Rockchip RK3588 embedded PCs support PoE, 4G LTE, 10GbE, 2.5-inch SATA HDD, and more

Mekotronics R58X-Pro and R58X-HDD Rockchip RK3588 embedded PCs are updates to the company’s earlier R58X and R58X-4G mini PCs with features such as built-in PoE module, 4G LTE module, optional 10GbE M.2 PCIe 3.0 module, and a microSD card slot. The R58X-HDD also adds a 2.5-inch SATA bay for HDD or SSD, and the R58X-Pro implements a volume knob and a front panel display.

Both R58X-Pro and R58X-HDD embedded PCs still come with up to 16GB RAM, 128GB eMMC flash, support dual 8K video output through HDMI and DisplayPort outputs, feature one HDMI 2.0 video input, two GbE ports, RS485 and RS232 interfaces, a few USB ports and more.

Mekotronics R58X-Pro/R58X-HDD 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
  • R58X-HDD – 2.5-inch SATA bay for HDD or SSD with keylock
  • M.2 2280 (PCIe 3.0) socket for NVMe SSD (Note: the NVMe SSD and the 10GbE module should be mutually exclusive)
• Video Output
  • 1x HDMI 2.1 port up to 8Kp60 with HDCP 2.3
  • 1x DisplayPort 1.4 up to 8Kp30 with HDCP 2.3
• Video Input – 1x HDMI 2.0 up to 4Kp60, 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 ports including one with PoE support
  • Optional 10GbE RJ45 port via M.2 PCIe 3.0 module
  • 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 (TBC)
• Misc
  • Power button
  • RTC + CR2032 battery
  • 4x LEDs for power, 4G LTE, WiFi, and Ethernet
  • R58X-Pro only – Font panel display, volume adjustment knob
• Power Supply
  • 12V/2A via 5.5/2.0mm DC jack or header
  • PoE via RJ45 port
    
• Dimensions – TBD (metal case with holes for wall mounting)

Mekotronics provides Android 12, Debian 11, and Ubuntu images, as well as support for Buildroot. The new model uses the exact same motherboard as the Mekotronics R58X-4G and as such, they rely on the same OS images. One of the images (Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy) has been built with the Armbian build system, or even by the Armbian team themselves since Mekotronics thanks Armbian…

I could find videos of the new device in action, but they should perform the same as the Mekotronics R58 mini PC which we reviewed earlier, although the software must have improved since July 2022. However, the company did upload a video showing how the 2.5-inch SATA bay works on the R58X-HDD model.

The Mekotronics R58X-Pro and R58X-HDD Rockchip RK3588 embedded PCs can be purchased through the links provided on the respective product pages, and I could also find both the Pro model and the HDD model on Aliexpress from a third-party seller, but I can’t recommend buying from there since the markup is excessive…

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

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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