Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 43 Comments on MediaTek Caught Cheating but Says Benchmarks Just Represent Peak Performance

MediaTek Caught Cheating but Says Benchmarks Just Represent Peak Performance

MediaTek Cheating

Silicon vendors have been cheating in benchmarks for years, mostly by detecting when popular benchmarks run and boost the performance of their processors without regard to battery life during the duration of the test in order to deliver the best possible score. There was a lot of naming and shaming a few years back, and we did not hear much about benchmarks cheating in the last couple of years, but Anandtech discovered MediaTek was at it again while comparing results between Oppo Reno3 Europe (MediaTek Helio P95) and China (MediaTek Dimensity 1000L) with the older P95 model delivering much higher performance contrary to expectations. Cheating was suspected, so they contact UL to provide an anonymized version of PCMark so that the firmware could not detect the benchmark was run. Here are the before and after results. As noted by Anandtech, the differences are really stunning: a 30% difference in the overall score, with up to a 75% difference in individual …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Purism Librem Mini Linux Mini PC is Powered by an Intel Core i7-8565U Whiskey Lake Processor

Purism Librem Mini Linux Mini PC is Powered by an Intel Core i7-8565U Whiskey Lake Processor

Whiskey Lake Linux Mini PC

Purism has been known for its Linux-based secure and privacy-focused laptops for years, and more recently they developed Librem 5 Linux smartphone with the same philosophy in mind. But now the company has introduced Librem Mini based on an Intel Core i7 Whiskey Lake processor with up to 64GB DDR4 RAM and running PureOS Linux distribution, and Coreboot based PureBoot bootloader that disables and neutralizes Intel Management Engine (IME). Librem Mini specifications: SoC – Intel Core i7-8565U quad-core/octa-thread Whiskey Lake processor @  1.8 GHz / 4.6GHz (Turbo) with Intel UHD Graphics 620; 15W TDP System Memory – x SO-DIMM slot for up to 64GB DDR4-2400 RAM Storage – 1x SATA III 6Gbps SSD/HDD (7mm thickness), 1x M.2 SSD (SATA III/NVMe x4) Video Output – 1x HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60Hz, 1x DisplayPort 1.2 up to 4K @ 60Hz Audio – 3.5mm audio jack (Mic & Headphone), digital audio via HDMI Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet Optional WiFi Atheros ATH9k Module …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on GOLE F7 Windows 10 Tablet Review – Part 2: Barcode & QR Code Scanner, NFC, and Ruggedness

GOLE F7 Windows 10 Tablet Review – Part 2: Barcode & QR Code Scanner, NFC, and Ruggedness

GOLE F7 Waterproof tablet

GOLE F7 is a waterproof, shock resistant, rugged tablet running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit.  The company sent us a sample together with a charging dock, and you can check out “GOLE F7 Rugged Tablet Review – Part 1: Unboxing and Charging Dock” to find out more about the hardware interface and other physical features of the tablet. I’ve now spent more time with the tablet and tested some of the features such as Barcode scanner and NFC reader. I’ve only done minimal testing of the usual Windows 10 benchmarks since the Intel Atom x5-Z8350 processor powering the tablet has been around for many years, and we have previous mini PC’s reviews showing the performance of the platform in Windows 10 with MINIX NEO Z83-4 Pro or even the previous GOLE F10 model. Instead, I’ve focused on the differentiating features including the ruggedness of the device. GOLE F7 System Info Windows System info shows the Atom x5-Z8350 is coupled with 4GB …

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Posted on by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 4 Comments on Beelink Gemini T45 Pentium N4200 Mini PC Review

Beelink Gemini T45 Pentium N4200 Mini PC Review

Beelink T45-Pentium N4200 Mini PC Review

No sooner had I written ‘Beelink T45 Review with Windows and Linux, and Tweaking BIOS Power Limits’ than Beelink announce they wouldn’t in fact sell that configuration but an ‘updated’ version. And it is significantly different because this new version is now actively cooled and uses an Apollo Lake N4200 processor. It also still has the same name: the Beelink Gemini T45. I’ve now reviewed this new version and you may experience déjà vu on reading the following as in keeping with Beelink’s philosophy I’ve basically reused the same text as before and just updated where appropriate. Beelink have further extended their ‘Gemini’ range of mini PCs by adding the T45. This is an actively cooled mini PC that uses the slightly older Apollo Lake Intel Pentium N4200 CPU which is a quad-core 4-thread 1.10 GHz processor boosting to 2.50 GHz with Intel’s HD Graphics 505. The T45 is a ‘NUC’ style mini PC physically consisting of a 119 x …

