Linux Benchmarks – Rockchip RK3288 vs Exynos 5422 vs AllWinner A80 vs Intel Atom Z3735F

With all these Intel Atom Z3735F been released right now at a price similar to ARM based mini PCs, many people, including myself, are wondering about the performance of the low cost Intel processor against their ARM competitors. Ian Morrison just published some results from Phoronix Test Suite comparing the performance of  Firefly-RK3288 (Rockchip RK3288), ODROID-XU3 Lite (Samsung Exynos 5422 BIN2), and A80 OptimusBoard (Allwinner A80) in Linux (Ununtu 12.04.5), against the performance of MeegoPad T01 (Intel Atom Z3735F) running Linux from a Live CD on a USB drive. Some of the benchmarks failed because Phoronix Test Suite got apparently confused with the file systems located on a USB drive, but at least we’ve got a comparison point, and the results are a bit confusing, as they’re no clear winner. In some tests like FFmpeg, the Intel SoC really crushed the ARM competition being at least twice as fast as […]

VIA ARTiGO 1300 Quad Core x86 Rugged Digital Signage Player

VIA has recently announced ARTiGO 1300, a rugged digital signage player powered by a VIA quad core E-Series x86 processor with VX11PH media processor, provides two HDMI outputs for independent displays, USB 3.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet and more. Beside digital signage applications, it can also be used for kiosks, menu boards, HMIs, and other IoT applications.   ARTiGO A1300 Specifications: Processor – VIA QuadCore E-Series @ 1.0 GHz Chipset – VIA VX11PH Media System Processor with Chrome 645/640 GPU for 2D/3D, and hardware video decoding  support (MPEG-2, WMV9, VC-1 and H.264) System Memory – 1x DDR3 1066/1333 SODIMM socket (up to 8GB) Storage – Support 1x 2.5” SATA SSD/HDD, 1x mSATA SSD. 32Mbit Flash memory for AMI Aptio UEFI BIOS. Video Output – 2x HDMI ports supporting resolutions up to 1920 x 1080 pixels. Dual independent HDMI display support. Audio – VIA VT2021 High Definition Audio Codec, Line-in and Line-out Connectivity […]

Android-x86 4.4 Stable Released for x86 Computers, Laptops, Netbooks…

There are several methods to run Android in an x86 computer or laptop, but Android-x86 could be one of the best to do that, and the developers have just released the first stable release for Android-x86 4.4 Kitkat. This release includes support for OpenGL ES hardware acceleration for AMD Radeon and Intel graphics, ffmpeg integration to support HD video playback in apps, and more. The file to download is android-x86-4.4-r1.iso, which you can then install on a USB flash drive:

where /dev/sdX is the device name of your usb drive. If you are a Windows users you can use Win32DiskImager utility instead. Android should then boot from USB, and you can decide to run it from USB or install it on you hard drive. I haven’t done this, but instead, I’ve created a new Linux 32-bit virtual machine in VirtualBox without internal storage to try it out quickly in […]

First Tizen 3.0 Common Milestone Released, Developer Program Announced

The Tizen Steering Group has announced the first release of Tizen 3.0 Common. Tizen Common is the common subset of development / build / test platform of the Tizen profiles, used by platform developers to develop the next version of the profiles, and a Tizen 3.0 common release is planned every quarter. This milestone release includes: 64-bit support for both Intel and ARM architectures Crosswalk-based web runtime Multiuser support Systemd Security: three-domain rule system for SMACK and Cynara as authorization framework Wayland display server Pre-built binary releases for can be downloaded @ http://download.tizen.org/releases/daily/tizen/common/common-wayland-x86_64/tizen_20140602.26/ for Intel Atom 3815 NUC Kit and NEXCOM VTC1010 in-vehicle computer based on Intel Atom 3825. However, Tizen 3.0 Common will also be tested on Intel NUC Haswell (core i5),  Lenovo x230 IvyBridge (core i5) and on the ARM side, ODROID-U3 development board. If you want to build your own, refer to the developer guide, using tizen_common_2014.Q2 tag. More details can be found […]

