Reviews - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

July 25, 2024July 24, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 30 Comments

Building a workstation with Radxa ROCK 5 ITX (Arm) or Milk-V Jupiter (RISC-V) mini-ITX motherboard – Part 1: The hardware

Milk-V Jupiter ROCK 5 ITX mini ITX NAS enclosure

Radxa ROCK 5 ITX is a mini-ITX motherboard powered by a Rockchip RK3588 octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 processor, and the Shenzhen Milk-V Jupiter is another mini-ITX motherboard, but based on SpacemIT K1 octa-core 64-bit RISC-V processor instead. When Radxa contacted me about reviewing those, I thought it would be interesting to review a complete kit with a mini-ITX case since I had never built this type of system myself. Yesterday, I was surprised to receive two large packages and thought maybe a company sent me a 3D printer or laser engraver kit, but instead, I got one package with the two Arm and RISC-V mini-ITX motherboards and another with a mini-ITX NAS enclosure with 6x SATA bays. Radxa ROCK 5 ITX unboxing Let’s look at the ROCK 5 ITX motherboard and accessories first. The motherboard ships with a rear panel and two screws for the M.2 module. The motherboard features the Rorkchip […]

July 22, 2024July 21, 2024 by Kumpee Teeravech - No Comments

Review of AgroSense LoRaWAN Smart Agriculture sensors with the SenseCAP M2 LoRaWAN gateway

Today, I will be reviewing the AgroSense LoRaWAN sensors from Makerfabs designed for high-precision agriculture. This time, I received four sets of sensors designed for measuring environmental data and a Seeed Studio SenseCAP M2 LoRaWAN gateway. Below is the list of items I received. AgroSense LoRaWAN Barometric Pressure Sensor – Measures the barometric pressure in a 300 to 1100 hPa range with ±0.12 hPa accuracy and 0.01 hPa resolution. AgroSense LoRaWAN Light Intensity Sensor – Measures the light intensity in a 1 to 65535 lx range with ±1 lx accuracy and ±20% resolution. AgroSense LoRaWAN Temperature & Humidity Sensor – Measures temperature and humidity in the atmosphere in the ranges of -40°C to 85°C and 0 to 100 %RH with accuracy of ±0.2°C and ±0.2% RH respectively. AgroSense LoRaWAN Industrial Temperature Sensor – Measures temperature in the industrial high-temperature environments in the -60°C to 200°C range with ±0.1°C accuracy and […]

July 17, 2024July 16, 2024 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 4 Comments

SONOFF SWV Review – A Zigbee Smart Water Valve tested with eWelink and Home Assistant

Today, we are going to test and review another new Zigbee product from SONOFF, the SONOFF Zigbee Smart Water Valve (SWV). This is the first water valve built by SONOFF. When it comes to devices related to water control, whether watering plants or opening and closing valves in tanks or pools, many people might be familiar with the SONOFF 4CHPro model, which is a WiFi smart switch that controls solenoid valves with DC or AC power (valve sold separately). The SONOFF SWV is an all-in-one device that integrates both valve control and IoT functionality in one. It is ideal for plant watering around the house or controlling water filling into pools or tanks. Besides being able to set schedules for opening and closing valves, it also has other interesting features. Let’s look at the details. Unboxing the SONOFF Zigbee Smart Water Valve Inside the box, you will find the valve […]

July 13, 2024July 19, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

GEEKOM AE7 Review – An AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS mini PC tested with Windows 11 and Ubuntu 24.04

Today we’ll review the GEEKOM AE7 mini PC powered by an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS octa-core processor with up to 32GB DDR5, a 1TB NVMe SSD, four 4K capable video outputs through HDMI and USB-C ports, 2.5GbE and WiFi 6E connectivity, and six USB ports for expansion. As its name implies the GEEKOM AE7 is an evolution of the earlier GEEKOM A7 with almost identical specifications that we reviewed with Windows 11 Pro and Ubuntu 22.04 earlier this year. So we won’t do our usual three-part review and instead focus on differences between the two Ryzen 9 7840HS mini PCs in terms of features, performance, and cooling ability in a shorter review that covers hardware, Windows 11 Pro, and Ubuntu 24.04 testing. GEEKOM AE7 specifications SoC – AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS 8-core/16-thread processor up to 4.0GHz with 16MB cache, AMD Radeon 780M Graphics; TDP: 35 to 54W System Memory – […]

