Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft), Author at CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

May 8, 2024May 7, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

GIGAIPC PICO-N97A is a Pico-ITX SBC powered by an Intel Processor N97 CPU

GIGAIPC PICO-N97A Pico-ITX SBC features an Intel Processor N97 quad-core Alder Lake-N processor coupled with up to 16GB DDR5 SO-DIMM memory and M.2 SATA or NVMe storage designed for passively cooled and enclosed systems for Industry 4.0 applications in the smart cities, retail, and healthcare sectors. The single board computer supports up to two independent displays via HDMI and LVDS interfaces. It also provides dual Gigabit Ethernet, two USB 3.1 ports, an additional M.2 Key-B socket for wireless, and various headers for RS232/RS422/RS485, GPIO, USB 2.0, and more. GIGAIPC PICO-N97A specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N97 CPU – Alder Lake-N quad-core/quad-thread processor @ up to 3.6 GHz Cache – 6MB cache GPU – 24 EU Intel UHD graphics @ up to 1.20 GHz TDP: 12W System Memory – Up to 16GB DDR5-4800 via a single SO-DIMM socket Storage – SATA or NVMe SSD via M.2 M-Key socket (See expansion) Video […]

May 7, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Microchip PIC32CK 32-bit Arm Cortex-M33 MCU combines Hardware Security Module with Arm TrustZone for IoT cybersecurity compliance

Microchip PIC32CK is a new family of 32-bit Arm Cortex-M33 microcontrollers clocked up to 120 MHz with Arm Trustzone and an optional integrated Hardware Security Module (HSM) that can help companies meet the cybersecurity requirements for consumer IoT devices and critical infrastructure mandated in the US, Europe, and other countries. Two sub-families are available with the PIC32CK GC and PICK32CK SG with the latter integrating the HSM, and the company claims it is the first 32-bit device on the market that combines an HSM with TrustZone technology for optional security. The PIC32CK is also said to support ISO 26262 functional safety and ISO/SAE 21434 cybersecurity standards. Microchip PIC32CK specifications: MCU core – Arm Cortex-M33 clocked at up to 120 MHz with 4KB combined instruction and data cache, TrustZone security Memory and Storage 128KB, 256KB, or 512KB SRAM 512KB, 1MB, or 2MB flash 128KB boot flash memory 64KB of configuration flash […]

May 7, 2024May 6, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

HackerGadgets NVME HAT+ for Raspberry Pi 5 fits in the official case, keeps the fan

HackerGadgets has launched a few Raspberry Pi 5 PCIe HAT+ boards including one M.2 NVMe 2230/2242 HAT+ that fits into the official Raspberry Pi 5 case with proper cooling. We’ve seen many M.2 PCIe HAT+ boards of the Raspberry Pi 5 boards from companies such as Pineboards, Waveshare, or Geekworm, but none of them won’t fit in the official red and white case, at least if you’re not ready to sacrifice active-cooling, but HackerGadgets “NVME Hat for Raspberry Pi 5” keeps the fan by simply allowing users to mount it on the bottom of the board. HackerGadgets “NVME Hat for Raspberry Pi 5” specifications: Compatible SBCs – Raspberry Pi 5 and other compatible SBCs with a 16-pin PCIe connector and mounting holes PCIe interface – 16-pin PCIe FPC connector up to PCIe Gen3 speeds M.2 socket – Support PCIe Gen2/Gen3 x1, M.2 2230 and 2242 SSDs Cooling – PWM fan […]

May 7, 2024May 6, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Loongson 2K1000LA dual-core LoongArch processor powers industrial SBCs and IoT gateways

Banana Pi BPI-5202 Loongson 2K1000LA SBC

Loongson 2K1000LA is a 1GHz dual-core 64-bit LoongArch processor designed for industrial applications with gigabit Ethernet, SATA, two PCIe interfaces, two digital video outputs, audio interfaces, USB 2.0, and others all in a 1 to 5W power envelop. It is found in Loongson’s own development board and Banana Pi BPI-5020 2K1000LA SBC. The LoongArch architecture was first introduced in 2021 as an alternative to Arm, x86, and RISC-V, and heavily inspired by MIPS with extra instructions. Some of the first LoongArch processors were the Loongson 3A5000 and 3C5000 SoCs for desktop computers and servers respectively, and now, the company has launched a lower-power processor for industrial applications, such as IoT gateways, with the 2K1000LA. Loongson 2K1000LA specifications We only have some basic specifications from the product page on Loongson’s website.; CPU – 2x 64-bit LoongArch cores clocked at 1GHz FPU – 128-bit vector unit Cache 32KB L1 instruction cache 32KB […]

May 6, 2024May 9, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

AMD Ryzen 5 5500U mini PC goes for $177 with 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD

Among all the inexpensive Intel Alder Lake-N mini PCs, ZXIPC is selling a no-name AMD Ryzen 5 5500 mini PC for $177 with 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, or $143.03 as a barebone system. This weekend, I compared the benchmarks of various Intel Alder Lake-N processors using results from our mini PC reviews, and one user asked me whether I could do the same for AMD systems: It would be interesting to compare the performance on these to similarly priced AMD offerings. I’m specifically thinking here of Mini PCs based on the Ryzen 5560U and the Ryzen 5800U/H Since we haven’t reviewed this type of mini PC, I won’t be able to do such a comparison, but I was still intrigued, as most AMD mini PCs I had seen sold for at least $300. So I went to Aliexpress and found a few AMD Ryzen 5/7 mini PCs […]

May 6, 2024May 5, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Review of CrowVi 15.6-inch portable USB-C and HDMI touchscreen display with Windows 11, Ubuntu 24.04, and Raspberry Pi 5

Elecrow CrowVi VF156T – or just CrowVi for shorts – is an ultra-thin 15.6-inch portable touchscreen display with mini HDMI and USB-C input ports making it suitable for a wide range of devices from Windows 11 and Linux mini PCs or laptops, SBCs such as the Raspberry Pi 5, and smartphones featuring a USB-C port with DisplayPort Allt. mode. The display supports 10-point multitouch, offers a 1920×1080 “Full HD” resolution, and includes stereo speakers and a 3.5mm audio jack. Besides the USB-C input, it also comes with an additional USB-C PD port for power in case the host does not provide enough power or only HDMI input is used without the touchscreen function. There’s also a “smart case” acting as a foldable stand on the back so you don’t need to bring your own stand. Elecrow sent us a sample of the CrowVi 15.6-inch portable monitor for review and we […]

May 5, 2024May 6, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

LibreELEC 12 released with Kodi 21, 64-bit Arm support for Raspberry Pi 4/5, and platforms

As one should have expected after the Kodi 21 “Omega” release last month, the LibreELEC 12 lightweight Linux media center distribution is now out with many devices updated to 64-bit, including the Rasberry Pi 4 and 5 SBCs. LibreELEC 11 was released last year based on Kodi 20 “Nexus” and bringing back support for Amlogic devices. LibreELEC 12 builds on that and benefits from the new features added to Kodi 21 such as FFmpeg 6 and works on Arm platforms based on Allwinner, Amlogic, Broadcom (Raspberry Pi), and Rockchip processors, as well as generic x86 computers. It’s an easy option to create a dedicated HTPC based on a range of hardware with all the features brought by Kodi 21 media center. Since so many platforms are supported there are always some limitations for each and known problems: Raspberry Pi – 50/60fps H.264 HW decoding may need force_turbo=1 or core_freq_min=500 in […]

May 4, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Intel Processor N95 vs N97 vs N100 vs Core i3-N305 benchmarks comparison

Intel N95 vs N97 vs N100 vs Core i3 N305 benchmarks

Intel Alder Lake-N processors have been pretty popular in mini PCs and to a lesser extent in single board computers in the last year or so, thanks to their excellent performance/price and features/price ratios. All processors have more or less the same features, but performance differences do exist and do not always match the increasing part number. Since we’ve reviewed a bunch of Alder Lake mini PCs, I’ve decided to compare the performance of the Processor N95, Processor N97, Processor N100, and Core i3-N305 CPUs to have a better understanding of the differences between each part. For this purpose, we’ll rely on five mini PCs: Blackview MP80 (Processor N95), Blackview MP80 (Processor N97), the Intel N100-powered MINIX Z100-0dB and GEEKOM Mini Air12, and the Weibu N10 with a Core i3-N305 CPU. A summary of the specifications is listed in the table below. Some important remarks: Prices are taken from Amazon […]