Tronsmart Ara X5 Cherry Trail mini PC Unboxing and Teardown

Tronsmart Ara X5 is one of the first Intel Atom X5 mini PCs available on the market, and should provide a decent update to the many Intel Atom Z3735F based devices with its Atom x5-Z8300 quad core processor. GeekBuying sent me one sample for review, and today I’ll take a few pictures, and take it apart to find out more about the components used and its thermal design, before doing a review in the next few days. Tronsmart Ara X5 Unboxing I received the fanless computer by DHL in the following package together with a EU to US plug adapter. Ara X5 ships with a 5V/3A power adapter, an HDMI cable, and a user’s manual in English. The front panel has two USB 2.0 host ports, a 3.5mm headset jack, and the power button, while the rear panel features the power jack, a Fast Ethernet RJ45 port, HDMI output, a […]

MinnowBoard Turbot SBC Gets an Intel Atom E3826 Dual Core Processor, FCC & CE Certification

MinnowBoard MAX launched las year as a low cost board based on Intel Bay Trail-I single or dual core processor, and was mostly targeting developers of embedded systems and hobbyists, but could not be used by OEMs as it lacked FCC & CE certifications. ADI Engineering designed a MinnowBoard compatible board named MinnowBoard Turbot with a faster Intel Atom E3826 dual core processor, FCC & CE certifications, and various other hardware modifications bringing improved HDMI, a better voltage regulator, and populating several connectors. MinnowBoard Turbot specifications: SoC – Intel Atom E3826 dual-core processor @ 1.46 GHz (7W TDP) System Memory – 2GB DDR3L 1333 MT/s (Soldered) – Options: 1GB, or 4GB DDR3L Storage – 1x Micro SD card slot, 1x SATA2 3Gb/sec, 8 MB SPI Flash for firmware (Tianocore UEFI, Coreboot / SeaBIOS) Video & Audio Output – micro HDMI connector Connectivity – 10/100/1000M Ethernet RJ-45 connector USB – 1x […]

Fitlet H mini PC is Powered by AMD A10 Micro-6700T SoC

At the beginning of the year, Compulab announced several Fitlet mini PCs powered by AMD Mullins processors. Missing from the original offering was the top of the line A10 Micro-6700T quad core processor, but the company’s latest Fitlet H integrates the more powerful, yet still low power, processor. Fitlet H specifications: SoC – AMD A10 Micro-6700T 64 bit quad-core processor @ up to 2.2 GHz with AMD Radeon R6 Graphics (4.5W TDP). System Memory – 2x SODIMM slots for up to 16 GB DDR3L-1333 Storage – Internal 2.5” HDD/SSD (SATA 3.0) + mSATA 3.0 + micro-SD Video Output – 2x HDMI 1.4a up to 1920 x 1200 @ 60Hz Audio – Realtek ALC888-VC2 HD audio codec; S/PDIF 7.1 input/output + stereo line-out / MIC in Connectivity 2x Gigabit Ethernet (Intel i211 Ethernet controllers) WLAN 802.11ac (2.4/5GHz dual band Intel 7260HMW) + Bluetooth 4.0 with two external antennas Cellular – mini-PCIe for […]

VIA Introduces AMOS-3005 Fanless Rugged Computer with Eden X4 x86 Processor, and VX11 Media Processor

VIA Embedded Store has just sent a newsletter to announce the launch of the company’s latest rugged embedded computer, AMOS-3005, powered by VIA Eden X4 processor and VX11 media processor and chipset, supporting temperature ranges from -10°C to 60°C, and featuring a flexible 9V-36V DC input. AMOS-3005 specifications: Processor –  VIA Eden X4 quad core 64-bit x86 processor @ 1.2 GHz (NanoBGA2 package) with 2MB L2 cache, 1066 MHz front side bus Chipset – VIA VX11 Media System Processor with an integrated VIA Chrome 640/645 graphics processor supporting DirectX 11, and OpenCL, as well as a VIA ChromotionHD 5.0 video engine supporting dual 1080p HD decoding of H.264, MPEG-2, WMV9, and VC-1 codecs. System Memory – 1x DDR3 1333 SDRAM SODIMM socket (Up to 8GB memory size) Storage – 1x mSATA slot, 32Mbit Flash memory for AMI BIOS. Video Output- 1x HDMI, 1x VGA up to 2048×1536, with dual independent […]

