOS operating system for review. In this article, we will unbox the device and its accessories, perform a teardown, and boot the micro server with the pre-installed ZimaOS and check the web dashboard. In the second part of the review, we will test ZimaOS in more detail, run some benchmarks since it’s our first Twin Lake mini PC, install an Ubuntu virtual machine, test the SATA ports and PCIe 3.0 x4 slot, and more. ZimaBoard 2 unboxing We received a package […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Banana Pi BPI-CM6 is an octa-core RISC-V system-on-module compatible with Raspberry Pi CM5 carrier boards

Banana Pi BPI-CM6 is an octa-core RISC-V system-on-module compatible with Raspberry Pi CM5 carrier boards

Banana Pi BPI-CM6

Banana Pi BPI-CM6 is a SpacemIT K1 octa-core RISC-V system-on-module that follows the design of the Raspberry Pi CM5, and offers up to 16GB LPDDR4 RAM, up to 128GB eMMC flash, a gigabit Ethernet controller, and a WiFi 6 + Bluetooth 5.2 module. While it remains (mostly) compatible with the Raspberry Pi CM5, the BPI-CM6 exposes some additional I/Os from the K1 SoC through an additional 100-pin B2B connector. The company also offers a credit card-sized carrier board for the RISC-V SoM with HDMI, dual GbE, two M.2 PCIe x2 sockets, a few USB ports, and more. Banana Pi BPI-CM6 specifications: SoC – SpacemIT K1 CPU – 8-core X60 RISC-V processor @ 1.6 GHz GPU – Imagination IMG BXE-2-32 @ 819 MHz with support for OpenGL ES3.2, Vulkan 1.3, OpenCL 3.0; 20 GFLOPS VPU – H.265 and H.264 1080p60 decoding/encoding NPU – None, but the RISC-V cores can deliver up […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments on Muse Pi Pro is a feature-packed, credit card-sized SpacemIT M1 RISC-V SBC with HDMI, GbE, 4x USB, M.2 and mPCIe sockets

Muse Pi Pro is a feature-packed, credit card-sized SpacemIT M1 RISC-V SBC with HDMI, GbE, 4x USB, M.2 and mPCIe sockets

Muse Pi Pro

Muse Pi Pro is a feature-packed, credit card-sized SBC powered by the SpacemIT M1 octa-core 64-bit RISC-V AI SoC with a 2 TOPS NPU and equipped with up to 16GB LPDDR4x and 128GB eMMC flash. The single board computer features gigabit Ethernet and a WiFi 6 + Bluetooth 5.3 module for connectivity, HDMI and MIPI DSI display interfaces, two MIPI CSI interfaces, a 3.5mm audio jack,  four USB 3.0 ports, an M.2 socket for an NVMe SSD or wireless module, a mini PCIE socket for WiFi and 4G LTE/5G cellular connector, and a 40-pin GPIO header for expansion. That’s quite a lot of features for such a compact board. Muse Pi Pro specifications: SoC – SpacemiT M1 (similar to SpacemIT K1, but clocked at 1.8 GHz) CPU – 8-core X60 RISC-V processor @ 1.8 GHz GPU – Imagination IMG BXE-2-32 with support for OpenGL ES3.2, Vulkan 1.2, OpenCL 3.0; 20 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Pine64 StarPro64 is a RISC-V SBC with ESWin EIC7700X AI SoC, 32 GB LPDDR5

Pine64 StarPro64 is a RISC-V SBC with ESWin EIC7700X AI SoC, 32 GB LPDDR5

StarPro64 SBC

Pine64 StarPro64 is a single board computer (SBC) powered by an ESWin EIC7700X quad-core 64-bit RISC-V SoC with a 19.95 TOPS AI accelerator and equipped with up to 32GB LPDDR5 RAM. It has a similar design to the Star64 SBC powered by a StarFive JH7110 RISC-V SoC, and features HDMI video output, MIPI DSI and CSI display/camera interfaces, two gigabit Ethernet ports, four USB ports, a 40-pin GPIO header, and a PCIe Gen3 x4 slot. The OS can boot from a microSD card or an eMMC flash module. StarPro64 specifications: SoC – ESWIN EIC7700X CPU 4x SiFive Performance P550 RV64GC RISC-V cores @ up to 1.4GHz or 1.8GHz with Cortex-A75-class performance 32KB(I) + 32KB(D) L1 Cache 256KB L2 Cache 4MB shared L3 Cache Cache supports ECC (supports SECDED) NPU – Up to 19.95 TOPS in INT8, 9.975 TOPS in INT16, and 9.975 FTOPS in FP16 Vision Engine HAE (2D Blit, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Zimaboard 2 – An Intel N150 micro server and mini PC with dual SATA, dual 2.5GbE, PCIe slot, miniDP (Crowdfunding)

