Intel Celeron Category - CNX Software

January 30, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Kidwants KN1 is a $104 mini PC with a large touchpad on its top cover

Most mini PCs have pretty much the same features these days, but the Kidwants KN1 mini PC has a rather unique feature since it integrates a touchpad in its top cover allowing the user to interact without a mouse. The specifications are low-end with an Intel Celeron N4000 dual-core Gemini Lake processor first introduced in 2017, 8GB LPDDR4 RAM, and 128GB eMMC flash. The mini PC also offers two 4K-capable HDMI video outputs, Ethernet and WiFi 5 connectivity, five USB ports, and an audio jack. Kidwants KN1 specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N4000 dual-core Gemini Lake processor @ 1.10 GHz / 2.6 GHz (Turbo) with Intel UHD graphics; 6W TDP System Memory – 8GB LPDDR4 RAM Storage 128GB eMMC flash M.2 2280 SATA socket for up to 1TB SSD Video – 2x HDMI ports up to 4Kp60 Audio – 3.5mm audio jack Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port Dual-band Wi-Fi 5 […]

January 29, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 36 Comments

Radxa Orion O6 Review – Part 1: Unboxing, Debian 12 installation, and first benchmarks

Radxa sent me a sample of the Orion O6 mini-ITX motherboard for review. The system is powered by an CIX P1 (CD8180) 12-core Armv9 processor, equipped with 16GB RAM, and offers features like 5GbE, HDMI and DisplayPort, a PCIe Gen4 x16 slot, and more. It’s one of the most anticipated boards of the first part of 2025 since it’s powerful, offers a good performance/value ratio, and eventually promises to boot any ISO Arm64 image through an open-source BIOS / EDKII bootloader. I’ll start this review with an unboxing, NVMe SSD and WiFi module installation, and a short tutorial showing how to install Debian 12 operating systems before getting some system information and running a few benchmarks. In a few weeks, I’ll publish a more detailed review with features testing and more benchmarks to see what works and what doesn’t at this very early stage. Radxa Orion O6 unboxing I received […]

January 20, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Disabling VT-d improves Intel Arc GPU Linux performance on Meteor Lake and newer SoCs

Improve Intel Arc GPU performance Linux VT-d disabled

In this post, I’ll check whether disabling VT-d virtualization support may improve the performance of the Intel Arc GPU in recent Meteor Lake or Lunar Lake SoC using a Khadas Mind Maker Kit with an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V CPU with Intel Arc 140V graphics running Ubuntu 24.10. A few days ago, I read a post on Phoronix about Intel publishing tips to improve the performance of Intel GPUs in Linux: Keep the system updated with the latest kernel and Mesa versions. Ensure SoC firmware is up-to-date. These firmware updates currently require installing the Windows graphics driver; firmware updates via fwupd are in progress. Use Wayland where possible, as it supports additional modifiers for better performance. For MTL (Meteor Lake) and newer integrated GPUs, disable VT-d if virtualization is not needed. For discrete GPUs: Enable ReBAR_ Enable ASPM_ I was especially curious about the line about disabling VT-d virtualization […]

January 15, 2025January 19, 2025 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 7 Comments

SONOFF MINI-D Review – A Matter-enabled dry contact WiFi switch tested with eWeLink, Home Assistant, and Apple Home

SONOFF sent us a sample of the MINI-D Wi-Fi smart switch with a dry contact design for review. If you’re familiar with the larger SONOFF 4CH Pro model, which features four channels, the MINI-D operates similarly but is smaller in size and comes with the latest software features. The principle of a dry contact is that the relay contacts are not directly connected to the device’s power supply circuit. Instead, the contacts are isolated and require an external power source to supply power to the load. Make it flexible to use the SONOFF Mini-D in various scenarios such as controlling garage doors, thermostats, or high-current electrical devices through a contactor, like water pumps. It can also manage low-power DC devices such as solenoid valves or small electric motors (<8W). Because the power supplied to the MINI-D and the power passed through its relay can come from different sources, it offers […]

January 5, 2025February 2, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Khadas Mind Maker Kit review – Part 2: Windows 11 Home on an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V AI mini PC

I’ve already gone through the specifications and an unboxing of the “Khadas Mind 2 AI Maker Kit” powered by an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V “Lunar Lake” processor delivering up to 115 TOPS of AI performance and equipped with 32GB LPDDR5X RAM and a 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD in the first part of the review. I’ve now spent time with the mini PC/developer kit which is now simply called “Khadas Mind Maker Kit”, and I will report my experience with the Windows 11 Home 24H2 operating system in the second part of the review testing features, running benchmarks including an AI benchmark, evaluating networking and storage performance, testing the thermal design while under stress, and taking measurements for fan noise and power consumption. It looks like some AI features may finally be usable on Windows, but I’ll test that in a separate post since everything is new and Microsoft Copilot+, […]

November 28, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Barebone Intel Celeron 2955U or Pentium 3805U fanless industrial mini PC goes for $60 (Promo)

Low-cost Intel Celeron 2955U fanless mini PC

If you’re in need of a low-end, cheap x86 platform you’re in luck since XCY is selling the X46G industrial fanless mini PC powered by an Intel Celeron 2955U Haswell processor or a Pentium 3805U Broadwell CPU for just about $60 as a barebone system, or around $74 with 4GB of RAM, a 64GB SSD, and a WiFi module as part of a Black Friday 2024’s promotion. It’s even cheaper in some other shops, as we’ll see below. Both CPUs have been discontinued since 2021, and nobody should use those in a desktop system unless you are of the very patient type. However, if you want to run some lightweight Windows or Linux application(s), make use of RS232 ports for industrial control, set up a Full HD HTPC, configure a dual GbE server, or need to run FreeDOS or similar x86-only operating systems, those ultra-cheap Intel mini PCs might prove […]

November 20, 2024November 23, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024 – International deals and coupons

While Black Friday and Cyber Monday used to be a US-only event, it changed many years ago, and we’ve been writing about international Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals and coupon codes since 2014, since a large portion of our audience cannot benefit from promotions on Amazon’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday events that will take place from November 21 until December 2 this year. So I’ve gathered some international Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024 deals and discount coupon codes from relevant manufacturers and popular online stores such as Aliexpress, Banggood, and others. Aliexpress Black Friday and Cyber Monday event Aliexpress’ Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024 event has already started. There are three periods: Nov 19-21 PST – Warm Up event where users can find and add items to the cart before purchasing during the main event. Nov 22-30 PST – “On Sale” event with discounts up to […]

September 5, 2024September 4, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - No Comments

MIKRIK V2 Robot Car is an entry-level, open-source robotics kit built for ROS and 3D computer vision

The MIKRIK V2 Robot Car is an open-source robotics kit for studying 3D computer vision and is compatible with both ROS1 and ROS2 software suites. The two-wheel-drive robot is powered by a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (as a ROS1 differential drive controller) and a more powerful x86 or ARM single-board computer that can support ROS2 applications like the LattePanda Delta 3, Intel NUC, or NVIDIA Jetson Nano. The robot car uses the Intel Realsense D435i camera for 3D depth vision. It is a less expensive alternative to the iRobot Create, Husarion, and TurtleBot, and compares favorably with NVIDIA’s open-source JetBot AI robot platform. The robot car’s chassis is squared-off and made from shatterproof flex plastic. The CAD files are available on GitHub for self-assembly using a laser cutter and a 3D printer. The assembly and setup process is documented on the Hackster project page. On the software end, it […]