Author: 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.
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on Beelink SEi12 i7-12650H mini PC review – Part 1: unboxing, teardown, and first boot

Beelink SEi12 i7-12650H mini PC review – Part 1: unboxing, teardown, and first boot

Beelink SEi12 i7-12650H mini PC windows 11

Beelink SEi12 i7-12650H is a Windows 11 Pro mini PC powered by an Intel Core i7-12650H Alder Lake-H processor coupled with up to 64 GB of DDR4 memory, up to 2TB of M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 SSD storage, and various ports such as HDMI 2.0 video output, USB Type-C and Type-A ports, gigabit Ethernet, as well as a WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 module. Shenzhen AZW Technology, the company behind the Beelink brand, sent us the Beelink SEi12 i7-12650H mini PC with 32GB DDR4 RAM and a 500GB M.2 SSD 500 GB for review. In the first part of the review, we’ll check out the specifications, before going through an unboxing and a teardown, and checking whether it boots to Windows 11 Pro as expected. We’ll then work on detailed reviews with both  Windows 11 Pro and Ubuntu 22.04 in the next few weeks. Beelink SEi12 i7-12650H specifications SoC – […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Qotom Q20332G9-S10 fanless “mini PC” features four 10 GbE and five 2.5GbE ports

Qotom Q20332G9-S10 fanless “mini PC” features four 10 GbE and five 2.5GbE ports

Qotom Q20331G9-S10 fanless network appliance

Qotom Q20332G9-S10 is described as a fanless mini PC or somewhat more accurately as a router PC with four 10GbE SFP+ cages and five 2.5GbE RJ45 ports powered by an Intel Atom C3758R Denverton Refresh eight-core processor first introduced in 2020. I would rather call it a network appliance than anything with “PC” in its name since the system only comes with VGA video output (e.g. no HDMI or DisplayPort output), no audio support, and Denverton server processors lack an internal GPU. The Qocom device supports up to 64GB DDR4 memory, up to two 2.5 SATA drives, and two M.2 NVMe SSDs, and comes with one extra M.2 socket for cellular connectivity and a few USB ports. Qotom Q20332G9-S10 specifications: SoC – Intel Atom C3758R Denverton Refresh 8-core processor @ 2.4 GHz with 16M cache; TDP: 26W System Memory – Up to 64GB dual-channel DDR4 @ 2400MHz Storage 2x M.2 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments on WCH RISC-V microcontrollers can now be programmed with the Arduino IDE

WCH RISC-V microcontrollers can now be programmed with the Arduino IDE

WCH RISC-V Arduino

WCH has launched some interesting RISC-V microcontrollers in the last year or so, including the “10 cents” CH32V003 RISC-V microcontroller with 2KB SRAM and 16KB flash or the CH32V307with more resources (up to 64KB SRAM and 256KB flash) and additional peripherals. So far they were programmable in C language using MounRiver IDE or an open-source toolchain, but WCH has now announced Arduino support for many of those RISC-V microcontrollers which should enable more people to get involved. The core library for CH32duino works with OpenOCD through WCH-LINKE hardware to download the firmware and debug WCH chips and a riscv-none-embed-gcc toolchain that supports custom RISC-V instructions (half-word and byte compression instruction extensions and hardware stack push/pop functions) found in WCH RISC-V microcontroller. The following evaluation kits are currently supported with ADC, DAC, USART, GPIO, EXTI, SysTick, I2C, and SPI peripherals: CH32V003F4P EVT board CH32V203G8U EVT board CH32X035G8U EVT board CH32V103R8T6_BLACK EVT […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 25 Comments on Radxa X2L Intel Celeron J4125 SBC goes for as low as $39

Radxa X2L Intel Celeron J4125 SBC goes for as low as $39

Radxa X2L

Radxa X2L is an inexpensive Intel Celeron J4125 Gemini Lake Refresh single board computer (SBC) that ships with 2GB to 8GB RAM, an M.2 socket for SSD storage, another M.2 socket for a wireless module, and offers a range of ports such as dual HDMI, gigabit Ethernet, four USB port, and a 40-pin GPIO header. The price starts at $39, a price point that reminds me of the Atomic Pi SBC introduced a few years ago with an Atom X5 Cherry Trail processor, but the Radxa X2L is easier to use, offers better performance and modern features, as well as a low-profile form factor that’s about the size of a smartphone, just a bit thicker. Radxa X2L specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core Gemini Lake Refresh processor @ 2.0 / 2.7 GHz (Turbo) with Intel UHD Graphics 600 @ 250/750 MHz; 10W TDP MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Maxtang MTN-FP750 review – Part 2: Windows 11 Pro on an AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS mini PC

Maxtang MTN-FP750 review – Part 2: Windows 11 Pro on an AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS mini PC

Review Maxtang MTN-FP750 Windows 11

In the first part of the Maxtang MTN-FP750 mini PC review, we looked at the hardware with an unboxing, a teardown, and a first boot to the pre-installed Windows 11 Pro.  We’ve now spent more time testing the Maxtang MTN-FP750, also called NUC-7735HS-A16, and we will report our experience with the AMD Ryzen 7 7735H mini PC in Windows 11 Pro with a software overview, features testing, benchmarks, storage and network performance testing, cooling performance, fan noise, power consumption, and more. Software overview and feature testing The Maxtang MTN-FP750 shipped with Windows 11 Pro 22H2, but we updated it to 23H2 (and somehow entered the Windows Insider program) before starting our test. The System->About window confirms the update and that we have an FP750 PC powered by a 3.2 GHz AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS SoC with 32GB of RAM. HWiNFO64  provides some details about the AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS 8-core/16-thread […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Fanless Intel N100 mini PC supports PoE power input, provides four 2.5GbE ports

Fanless Intel N100 mini PC supports PoE power input, provides four 2.5GbE ports

NEOSMAY PoE Alder Lake-N Mini PC

‎NEOSMAY is selling a fanless Intel Processor N100 mini PC with support for PoE power input, four 2.5GbE ports, HDMI and DisplayPort video outputs, and a choice of USB ports for $249 (after ticking the $150 coupon code) on Amazon with 8GB RAM and a 128GB SATA SSD. The mini PC also supports 12V DC power input if you don’t use PoE power input, and comes with an additional RJ45 port acting as an RS232 console. There’s no built-in wireless, but the mini PC can take a WiFi and Bluetooth module, as well as a 4G LTE or 5G module, and features a SIM card slot for the latter. Specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N100 quad-core Alder Lake-N processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel HD graphics @ 750 MHz; TDP: 6W System Memory – 8GB DDDR4-3200, upgradable to 32GB Storage 128GB M.2 SATA SSD, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments on 2023 Year in review – Top 10 posts, statistics, and what to expect in 2024

2023 Year in review – Top 10 posts, statistics, and what to expect in 2024

CNX Software Happy New Year 2024

It’s the last day and last article of the year, so we will look at some highlights of 2023, some traffic statistics on the CNX Software website, and speculate what interesting developments may happen in 2024. Looking back at 2023 The semiconductor shortage that had happened since 2020 started to fade away in early 2023, and supplies for most electronics components and devices seem to be adequate at this time, so that was a bright spot this year, and hopefully, it will stay that way in 2024 despite geopolitical tensions. We did not have any super exciting new Arm application processors from Rockchip, Amlogic, or Allwinner announced this year, although the Amlogic S928X penta-core Cortex-A76/A55 CPU started to show up in some 8K TV boxes. The launch of the Raspberry Pi 5 SBC with a Broadcom BCM2712 quad-core Cortex-A76 processor was probably the main highlight for Arm on this side […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Mixtile Core 3588E SoM review – Part 2: Ubuntu 22.04, hardware features, RK3588 AI samples, NVIDIA Jetson compatibility

Mixtile Core 3588E SoM review – Part 2: Ubuntu 22.04, hardware features, RK3588 AI samples, NVIDIA Jetson compatibility

Mixtile Core 3588E Ubuntu 22.04 review

We’ve already had a look at the Mixtile Core 3588E NVIDIA Jetson Nano/TX2 NX/Xavier NX/Orin Nano compatible Rockchip RK3588 SO-DIMM system-on-module in the first part of the review with an unboxing and first boot with an Ubuntu 22.04 OEM installation. I’ve now had more time to play with the devkit comprised of a Core 3588 module in 16GB/128GB configuration and a Leetop A206 carrier board with low-level features testing, some benchmarks, multimedia testing with 3D graphics acceleration and video playback, some AI tests using the built-in 6 TOPS NPU and the RKNPU2 toolkit, and finally I also tried out the system-on-module with the carrier board from an NVIDIA Jetson Nano developer kit. Ubuntu 22.04 System info We had already checked some of the system information in the first part of the Mixtile Core 3588E review, but here’s a reminder:

I also ran inxi to check a few more details. […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC