We’ve just written about the Amlogic A311D2 processor with some pretty interesting features, and Khadas VIM4 will be one of the first single board computers equipped with the latest octa-core processor, succeeding the company’s earlier Khadas VIM3 board powered by an Amlogic A311D hexa-core processor.
Khadas VIM4 makes good use of the extra memory allowance with faster 8GB LPDDR4 RAM, and also offers 32GB eMMC flash, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 6, 4Kp60 HDMI input and output, independent USB 3.0, and PCIe (via M.2 socket) interfaces, and more.
Khadas VIM4 specifications with bold highlights showing the differences with the VIM3 Pro model:
- SoC – Amlogic A311D2 octa-core processor with 4x Arm Cortex-A73 cores @ up to 2.2 GHz and 4x Cortex A53 cores @ up to 2.0 GHz, Arm Mali-G52 MP(8EE) GPU, NPU shown as TBD possibly due to license requirements
- System Memory- 8GB LPDDR4X @ 2112 MHz
- Storage – 32GB eMMC flash, 32MB SPI flash, microSD card slot
- MCU – STMicro STM32G031 Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ 64 MHz for power management, customizations, and boot media configuration
- Video Outputs
- HDMI 2.1 up to 4Kp60
- 30-pin 0.5mm Pitch FPC Connector for 4-lane MIPI-DSI interface up to 1920 x 1080
- eDP interface
- LVDS and V-by-One interfaces
- Video Input – 1x Micro HDMI port up to 4Kp60
- Video
- Decoding
- 8Kp24 AV1, H.265, VP9
- Supports multi-video decoding up to 4Kx2K@60fps + 1x1080P@60fps
- Dolby Vision and HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and PRIME HDR video processing
- Encoding – 4Kp50 H.265 / H.264 60fps decoder
- Decoding
- Audio – 8-ch I2S for microphone array applications over M2. connector
- Camera – FPC connector for 2x 4-lane MIPI CSI with dual camera support; 16MP ISP
- Connectivity
- Gigabit Ethernet with WoL support
- Dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax WiFI 6, 2X2 MIMO and Bluetooth 5.2 via Ampak 6275S module
- USB – 1x USB 3.0 Type-A port, 1x USB 2.0 type-A port, 1x USB 2.0 OTG type-C port
- Sensor – KXTJ3-1057 3-axis digital accelerometer
- Expansion
- M.2 Socket with single-lane PCIe 2.0, USB 2.0, I2S, I2C, ADC, 100M Ethernet PHY interface, GPIO, MCU_PA2
- 40-pins 2.54mm pitch header exposing:
- CPU signals – USB, I2C, I2S, SPDIF, UART, PWM, ADC
- MCU signals – SWIM, NRST, PA1
- Misc – 2x IR receivers; RTC & battery header; 4-pin cooling fan header with PWM speed control; 3x user LEDs; power, func and reset buttons; XPWR pads for an external power button
- Power Supply – 5V to 20V via USB-C port or pogo pads
- Dimensions – 82.0 x 58.0 x 13 mm (4x M2 mounting holes)
I have not managed to obtain a photo of the bottom side of Khadas VIM4 yet, but Khadas VIM3 photo above shows where the M.2 socket, microSD card slot, as well as display and camera interfaces, should be, with obviously some extra connectors for eDP, LVDS, V-by-one, MIPI CSI… The board does not have that much space left, so I’d assume some of the display/camera interfaces are multiplexed notably LVDS and V-by-one. Just like the previous model an expansion board will be needed to connect an M.2 module. You had to choose between USB 3.0 (No PCIe) or PCIe + USB 2.0 in VIM3, but I understand that’s not the case anymore for Khadas VIM4 and it’s possible to use PCIe (M.2) and USB 3.0 at the same time.
It’s quite early to write about software support, and Khadas has yet to have published a product page with all information received by email, so I guess that’s a CNX Software exclusive!, but since Amlogic A311D2 is just an upgrade to A311D, and Khadas VIM4 has the same form factor as Khadas VIM3, we can have a look at the latter’s wiki. That means Ubuntu 20.04 server and desktop with Linux 4.9 is officially supported, and third-party images include LibreELEC, CoreELEC, Armbian, and Manjaro ARM. For some reason, Android is not listed in the Wiki, but images are still released in the forums.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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I just checked Amlogic’s git. They are maintaining Android 9 and Android 11 SDKs for T7 platform (A311D2) and both versions are on 64bit 5.4 kernel. In Android 9 branch A311D2 is listed as TV product so probably it will have its use in TV/digital signage too.
nothing on pricing ?
Khadas VIM3 Pro is $139.90. So we can speculate.
