Single Board Computer News - CNX Software

November 27, 2021December 1, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

VisionFive V1 RISC-V Linux SBC resurrects BeagleV StarFive single board computer

Last summer we reported that BeagleV StarFive RISC-V SBC would not be manufactured, but all was not lost as StarFive would collaborate with Radxa to make a new single board computer based on their JH7100 dual-core 64-bit RISC-V processor. But thanks to a report on Heise and extra photos acquired by CNX Software, we now have more details about the board that mostly comes with the same features as the BeagleV StarFive, but a completely different layout that brings all the main ports to one side of the board. VisionFive V1 specifications: SoC – StarFive JH7100 Vision SoC with: Dual-core Sifive U74 RISC-V processor @ 1.5 GHz with 2MB L2 cache Vision DSP Tensilica-VP6 for computing vision NVDLA Engine 1 core (configuration 2048 MACs @ 800MHz – 3.5 TOPS) Neural Network Engine (1024MACs @ 500MHz – 1 TOPS) VPU – H.264/H.265 decoder up to 4Kp60, dual-stream decoding up to 4Kp30 […]

November 24, 2021November 26, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

Sipeed LicheeRV – A $16.90 Allwinner D1 Linux RISC-V board

Finally! There’s now a much more affordable Allwinner D1 RISC-V Linux board thanks to Sipeed LicheeRV Nezha CM SBC sold for $16.90 and up on Aliexpress, that’s much cheaper than the $100 asked for Nezha SBC, although still not incredibly cheap as we’ll see from the specifications below. Sipeed LicheeRV is actually both a board and a system-on-on-module with an edge connector, and is equipped with 512MB DDR3, a USB-C OTG port, a MicroSD card socket, and an SPI display interface. The dual M.2 edge connector can be plugged into a carrier board, and they will be a “86 Box” (86x86mm) for HMI display that can be used for home automation. Sipeed Lichee RV specifications: SoC – Allwinner D1 single-core XuanTie C906 64-bit RISC-V processor @ 1.0 GHz with HiFi4 DSP, G2D 2D graphics accelerators Memory – 512MB DDR3 memory @ 792 MHz Storage – MicroSD card slot Video – […]

November 22, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

International Black Friday 2021 Deals

We’ve been listing Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals available internationally since 2014, going beyond the US-centric Amazon Black Friday deals for instance. So let’s do it again this year from the usual suspects like Aliexpress and Banggood, as well as direct deals from manufacturers. Arduino Black November The maker board manufacturer offers discounts on eight products until November 29, namely the Arduino Starter Kit, the Arduino UNO board, the Arduino Nano Arduino Micro, Oplà IoT Kit, Arduino Due, Portenta H7 machine vision bundle, and the Arduino Mega. The company also offers discounts on Arduino-branded gears from T-Shirts to pens. Khadas 20% discount Khadas has an upcoming deal on the Amazon US store that will run for only 24 hours from 25th November 12:00 am to 26th November 11:59 pm (Pacific Standard Time). As I understand it, they ship internationally too, and you’ll be able to get 20% off the […]

November 17, 2021November 23, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Orange Pi R1 Plus LTS is a cheaper dual GbE SBC with YT8531C Ethernet transceiver

Rockchip RK3328 dual GbE SBC YT8531C PHY

It’s been a while since Shenzhen Xunlong Software released a new Orange Pi board. But the wait is over… sort of, as Orange Pi R1 Plus LTS is a low-cost version of Orange Pi R1 Plus SBC that replaced the Realtek RTL8211E PHY with a YT8531C Ethernet PHY that offers the exact same features but at a lower price. That means the new single board computer is still designed for headless operation, for example a router or firewall, with a Rockchip RK3328 processor, 1GB RAM, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and a USB 2.0 port. Orange Pi R1 Plus LTS specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3328 quad-core Cortex-A53 @ 1.5 GHz with Arm Mali-450MP2 System Memory – 1GB LPDDR3 RAM Storage – MicroSD card slot, 16 MB SPI flash Connectivity – 2x Gigabit Ethernet via YT8531C Ethernet PHY and RTL8153B USB 3.0 to Ethernet chip USB – 1x USB 2.0 port, 1x USB-C OTG […]

