Mekotronics R58X-4G – A Rockchip RK3588 mini PC with 4G LTE and PoE support

Mekotronics R58X-4G is an update to the company’s R58X Rockchip RK3588 mini PC with support for 4G LTE mini PCIe modules and PoE power.

The computer is sold with up to 16GB RAM, up to 128 GB eMMC flash, support SATA and NVMe storage, offers two 8K capable HDMI and DisplayPort video outputs, one 4K HDMI input, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, a WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 module, a few USB ports, and a terminal block with RS232 and RS485 interfaces.

Mekotronics R58X-4G specifications:

• SoC – Rockchip RK3588 octa-core processor with four Cortex-A76 cores @ 2.4 GHz, four Cortex-A55 cores @ 1.8 GHz, an Arm Mali-G610 MP4 GPU, a 6TOPS NPU, 8K 10-bit decoder, 8K encoder
• System Memory – 4GB, 8GB, or 16GB LPDDR4x
• Storage
  • 32GB, 64GB, or 128GB eMMC 5.1 flash
  • 1x SATA 3.0 connector + SATA power connector
  • M.2 2280 (PCIe 3.0) socket for NVMe SSD
• Video Output
  • 1x HDMI 2.1 port up to 8Kp60
  • 1x DisplayPort 1.4 up to 8Kp30
• Video Input – 1x HDMI 2.0 up to 4P60, internal 2-lane MIPI CSI connector
• VPU (in SoC)
  • Video Decoder
    • 8Kp60 H.265 VP9, AVS2
    • 8Kp30 H.264 AVC/MVC
    • 4Kp60 AV1
    • 1080p60 MPEG-2, MPEG-1, VC-1, VP8
  • Video Encoder – Real-time H.265/H.264 video encoding up to 8Kp30, also usable as a multi-channel encoder in parallel (at lower resolution)
• Audio – 3.5mm audio jack for microphone and headphones
• Networking
  • 2x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port
  • Dual-band Wi-Fi 6 (2T2R)
  • Optional 4G LTE + GPS mini PCIe modem + NanoSIM card slot
  • Four antennas for WiFi, Bluetooth, and cellular connectivity
• USB – 1x USB 3.0 Type-A port, 2x USB 2.0 Type-A ports, 1x USB Type-C port
• Expansion
  • M.2 M-Key PCIe socket
  • Mini PCIe socket
  • 8-pin terminal block with RS232, RS485, 12V power output
  • Internal headers with GPIO, I2C
• Debugging – 1x USB Type-C port for serial console access
• Misc – Power button, RTC + CR2032 battery, 4x LEDs for power, 4G LTE, WiFi, and Ethernet
• Power Supply
  • 12V/2A via 5.5/2.0mm DC jack or header
  • 4-pin PoE header
• Dimensions – TBD (metal case with holes for wall mounting)

The new Mekotronics R58X-4G does lose one SATA port, and the internal audio header is now a 3.5mm audio jack. The rest of the specifications are pretty much the same. Supported operating systems include Android 12, Debian 11, and Ubuntu 20.04, and the company mentions support for Buildroot built system. I’m unable to find images specific to the R58X-4G, but the company usually posts those in the support section of their website.

I never tested the Mekotronics R58X, but I did review the R58 (mini) with Android 12 and was impressed by the Rockchip RK3588 processor both in terms of CPU and GPU performance, as well as video playback capability, although at the time (July 2022), I noted some issues with AV1 video, the lack of a proper HDMI input app, and somewhat slow USB 3.0 performance.

Mekotronics sells the R58X-4G RK3588 mini PC in the following configuration without a 4G LTE module or PoE add-on board:

• $225 with 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC flash
• $259 with 8GB RAM, 64GB eMMC flash
• $295 with 16GB RAM, 64GB eMMC flash
• $329 with 16GB RAM, 128GB eMMC flash

You’ll find a few more details and purchase links on the product page.

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