I’d say $159.90 or $169.90 for Khadas VIM4 based on having double the RAM, a more powerful processor, a WiFI 6 module, 32MB SPI flash. Maybe less at first, if they want to promote the board.
Maybe my price estimate is off, as I’ve just been told A311D2 costs twice as much as A311D, and the price is about the same as RK3588. So wait and see…
Yep, the A311D2 SoC cost comes much higher then A311D in price, but still not that higher in twice I think.
Be note that the A311D2 BOM cost will also comes higher due it’s 0.4mm pitch ball of BGA footprint, so the PCB cost also higher.
For your further information who want to kickoff new project on A311D2, the reference design from Amlogic with 8 layers 2+N+2 HDI process and the VIM4 with 10 layers & 2+N+2 HDI process due to the limited PCB space(we not follow the DDR layout template which take much more space).
More than 200 bucks for the 8GB model or less?
There is no pricing for rk3588.. how you get that info. And if you get that info… tell us the price of both (that should be similar)
I got that info from somebody I know who works in the industry. I don’t know the price, I was just given the comparison between the two. Note that different companies may get different quotes depending on volume, relationships, etc…
Just take my money and send me 2 asap!
What x86 CPU can this be compared to performance wise? Anywhere near Ryzen R1305G or Pentium N6005?
The singlethreaded speed of a Pentium N6005 is about 2.5x as high as the A311…
So not really close. The A73 isn’t that great of a CPU.
Thanks for the post!
Hi, CNXers, wanna discuss here if anybody are interesting 16GB VIM4 model? Our initial plan only with 8GB model, but also curious if 16GB RAM comes necessary for some project applications.
Good day!
No, I think 8 gb is okay.
I’d love a 16GB model!! I’ve been looking for an ARM SBC under $400 with more ram and cores for a while now! 16GB+8C is perfect for my emulation of operating systems and usage of ramdisks for said Operating systems 🙂
Yes, a 16GB RAM Vim4 is totally necessary.
I’d love a 16GB version, for ramdisks, and maybe some caching of files (extension of ramdisk usage) and Emulation of Operating Systems (Virtual Machines).
Thanks for the feedback & comments!
How much capacity of the eMMC Storage is required in this case?
In 2021 I would say that 64Gb storage should be a minimum, 128Gb+ desirable.
yes, 311D2 support maximum 8+128G
I don’t need much more emmc, but 64 or 128GB would be a nice upgrade.
64GB because a ram double, and an emmc doubling too 🙂
64GB for non-removable eMMC should be the minimum for today standards, 128Gb eMMC storage will be even better. 32GB eMMC will severely limit functionality.
Yes, 16GB RAM is totally necessary.
But an increase in RAM means a higher TDP, so maybe a split of the lineup?
We’re talking about LPDDR4X here. It’s not a device with SO-DIMMs.
I don’t believe that’s the case, e.g. RPi4 1GB vs 8GB don’t have a significant difference in power consumption.
TDP isn’t consumption
No, but they are related, and in increase in both or either is something that must be allowed for in designs.
Hi Gouwa! I also think 8GB is plenty.
8Gb is enough for this SOC.
I would however like to see some work on better M.2 integration directly to the board and with a case to house it.
Yep, our team are also working on Gen 2 DIY Case, and will consider this request 🙂
I’d say for most users 4GB is more than enough, but there are a lot of us with workloads that absolutely require more, or that will take whatever the largest option is.
There are very few options with more than 8GB available right now, and they are all rather bulky and expensive, so you could totally own that niche and get a lot of free advertising.
Socketed (not soldered) MMC please.
Socketed M.2 2242 (no soldered) WIFI/BT please.
Shotout for the low profile Ethernet port, @TomCubie take notes.
We have an application that would be better with 16 GB of LPDDR4X / LPDDR5 and would explore the VIM4 if there was such a model.
16GB could be great for efficient home server, but in this case M.2 single pci-lane makes bottleneck. Perhaps it can be solved by removing camera inputs.
That would be AWESOME!! The time that other SBC reach 16 GB, we will be walking with a cane and complaining about back pains. So 16 GB with 8 cores, please do!!
i want so badly for a performant ARM board. A73 is 7 years old.
i wish i didn’t want to consoder buying an m1 mac mini for linux.
And how much is your M1 Mac mini
It’s not all bad though: I’d consider the A73 a useful middle ground between the ubiquitous in-order A53s that are often too slow, and the newer high-end cores that tend to be expensive and more power hungry. A73 is also the last core that can act as a drop-in replacement for existing designs based on A35/A53/A57/A72, while the newer Armv8.2+ cores require additional changes in the SoC design as well.
From what I understand, the newer A7x cores are explicitly designed to provide more performance per watt. So I don’t know what you mean by “more power hungry”.