November 11, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Amlogic T972 multimedia networking SBC supports 4K V-by-One displays

We’ve seen plenty of Amlogic S-series TV boxes and SBCs over the years, but Amlogic also manufacturer T-series SoCs designed for televisions. Since there are relatively few TV manufacturers compared to TV boxes or board manufacturers we seldom read about those. But a few years ago, we noticed a TV box based on Amlogic T962E quad-core Cortex-A53 processor offering both HDMI input and output ports, and now Shenzhen Tomao just informed me they were offering an Amlogic T972 multimedia network SBC for digital signage applications with multiple HDMI inputs and a V-By-One display interface with support for up to 4K resolutions. Amlogic T972 SBC specifications: SoC – Amlogic T972 (or T962X2) quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor @ 1.98 GHz with Arm Mali-G31 MP2  GPU with support for OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.1 and OpenCL 2.0 System memory – 2GB or 4GB DDR4 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, MicroSD card socket Display […]

November 11, 2021November 11, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Giveaway Week 2021 winners announced!

Giveaway Week 2021 is now over, and I’m ready to announce the winners. This year, CNX Software was joined by Rakwireless and Shenzhen Xunlong Software, as I did not have enough hardware to send out. I also had planned to give away Crowbits Master Kit, but when I realized the ESP32 module had a battery, I would have had to ask $100 just for shipping, plus having the risk of messing things up, since I’ve never sent devices with batteries with the new regulations. Nevertheless, the void was filled thanks to the generosity of Rakwireless who offered a solar-powered LoRa GPS tracker, and Shenzhen Xunlong Software who proposed an Orange Pi R1 SBC with a plastic enclosure. Let’s go through the list of winners located in four continents with Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania represented: NanoPi R2S gateway – Jason, CANADA WisBlock Kit 2 LoRa-based GPS Tracker with Solar […]

November 10, 2021November 10, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Raspberry Pi inspired Intel SBC supports Myriad X AI accelerator, 5G connectivity

Axiomtek KIWI310 may look like a Raspberry Pi SBC but it packs an Intel Celeron N3350 processor, an M.2 slot with support for Myriad X AI accelerator, and the company also offer a HAT with 5G cellular connectivity. The single board computer also comes with up to 4GB LPDDR4 memory, up to 64GB eMMC flash, a Micro HDMI port, two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, as well as the ubiquitous 40-pin GPIO header. Power options are also an improvement over your typical Raspberry Pi board with USB-C PD as well as LiPo battery support. Axiomtek KIWI310 specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N3350 dual-core Apollo Lake processor @ 1.1 GHz / 2.4 GHz (Turbo) with Intel HD Graphics 500; 6W TDP System Memory – Up to 4GB (specs) or 8GB (YouTube video) LPDDR4 Storage – Up to 64GB eMMC flash, SPI flash for AMI BIOS Video & audio output […]

November 9, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

XPI-S905X3/S905X2 4K SBC with 2GB RAM sold for $35 and up

Geniatech has added two more single board computers to its XPI family with Raspberry Pi form factor. The Geniatech XPI-S905X2 and XPI-S905X3 boards are powered by respectively Amlogic S905X2 and S905X3/S905X4 quad-core processors, ship with 2GB RAM, and sell for $35 and up depending on the choice of processor and the presence of a wireless module. The company promotes each Raspberry Pi 3 lookalike as a “4K Single Board ARM PC” because of the 4K video playback capabilities or the Amlogic processors. Those boards provide an update to the earlier Amlogic S905X based XPI-S905X, and join Rockchip and NXP models. Geniatech XPI-S905X3/S905X2: SoC (one or the other) Amlogic S905X2 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor with Mali-G31 MP2 GPU Amlogic S905X3/S905X4 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor with Mali-G31 MP2 GPU System Memory – 2GB 1GB Optional) Storage – 8GB eMMC flash (option for 16GB or 32GB), MicroSD card slot Video & audio output – HDMI […]