July 8, 2024July 7, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Cincoze DS-1402 review: Part 3: Ubuntu 24.04 tested on an Intel Core i9-12900E embedded system

In part one of the Cincoze DS-1402 review, I checked out the hardware of the modular rugged computer before testing the Intel Core i9-12900E embedded computer with Windows 11 Pro in the second part, and I’ve now had time to test the Cincoze DS-1402 embedded system with Ubuntu 24.04. I’ve tested most features in Linux, ran some benchmarks, evaluated the gigabit Ethernet performance of some of the ten Ethernet ports, checked CPU temperature under a stress test with and without the fan, measured power consumption, and more. Ubuntu 24.04 system information I installed Ubuntu 24.04 with the official x86_64 ISO in dual boot configuration with Windows 11 Pro. The installation process was smooth, and I have nothing specific to report here. Going to the Settings->About window confirms we have a CINCOZE-DS-1400 system (DS-1402 is part of the DS-1400 family) with a 24-thread 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900E processor and 64GB […]

July 6, 2024July 6, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

GEEKOM GT13 Pro Core i9-13900H mini PC review with Windows 11 and Ubuntu 24.04

GEEKOM GT13 Pro mini PC review Windows 11 Pro

GEEKOM GT13 Pro is a Windows 11 mini PC powered by a 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900H or Core i7-13620H processor with Intel Xe Iris graphics, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 2.5GbE port, WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity. GEEKOM sent us a review sample of the GEEKOM GT13 Pro mini PC with a Core i9-13900H 14-core/20-thread processor, 32GB RAM, and a 2TB NVMe SSD. We would usually do a three-part review, but the GEEKOM GT13 Pro uses the same motherboard as the GEEKOM Mini IT13 reviewed at the end of last year. So we’ll do a more condensed one-part review focusing on the differences between the two models in terms of features and performance in both Windows 11 Pro and Ubuntu 24.04. GEEKOM GT13 Pro specifications SoC – Intel Core i9-13900H 13th Gen Raptor Lake processor with 14 cores, 20 threads up to 5.40 GHz, 24MB Cache, Iris Xe […]

July 2, 2024July 9, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Cincoze DS-1402 review – Part 2: An Intel Core i9-12900E embedded computer tested with Windows 11 Pro

Cincoze DS-1402 Embedded Computer Review Windows 11

I’ve already checked out the hardware of the Cincoze DS-1402 modular embedded computer in the first part of the review with an unboxing and teardown of the Intel Core i9-12900E computer that ships with expansions such as an NVIDIA GTX 1630 graphics card held in place with a patented solution and two CMI expansion modules with four gigabit Ethernet ports each. I’ve now had more time to test the Cincoze DS-1402 with Windows 11 Pro, so I’ll report my experience with the system in the second part of the review checking out system information, testing features, running benchmarks, evaluating networking and storage performance, testing the thermal design, and taking measurements for fan noise and power consumption. I’ll also compare some of the second to the GEEKOM XT12 Pro mini PC powered by an Intel Core i9-12900H SoC since embedded SKUs – like the Core i9-12900E – are usually slightly slower […]

June 30, 2024June 29, 2024 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - No Comments

SONOFF SNZB-05P review – A Zigbee water leak sensor tested with eWelink and Home Assistant

SONOFF SNZB-05P Zigbee Water Leak Sensor review

Today, we will review another new sensor from SONOFF, the SNZN-05P Zigbee water leak sensor. This is SONOFF’s first-ever water leak detection sensor. In the past, we have reviewed other Zigbee sensors that were upgraded from previous models. SONOFF enthusiasts will likely be pleased because a water leak detection sensor is something that should have been part of the SONOFF ecosystem for a long time. That is a bit late in the game, but it has a unique feature: an Extended Detection Cable that can detect water leaks. Let’s take a look! SONOFF SNZB-05P Water Leak Sensor Unboxing Inside the box, you’ll find the sensor, an Extended Detection Cable (2m), cable clips, and a small manual. The SNZB-05P is water-resistant with an IP67 rating (submersible up to 1 meter for 30 minutes). It uses a CR2477 battery, similar to other SONOFF Zigbee sensors, which should last several years. Both terminals […]