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Posted on by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 5 Comments on Beelink T45 Review with Windows and Linux, and Tweaking BIOS Power Limits

Beelink T45 Review with Windows and Linux, and Tweaking BIOS Power Limits

beelink t45 temperature

[Update December 23, 2019: We’ve been informed by Beelink that the T45 has been updated to the 6W Celeron N4200 processor instead, and the system is now cooled with a fan. The model reviewed in this post is the fanless version with a 10W Intel J4250 processor, which was never sold] [Update January 30, 2020: We’ve now posted a review of the new model at Beelink Gemini T45 Pentium N4200 Mini PC Review] Beelink have further extended their ‘Gemini’ range of mini PCs by adding the T45. This is a passively cooled mini PC that is effectively a companion to the J45 as it again uses the slightly older Apollo Lake Intel Pentium J4205 CPU which is a quad-core 4-thread 1.50 GHz processor boosting to 2.60 GHz with Intel’s HD Graphics 505. Although the T45 is a ‘NUC’ style mini PC physically consisting of a 119 x 119 x 17.7 mm (4.69 x 4.69 x 0.70 inches) all-metal (and surprisingly …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on MINIX NEO G41V-4 Mini PC Review – Part 2: Windows 10 Pro

MINIX NEO G41V-4 Mini PC Review – Part 2: Windows 10 Pro

MINIX NEO G41V-4 HDMI + VGA

MINIX NEO G41V-4 is the latest mini PC from the Hong Kong-based company, and this time they’ve gone fanless with a new design that should allow proper cooling with a large heatsink, plenty of ventilation holes on the top, as well as a dust-resistant meshing to present dust from entering inside the enclosure. I’ve now had time to review the fanless mini PC, and I’ll report my experience with Windows 10 Pro. Switching to Windows 10 Boot from SSD I had installed the optional 240GB SSD in the first part of the review. It offers an easy way to get more storage and performance, and you don’t need to reinstall Windows 10 Pro since it’s already installed in the SSD. You just need to change some settings in the BIOS as explained in the user manual. To be on the safe side, you may want to follow the instructions to the letter, but for convenience, I followed a slightly different …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Rikomagic R6 Mini Projector Review – Part 2: Android 7.1

Rikomagic R6 Mini Projector Review – Part 2: Android 7.1

Rikomagic R6 Android Projector Review

We’ve already quickly checked out Rikomagic R6 mini projector in the first part of the review with an unboxing and first boot,  but now I’ve had more time to play with the device, so I’ll report about my experience. Android Launcher and Default Apps Here’s the launcher pre-installed in the projector. Media Center The Media Center app allows you to display images, play audio files as well as videos. It will show thumbnails of images present in the current folder… and as soon as you select one image in the folder it will start a slideshow with classic music playing the background. You’ll be able to see what it looks like in the video at the end of this review. Happy Cast It’s an app in Chinese, that apparently allows you to cast from other Chinese apps, but I have not used it. WiFi Display WiFi Display will be one of the most useful app, as it allows you to …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments on Khadas VIM3L (Amlogic S905D3) Benchmarks, Settings & System Info

Khadas VIM3L (Amlogic S905D3) Benchmarks, Settings & System Info

Khadas VIM3L Heatsink

Khadas VIM3L is the first Amlogic S905D3 SBC on the market and is sold as a lower-cost alternative to the company’s VIM3 board with a focus on the HTPC / media player market. Shenzhen Wesion was kind enough to send me a sample for review, and I’ll start by checking out benchmarks and system information in Android 9.0 Pie operating system. I also plan to perform a more detailed review with Android 9.0 and CoreELEC with a focus on media playback. I received the bare board only, and the first thing I did was to install it the heatsink I received for VIM3 and in turn, install it in the acrylic case. The company told me the heatsink is not really necessary “for normal purpose using like watch TV”, but it should be installed for performance tests and heavy workloads. I’d still recommend purchasing the heatsink to make sure it works well during the summer months as well. Upgrading Android …

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