sata News - Page 2 of 29 - CNX Software

July 14, 2025July 14, 2025 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

Waveshare SATA HAT+ adds two SATA 3.0 ports to Raspberry Pi 5

Waveshare PCIe TO 2-CH SATA HAT+ is a dual-channel PCIe FFC to SATA 3.0 HAT+ board for the Raspberry Pi 5, which offers a low-cost alternative to the Radxa Penta SATA HAT with support for up to five SATA drives. The HAT+ is compliant with the SATA Gen3 and PCIe Gen2 standards and features onboard dual LED indicators for monitoring drive activity. Additionally, it includes an EEPROM for storing HAT+ ID and product information. It can be used for simpler DIY NAS setups or Pi-based media servers. Waveshare PCIe TO 2-CH SATA HAT+ specification: Compatibility – Designed for Raspberry Pi 5 Storage – Onboard EEPROM for HAT+ ID and product info SATA Ports – 2x SATA 3.0 (6Gbps) channels via JMB582 PCIe Gen3 x1 to 2x SATA controller Host Interface – PCIe Gen3 x1 via 16-pin PCIe FFC connector Misc 40-pin header with exposed RPi GPIOs (not used directly by the HAT, […]

June 26, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Topton N18 NAS mini-ITX motherboard ships with Intel N150 or Core i3-N305 SoC, offers 6x SATA, 10GbE, 2x 2.5GbE

Topton N18 is a mini-ITX motherboard powered by either an Intel Processor N150 Twin Lake CPU or a Core i3-N305 Alder Lake-N SoC, and suitable for NAS and networking applications with six SATA ports, a 10GbE RJ45 port, and two 2.5GbE jacks. The motherboard also features a DDR5 SO-DIMM socket for up to 64GB memory, two M.2 PCIe sockets for NVMe SSD storage, HDMI and DisplayPort video output, and up to eight USB ports via ports and internal headers. Topton N18 specifications: SoC (one or the other) Intel Processor N150 quad-core Twin Lake processor @ up to 3.6 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD graphics @ 1.0 GHz; TDP: 6W Intel Core i3-N305 octa-core Alder Lake-N processor @ up to 3.8 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 32EU Intel UHD Graphics @ 1.25 GHz; TDP: 15W System Memory – Single-channel DDR5 SO-DIMM slot fitted with up to 32GB RAM; upgradeable to 64GB […]

June 8, 2025November 16, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

ZimaBoard 2 Review – Part 2: An Intel N150 micro server and mini PC tested with ZimaOS, Ubuntu 24.04

We’ve already checked out the hardware of the ZimaBoard 2 micro server in the first part of the review with an unboxing and a teardown of the Intel N150 mini PC, followed by a first boot to ZimaOS and a walk-through of the web dashboard to see what features it had to offer. I’ve now connected two SATA drives to the ZimaBoard 2 and done further testing with ZimaOS, notably checking system information and testing storage and networking performance. I also installed Ubuntu 24.04 on the ZimaBoard 2 for further testing for people preferring to use the system as a mini PC with SATA storage. ZimaOS v1.4.1 update When I connected to the web dashboard again, there was a new update for ZimaOS v1.4.1. Before and after the update is completed, I was shown the change log with new features like a scheduled shutdown function and a list of bug […]

June 3, 2025November 26, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Vecow PBC-2000 – An Intel Atom x7211RE fanless embedded system for industrial use

Vecow PBC-2000 is a fanless embedded system that houses the company’s EPBC-2000 2.5-inch Pico-ITX SBC powered by an Intel Atom x7211RE SoC. The PBC-2000 supports a wide -40°C to 70°C temperature range, dual 2.5GbE LAN, serial and USB interfaces, and comes with wall and optional DIN rail mounting options. Other features include support for up to 16GB DDR5 4800MHz SO-DIMM memory, as well as a SATA III port and an M.2 socket for storage. The system also features an external SIM card socket for 5G/4G/LTE connectivity, and an M.2 E-Key slot for wireless modules. Additional features include a 12V DC power input via a 2-pin terminal block, hardware monitoring with auto-throttling, a watchdog timer, and support for Wake-on-LAN and PXE boot. Vecow PBC-2000 and EPBC-2000 specifications: SoC – Intel Atom x7211RE dual-core Amstom Lake processor @ up to 3.2 GHz with 6MB cache, 16EU Intel UHD graphics; TDP: 6W System […]

May 28, 2025May 28, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

UP Squared TWL / Squared Pro TWL boards are powered by Intel Core 3 Processor N355, N250, or N150 Twin Lake CPU

AAEON has just introduced upgrades to its Alder Lake-N-powered UP Squared 7100 and UP Squared Pro 7000 SBCs with the UP Squared TWL and UP Squared Pro TWL development boards equipped with Twin Lake CPUs, either Intel Core 3 Processor N355, Intel Processor N250, or Intel Processor N150. Both SBCs can operate in the -20°C to 70°C temperature range, support up to three independent displays, and offer M.2 expansion sockets for storage and wireless, a 40-pin GPIO header, RS232/RS485 interfaces, and three USB ports. However, the UP Squared TWL is a smaller 90×85.6mm SBC with dual gigabit Ethernet, and the UP Squared Pro TWL has a slightly larger design (101.6×101.6mm) with dual 2.5GbE, a SATA port, MIPI CSI camera support, and optional cellular connectivity. UP Squared TWL Specifications: Twin Lake SoC (one or the other) Intel Processor N150 quad-core processor @ up to 3.6 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU […]

May 15, 2025June 8, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

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

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 […]

April 23, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

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

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 […]

April 17, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

HoneyComb Ryzen V3000 – An AMD Ryzen V3C18I mini-ITX motherboard with dual 10Gbps SFP+, 2.5GbE, dual SATA III

SolidRun HoneyComb Ryzen V3000 is a mini-ITX motherboard powered by an AMD Ryzen Embedded V3C18I processor, supporting up to 64GB of DDR5 memory and M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD storage, and equipped with two 10 Gbps Ethernet SFP+ cages, a 2.5GbE RJ45 jack, and two SATA III ports for advanced networking and storage applications. The solution is comprised of a mini-ITX motherboard and a Ryzen V3000 CX7 COM Express module, which the company introduced in 2022. As an industrial motherboard, it’s designed to operate in the -40°C to +85°C temperature range. HoneyComb Ryzen V3000 specifications: Ryzen V3000 CX7 COM Express module SoC – AMD Ryzen Embedded V3C18I octa-core/16-thread processor clocked at 1.9 GHz / 3.8 GHz (Turbo) with 4 MB L2 cache and 16 MB L3 cache; TDP: 15W System Memory – Up to 64GB (2x 32GB), ECC/Non-ECC DDR5 memory up to 4800 MT/s via two SODIMM sockets. Dimensions – 125 […]