Newer chips tend to target maximum performance so while they’d be more efficient at the same clock speed they actually increase clockspeeds for greater power consumption and performance.
Yes, I was thinking the same. The M1 is in a completely different league but come on, is an A76 too much to ask. Not even dreaming about A78.
2015 called and said it wants it’s A73 back.
I’d rather get some atom then, especially at over $100.
And how much will your Apple M1 device cost?
@Jean-Luc Aufranc: see news . mkme . org/?p=13764 they reproduced your contents as is, not linking to your site as other news sites usually do. Just FYI.
Check it again. Jean-Luc is mentioned (with picture) at the bottom of the article.
But still, people are not supposed to copy the entire content of your articles.
Sometimes Google will think MKME is the original source of the article, and kick CNX Software out of search results.
It does not matter. It’s copyrights violation. In addition, when as Jean-Luc mentioned below, if the copier link appears before CNX or simply negate CNX in the results, an online reader might read the other site rather than Jean-Luc’s so it also has a $ consequence: CNX does not get Ad impressions revenues. In books, you may quote another book, a few sentences, but you cannot wildly quote an entire chapter.
Yes, I’ve noticed. It’s difficult to stop it. Sometimes I send DMCA requests.
Google seems to really like sites with a large number of posts even if they copy or translate content from others. Earlier this year this was a new site Lapthrinx that would just copy contents from a large number of sites, and within a few months, it got 2 to 3 million page views. Many people complained about it, and even once I reported this on a Google forum, and I was told to fix my website before caring what “competitors” are doing.
Eventually, Google kicked it out of search results, but only several months later.
“Google seems to really like sites with a large number of posts even if they copy or translate content from others.” … well, that is the core business of Google itself. At least Google is not calling the kettle black …
I guess Google reacts in a quicker fashion when it gets a cease and desist notification from let’s say the NYT legal department. A solution might be in the future to have a sizable number of small specialized web sites. bloggers, YouTubers, etc assemble in a “Publishing Mutual” financed by a subscription from each member in order to have a shared more powerful legal team able to sway Google faster. “L’union fait la force”. Just an idea.
Wow, that’s a whole new layer of difficulty in maintaining this blog.
Heya- That site is mine and just a maker news compiled for myself and some subscribers. All content links right back to original. Every hyperlink, accredation, info etc should have been intact and referenced. I actually don’t fully understand how this site got added as a source so I’ve removed and blacklisted your site for you so it can never get any content or links etc again. It somehow got added through links back from Espressif. You can always get anything removed no problem- my contact info is right on every site and subdomain as well as links to all my social media. Anyhow the site is just for me and some other makers to have a place to get cool news and link back to the original Videos and articles in the mornings. FYI repost sites get 100% punished by Google now and you can no longer even monetize with Adsense if it sees any more than about 5% content posted elsewhere. The only reason I knew about this thread was an alert for any new indexed page on any of my sites- there are only about 1 a week as it actually gets punished for even my own content reposted from YT which is a bit funny but all good- I dont have the sites for traffic- just places for people to keep up with my own stuff. Anyhow sorry it caused trouble- it should not happen ever again. Take care
Thanks for the update Eric. No problem.
I was planning to purchas another SBC the size of a pi zero with 4gb of ram. Then I realized adding a USB hub will increase the overall size of the unit.
This Khadas SBC is good. Because it has 8gb of ram and no USB hub needed.
Was it that one that was on ETA Prime’s channel?
The A311D2 says Dolby Audio (optional) Will the VIM4 include Dolby Atmos and/or Dolby AC-4? In the US OTA ATSC 3.0 broadcasts already require AC-4 support so it is as important as AV1.
How is this Khadas VIM4 octa-core powerful processors as compared to Nvidia Jetson Xavier NX from AI perspective in terms of support, learning and development. ?
There’s no information about the NPU at this stage. But considering Xavier NX can deliver up to 21 TOPS, and the previous A311D processor had a 5 TOPS NPU, I don’t expect Khadas VIM4 to compete against the Jetson Xavier NX module. We’re not even sure whether the NPU will be present/enabled on the board.
Is this the variant with Hifi5 DSPs?
The VIM3 does everything you need with amp ability for a typical media player app, this iteration brings few benefits for the typical user who will see zero performance bump.
What I am disappointed in is that there are literally no decent offerings targeting the NAS market segment. The last few offering in that segment died before they even went to market.
6 months and still no deliveries?
Who is standing on the water hose this time?
It’s coming soon.
I have a board for review: https://www.cnx-software.com/2022/04/28/khadas-vim4-review-part-1-unboxing-kit-assembly-and-first-boot-with-oowow/
The launch is planned for tomorrow, so deliveries should probably start by the end of the month.