AMD Announces ARM and x86 pin-to-pin Compatible APUs and SoCs for 2015, ARM K12 Core for 2016 and Beyond

AMD has designed x86 processor since its inception, and recently they’ve announced ARM Cortex A57 “Seatlle” SoCs targeting servers would be available later this year. They’ve now decided to merge their product line-up even further with Project Skybridge that aims to provide pin-to-pin compatible ARM and x86 SoCs and APUs by 2015, manufactured using a 20nm process. That means AMD’s customers should be able to leverage AMD’s “ambidextrous computing” solutions to design one and only board for x86 and ARM processors for server, embedded, semi-custom and ultra-low power applications. Processors of the “Project Skybridge” family will also be the first ARM based AMD processors to include a GPU (Graphics Core Next GPU), contrary to Seatlle SoCs, which are destined to be used for the server market, and do not come with a GPU. ARM processor will be based on low power ARM Cortex A57 cores and x86 processors will make […]

VIA Embedded Store Launches for Embedded ARM & x86 Boards and Systems

Most of the time for boards and systems targeting industrial or embedded applications, companies will not provide pricing information, and if you want a sample for evaluation, or want to order a few for a project requiring limited quantities, you’ll need to contact sales, talk about your project, volume, schedule, etc… But for VIA Embedded boards and systems, you won’t need to go through this loop anymore, as the company has just launched VIA Embedded Store where you can buy boards such as VAB-820 pico-ITX board or a rugged system such as AMOS-820 directly online without questions asked. I’ve gone through most of the checkout procedure and you can proceed as a guest or by registering, and they’ll just ask billing and shipping information, shipping method, and payment method selection (Only Paypal at this time).  It’s a simple as that, no need to fill some “I’m not a terrorist” forms […]

Avalue ECM-DX2 3.5″ Single Board Computer Features DM&P Vortex86DX2 SoC

Avalue Technology, a company specialized in industrial and embedded single board computers, has recently announced ECM-DX2 3.5” single board computer (SBC) micro module powered by DM&P Vortex86DX2 SoC with up to 1GB RAM, support for LVDS, TTL, and VGA video outputs, SATA, dual Ethernet, and more. The board targets embedded applications such as industrial controls & automation, the railway industry, cleantech, transportation/vehicle construction and aviation applications. Avalue ECM-DX2 specifications: SoC – DM&P Vortex86DX2 single core @ 800 MHz with integrated graphics and chipset System Memory – 1GB DDR2 Memory Storage – 1 x SATA II, 1x CompactFlash Type I/II socket, and 2MB SPI (Flash BIOS). Expansion –  PC/104 Expansion (8/16-bit ISA), 1 x Mini PCIe Card I/O MIO – 2 x RS-232, 2 x RS-232/422/485, 1 x PS2 K/B & Mouse USB – 2 x USB 2.0 DIO – 4-bit GPI, 4-bit GPO Display Resolution – VGA Mode: 1280 x 1024 […]

DATA MODUL mini-ITX Board Supports Freescale i.MX6 & Intel Bay Trail-I QSeven Modules

DATA MODUL, a specialist supplier of display technology, has recently unveiled eDM-mITX-CB-Q7-Info, a mini-ITX Baseboard for ARM & x86 Qseven modules optimized to drive large panels for digital signage applications. In theory, the board should support any Qseven modules, but for now only Data Modul’s Freescale i.MX6, and Congatec conga-QA3 Intel Atom E3800 series modules have been optimized and officially certified to work with the motherboard. Precisely, the board is optimized and certified for the following modules: DATA MODUL ARM Qseven SoMs: eDM-QMX6 (i.MX6Quad) eDM-DMX6 (i.MX6Dual) eDM-DLMX6 (i.MX6Dual lite) Congatec x86 Qseven SoMs: Conga-QA3 with Atom E3845 (Quad core) Conga-QA3 with Atom E382x (Dual core). Three models: Atom E3827, E3826 or E3825. Conga-QA3 with Atom E3815 (Single core) You may have heard about EDM, a competing module standard, previously, but the eDM prefix in the ARM modules or the mini-ITX board names has nothing to do with this standard, as […]

EDATEC Raspberry Pi 5 fanless case