Khadas VIM4 Amlogic A311D2 SBC gets 3.2 TOPS NPU

First introduced in 2022, the Khadas VIM4 SBC will now sell with an Amlogic A311D2-N0D Cortex-A73/A53 processor equipped with a 3.2 TOPS NPU, and the version without AI accelerator will be phased out.

I reviewed the Khadas VIM4 with both Android 11 and Ubuntu 22.04 last year, and really liked the user experience notably thanks to the OOWOW system that makes it really easy to try different operating systems downloaded from Khadas servers, although some features like support for GPU acceleration still needed to be worked on at the time. One thing missing compared to the previous generation Khadas VIM3 SBC was an on-chip NPU to accelerate AI workloads, and the latest revision of the Amlogic A311D2 processor (with N0D suffix) fixes that on the Khadas VIM4.

“Khadas VIM4 with NPU” specifications:

• SoC – Amlogic A311D2-N0D 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 MP8(8EE) GPU, 3.2 TOPS NPU
• 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
• 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-pin 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)

Documentation can be found on the Khadas website, but at this time I don’t see any specific to the NPU, although I’d expect tools similar to the VIM3 NPU.

There are now four options to purchase the VIM4 SBC:

• $199.90 for the VIM4
• $219.90 for the VIM4 with an active cooling kit
• $219.90 for the VIM4 with NPU
• $239.90 for the VIM4 with NPU and an active cooling kit

You’ll find all four on the Khadas store, but the first two will eventually be discontinued once the stock runs out. Users who previously purchased a VIM4 SBC in May 2023 will get a $20 discount coupon for the Khadas store.

Support CNX Software! Donate via cryptocurrencies, become a Patron on Patreon, or purchase goods on Amazon or Aliexpress