Zimaboard 2 – An Intel N150 micro server and mini PC with dual SATA, dual 2.5GbE, PCIe slot, miniDP (Crowdfunding)

ZImaboard 2

ZimaBoard 2 is a compact Intel Processor N150 “Twin Lake” mini PC and micro server with two 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports, two SATA ports, two USB 3.1 ports, and a 4K-capable miniDP video output. It built upon the company’s ZimaBoard introduced in 2021 with an Apollo Lake processor, but offers a much faster Intel N150 CPU, LPDDR5x memory, 2.5GbE networking instead of gigabit Ethernet, and a PCIe Gen 3.0 x4 slot as opposed to a PCIe Gen 2.0 x4 slot. Two variants are offered: one with 8GB RAM and 32GB eMMC flash and the other in a 16GB/64GB configuration. Zimaboard 2 specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N150 quad-core “Twin Lake” processor  @ up to 3.6 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD graphics @ 1000 MHz; PBP: 6W (but set to 10W here) System Memory and Storage ZimaBoard 2 832 – 8GB LPDDR5X 4800MHz; 32GB eMMC flash ZimaBoard 2 1664 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Allwinner T536 quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 & RISC-V industrial SoC supports ECC RAM, up to 3 TOP AI accelerator

Allwinner T536 quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 & RISC-V industrial SoC supports ECC RAM, up to 3 TOP AI accelerator

Forlinx OK536-C Allwinner T536 development board

Allwinner T536 SoC features four Cortex-A55 cores, a 600 MHz RISC-V core, and a low-power RISC-V for power management, as well as support for ECC memory and an optional NPU with up to 3 TOPS of AI performance. The processor is designed to work in the industrial temperature range (-40 to +85°C) and offers plenty of I/Os, including two Gigabit Ethernet, a USB 3.1 DRD and PCIe Gen2 conbo, MIPI DSI, RGB, and LVDS display interfaces, paralle CSI and MIPI CSI camera interfaces, CAN FD, SPI, I2C, UART, several ADC, and more. The SoC is designed for interactive terminals, smart manufacturing, and other Edge AI industrial equipment. Allwinner T536 specifications: CPU cores Quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 @ up to 1.6GHz Single-core E907 RISC-V core @ up to 600 MHz Single-core E902 RISC-V MCU for low-power management GPU – G2D hardware accelerator with rotate, mixer, and scaler functions ISP Max resolution – […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on TinyBeast FPGA – A Microchip PolarFire MPF300T/MPF100T FPGA PCIe reference design (Crowdfunding)

TinyBeast FPGA – A Microchip PolarFire MPF300T/MPF100T FPGA PCIe reference design (Crowdfunding)

TineBeast FPGA

TinyBeast FPGA is a compact module based on Microchip PolarFire MPF100T or MPF300T FPGA with up to 300K logic elements and a hard PCIe interface that is suitable for automation, measurement, and robotics applications. Two versions of the module are available: the TinyBeast FPGA P mini PCIe module designed for integration with embedded systems, and the TinyBeast FPGA S with B2B connectors designed to be connected to a carrier board. TinyBeast FPGA P TinyBeast FPGA P specifications: FPGA – Microchip PolarFire FPGA TinyBest FPGA P-300 –  MPF300T-1FCVG484E FPGA with 300K LE, 10.6 Mbit embedded RAM, 924 DSP blocks TinyBest FPGA P-100 – 100K LE, 5.2 Mbit embedded RAM, 288 DSP blocks System Memory – 4 GB DDR4 memory Storage – SPI flash Host interface – PCIe x1 Gen2 as EP via mini PCIe edge connector Expansion – Samtec SS4-30-3.00-L-D-K I/O connector for GPIOs and up to 12.7 Gbps transceivers Debugging […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments on Radxa Orion O6 Preview – Part 2: Debian 12 – What works, what doesn’t

Radxa Orion O6 Preview – Part 2: Debian 12 – What works, what doesn’t

Orion O6 Review Debian 12

I went through an unboxing and Debian 12 installation on the Radxa Orion O6 at the end of January, but decided to work on other reviews since software support still needed to be worked on. Since then, there’s been some work done, but no new image released. After waiting for almost two months, I’ve decided to carry on with the review by testing the Debian 12 image in a way similar to the Rock 5B SBC preview I did with Debian 11 in 2022 to check what works and what doesn’t on the Orion O6 at the time of the review. That will involve testing all ports, including 5GbE networking and the PCIe slot with an (old) NVIDIA graphics card, running some benchmarks, and also trying the Debian 12 image with a self-built Linux 6.13 kernel using ACPI instead of UEFI for the default image. Orion O6 SBC benchmarks on […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC