Khronos has just granted Vulkan 1.1 conformance to Raspberry Pi 4 SBC, and following the implementation of various optimizations and new features such as geometry shaders, the v3dv Mesa driver delivers up to 60% higher GPU performance in Unreal Engine 4. Iglia started Vulkan driver work for Raspberry Pi 4 almost two years ago, with the triangle demo showcased in February 2020, followed by Vulkan 1.0 conformance in November 2020, and now the driver is certified conformant to Vulkan 1.1. While many GPUs are conformant, the Raspberry Pi 4 is only joined by a couple of complete platforms including several NVIDIA Jetson modules (Vulkan 1.2), and possibly some Intel and Google platforms shown as “Confidential” at this time. Alex Bate, Digital Content Manager for the Raspberry Pi Foundation, explains the driver changes for Vulkan 1.1 conformance have already been merged in the upstream v3dv Mesa driver, and should soon become […]
AVA Developer Platform offers 32 64-bit Arm cores, 32GB RAM, 10GbE for $5,450
The AVA Developer Platform was announced together with ADLink COM-HPC Ampera Altra server module for embedded applications with up to 80 64-bit Arm cores, up to 768GB DDR4, 4x 10GbE, and 64x PCIe Gen4 lanes. The AVA Developer Platform is not fitted with the top-end COM-HPC module, but still, with a 32-core COM-HPC Ampere Altra module fitted with 32 GB DDR4 memory, plus a 128 GB NVMe M.2 SSD, and an Intel Quad X710 10GbE LAN card, it still makes an impressive workstation for native Arm development. We did not know the price the last time, but now we do as the workstation is available for pre-order for $5,450. AVA Developer Platform specifications: SoM – COM-HPC Ampere Altra module with Ampere Altra 32-core 64-bit Arm Neoverse N1 processor up to 3.3 GHz (TPD: 60W), 32 GB DDR4 memory Storage – 128 GB NVMe M.2 SSD (From photos see below: extra […]
Raspberry Pi CM4 based PiBox 2 Mini serves as NAS, private Cloud storage (Crowdfunding)
The PiBox 2 Mini is a networked storage solution based on a Raspberry Pi CM4 module and equipped with two slots for 2.5-inch SATA drivers be it HDD’s or SSD’s. It also exposes USB ports and an HDMI port, so I could also be used as a computer. Designed by KubeSail “self hosting company”, the PiBox does not only serve as a standard NAS, but aims to provide a home-based private cloud hosting solution that can replace services such as Google Photos or Dropbox with easily installable templates that are hosted in the box. Pibox 2 Mini specifications: Support SoM – Raspberry Pi CM4 or CM4 Lite with up to 8GB RAM, 32GB eMMC flash Storage 2x SATA port for 2.5-inch drives (SSD or HDD) MicroSD card socket for people using CM4 Lite Video Output – HDMI 2.0 port up to 4Kp60 Display – Built-in 1.3-inch color LCD for information […]
Allwinner D1s/F133 RISC-V processor integrates 64MB DDR2
Allwinner D1s (aka F133) is a cost-down version of Allwinner D1 RISC-V processor introduced earlier this year together with a Linux capable development board, with the main difference being the integrated 64MB DDR2. Besides the built-in RAM, Allwinner D1s comes with many of the same features as D1 RISC-V SoC, but loses HDMI output and the HiFi 4 audio DSP, and Allwinner made some tweaks to the IOs with one less I2S audio interface, and general-purpose ADC. Allwinner D1s/F133 specifications: CPU – RISC core with 32 KB I-cache + 32 KB D-cache (CNXSoft: not specified, but probably the same Alibaba/T-Head Xuantie C906 RISC-V core as used in Allwinner D1) DSP – HiFi4 DSP 600MHz with 32 KB I-cache + 32 KB D-cache, 64 KB I-ram + 64 KB D-ram Memory – 64 MB DDR2 (SIP) Storage I/F – SD3.0, eMMC 5.0, SPI Nor/Nand Flash Video Engine Video decoding H.265 up […]
How to upgrade a mini PC to Windows 11 and install WSL
In this short article, I show how to install Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and how to force the upgrade of Windows 10 to Windows 11 in a mini PC rather than waiting for Windows to offer it. The reason I’ve coupled these two topics together is not because there is any dependency, but simply as I use WSL to help me perform administrative tasks like downloading and copying files when installing applications on Windows mini PCs. WSL installation Installing WSL has recently become so simple it is worth doing just to gain the flexibility it offers for so little effort. Now you only need to open ‘Windows Terminal (Admin)’ and enter wsl –install: then reboot for Ubuntu to start installing, during which you will be asked to create your user with a password, which finishes in Ubuntu: Further information about installing WSL can be found in Microsoft’s documentation. Now […]
Rockchip RK3566/RK3568 SoM’s feature board-to-board connectors or castellated holes
Rongpin Electronics has designed RK3566 and RK3568 systems-on-modules (SoM) with either board-to-board connectors or castellated holes for direct soldering to the carrier board, which adds competition to the Firefly Core-3568J AI Core Rockchip RK3568 system-on-module offered in a SO-DIMM form factor with an edge connector. The Rongpin Pro-RK3566 and Pro-RK3568 core boards are equipped with four high-speed Hirose connectors, while the RP-RK3568 Core board exposes I/Os through castellated holes around the four sides of the CPU module. Rongpin Pro-RK356x system-on-module & devkit Specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3566/RK3568 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ 2.0 GHz with Arm Mali-G52 2EE GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.0, Vulkan 1.1, 0.8 TOPS NPU for AI acceleration, 4Kp60 H.265/H.264/VP9 video decoding, and 1080p100 H.265/H.264 video encoding System Memory – 2GB DDR4 (option for 4GB) Storage – 8GB eMMC 5.1 flash (option for 16GB to 128GB) 4x Hirose board-to-board connectors with Storage 1x SATA […]
BrainChip AKD1000 SNN AI SoC gets Raspberry Pi and x86 development kits
BrainChip has introduced two development kits for its Akida AKD1000 neuromorphic processor based on Raspberry Pi and an Intel (x86) mini PC in order to enable partners, large enterprises, and OEMs to begin testing and validation of the Akida chip. BrainChip Akida neural relies on spiking neural networks (SNN) which enable high-performance, real-time inference at ultra-low power, notably much lower power than traditional AI chips relying on CNN (convolutional neural network) technology. Akida Development Kit based on Raspberry Pi CM4 Specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi CM4 or CM4 Lite with SoC: Broadcom BCM2711C0 quad-core ARM Cortex-A72 (ARMv8-A) 64-bit @ 1.5GHz plus Broadcom VideoCore VI GPU RAM – 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB LPDDR4 SDRAM Storage – MicroSD card for CM4 Lite, or 2GB to 32GB eMMC for CM4 Networking – Optional 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz 802.11b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, Gigabit Ethernet PHY Carrier board – Official Raspberry Pi […]
Khadas VIM4 – An Amlogic A311D2 SBC with 8GB RAM, Wi-Fi 6, HDMI input & output
We’ve just written about the Amlogic A311D2 processor with some pretty interesting features, and Khadas VIM4 will be one of the first single board computers equipped with the latest octa-core processor, succeeding the company’s earlier Khadas VIM3 board powered by an Amlogic A311D hexa-core processor. Khadas VIM4 makes good use of the extra memory allowance with faster 8GB LPDDR4 RAM, and also offers 32GB eMMC flash, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 6, 4Kp60 HDMI input and output, independent USB 3.0, and PCIe (via M.2 socket) interfaces, and more. Khadas VIM4 specifications with bold highlights showing the differences with the VIM3 Pro model: SoC – Amlogic A311D2 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 MP(8EE) GPU, NPU shown as TBD possibly due to license requirements System Memory- 8GB LPDDR4X @ 2112 MHz Storage – 32GB eMMC […]