Windows 10 on MeLE PCG03, PCG01 and Other Intel Atom Z3735F Devices

For some reasons, after installing Ubuntu 15.04 on MeLE PCG03 a while ago, I had to re-install Windows 8.1 on the device. The backup I used with dd did not work, so I had to download the firmware from MeLE forums, and it worked OK. Right after the re-installation was complete, it asked me if I wanted to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, and I have given it a try, especially a few days ago somebody asked about Windows 10 on MeLE PCG01. So I’ll describe the update process on PCG03, show benchmarks results, and write about my experience with Kodi 15.0 in Windows 10. Upgrading to Windows 10 Once you are ready to update to Windows 10, the system will check for updates, and ask whether you want to download and install Windows 10. The download is over 2GB large, so it may take a while. It took […]

MeegoPad T04 Cherry Trail mini PC Sells for $136

Right after writing about MeegoPad T03 TV stick, I noticed another product on Amazon, namely MeegoPad T04 which for once is not based on a Bay Trail processor, but instead the newer Intel Atom x5-Z8300 Cherry Trail quad core processor, and which sells for $139 on Aliexpress or $136 on Amazon US. [Update: T04 is now sold on Gearbest for $123.99 with MGT04 coupon] Since the descriptions on Amazon and Aliexpress can’t be fully trusted, these are only tentative specifications for MeegoPad T04, which are quite similar to the ones listed for Tronsmart Ara x5: SoC – Intel Atom x5-Z8300 “Cherry Trail” quad core processor @ 1.44 GHz (Bust freq: 1.84 GHz) with Intel Gen8 HD graphics (2W SDP) System Memory –  2 GB Storage – 32 GB eMMC + micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI Audio I/O – HDMI, 3.5mm microphone jack Connectivity – Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, […]

MeegoPad T03 TV Sticks Runs Windows 8.1 and Android 4.4, Features an Improved Thermal Design

If you were expecting a new processor for MeegoPad T03, you’ll be disappointed that hardware-wise the third MeegoPad hardware specifications are basically the same as MeegoPad T01 and T02, but the new version of the stick should not get as hot as the first two versions, and runs a dual boot image with Windows 8.1 and Android 4.4, that can be upgraded to Windows 10, contrary to some other dual boot Bay Trail devices. MeegoPad T03 specifications are indeed mostly the same of the previous models: SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F  “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz – 1.83 GHz with Intel HD graphics Gen 7 System Memory – 2 GB DDR3L Storage – 32 GB eMMC + micro SD slot up to 64GB Video & Audio Output – HDMI 1.4 Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port, 2x micro […]

Freaks3D is a Low Cost Portable 3D Printer (Crowdfunding)

ElecFreaks is a design house based in Shenzhen that caters to makers and startups, and started selling Arduino shields and accessories, as well as  Raspberry Pi add-on boards, before moving to robotics kits, 3D printers, and other tools in demand by electronics hobbyists. The company has now designed Freaks3D portable 3D printer, and launched an Indiegogo campaign to fund production. Freaks3D printer specifications: Technology – Fused Deposition Modeling Build Volume – 130 x 150 x 100 mm (LxWxH) Nozzle Size – Standard 400 microns Resolution – Layer: 100 microns; XY: 50 microns Filament diameter – 1.75mm Filament Material – PLA or TPU 3D Files Transfer – USB via PC, or SD card Misc – LCD Display, one button operation, printing bed does not require heating Power Supply – 12V / 8A power adapter, or 12V / 5A power bank (Not included) Dimensions –  290 x 320 x 325 mm Weight […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC