Renesas SK-RZG1M Board Powered by R8A7743 Processor Gets Mainline Linux Support

Another board has gotten initial mainline Linux support recently, with Renesas SK-RZG1M starter kit board based on Renesas RZ/G1M dual core ARM Cortex A15 SoC with 2GB RAM, a SATA interface, HDMI, LVDS, AV Ethernet bridge, and more.

Renesas SK-RZG1M starter kit board actually has the exact same features as Renesas R-Car M2 Porter board except for the processor:

SoC – Renesas RZ/G1M (R8A7743) dual core ARM Cortex-A15 processor @ 1.5GHz with PowerVR SGX544MP2 3D GPU, Renesas 2D graphics processor
System Memory – Dual channel 2GB DDR3
Storage – On-board 4 MB SPI, and 64 MB SPI, 1x SATA rev 3.1 connector, 1x SD card slot, and 1x micro SD card slot
Video Output / Display I/F – HDMI (via ADV7511), and LVDS + touchscreen
Analog Video In – ADV7180 video decoder with RCA jack, NTSC/PAL/SECAM autodetection
Audio codec – AK4643EN with 3.5mm jacks for Line In and Line Out
Connectivity – 100 Mbps (debug) Ethernet and Ethernet AVB (Auio Video Bridge) connector
USB – 1x USB 2.0 port, 1x micro USB port that supports host, device and OTG modes
Serial – CAN transceiver
Expansion
- 1x PCI Express x1 slot
- EXIO connector
Debugging – 20-pin JTAG connector, micro USB port for debugging
Misc – Power LEDs for 12, 5 and 1.35V, power switch, 3 user buttons, reset button, heatsink and fan
Power supply – 12V/5A
Dimensions – 170×125 mm

While R-Car M2 porter board and processor are targeting automotive applications, RZ/G1M processors are designed for industrial, home appliance, office and medical equipment, especially for connectivity and human interface applications. So for example, the IEBUS connector is still there, but it’s not documented in the hardware manual, and likely not available. You’ll more more software and hardware technical details about the board in the board’s eLinux wiki.

Reneasa RZ-G1M SoC Block Diagram - Click to Enlarge — Reneas RZ-G1M SoC Block Diagram – Click to Enlarge

You’ll also be able to get more details about the processor itself on Renesas RZ/G1M product page.

Renesas SK-RZG1M starter kit board can be purchased for about $400 on Digikey.

Thanks to Nobe for the tip.

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.