MINISFORUM have launched their EliteMini H31G which combines a desktop CPU with a discrete graphics card in a mini PC form factor. It supports various Intel 9th and 8th gen desktop processors combined with an NVIDIA Geforce GTX1050 Ti graphics card and targets both gamers and content creators. Available as a barebones device and in various configurations MINISFORUM sent a fully configured model for review. Hardware overview The MINISFORUM EliteMini H31G is a remarkably small mini PC for what it offers and physically consists of a 154 mm x 153 mm x 62 mm (6.06 x 6.02 x 2.44 inches) rectangular plastic case with a metal base. It is an actively cooled mini PC that uses Intel’s LGA 1151 socket and supports desktop processors up to a maximum TDP of 65W. The review model came with an Intel Core i5 9500F Coffee Lake processor pre-installed which is a six-core 6-thread […]
Intel NUC 9 Extreme “Ghost Canyon” Kit – NUC9i9QNX Review
I’ve previously written about Intel’s (relatively) new NUC 9 range of mini PCs and now I am following up with my experiences of having bought one. Whilst I’ll cover some performance metrics from both Windows and Ubuntu I’ll also discuss the benefits and drawbacks of using either OS together with a comparison of gaming, thermals, and power usage as well as a brief look at overclocking potential and implications together with highlighting the issues encountered. NUC9i9QNX Hardware Overview The model I purchased and will be reviewing here is the NUC9i9QNX from Intel’s Ghost Canyon lineup and is formally known as the Intel NUC 9 Extreme Kit – NUC9i9QNX. It contains a “Compute Element” with an i9-9980HK which is an eight-core 16-thread 2.40 GHz processor boosting to 5.00 GHz with Intel’s UHD Graphics 630. The full specifications of the NUC9i9QNX include: The NUC9i9QNX is sold as a kit which essentially means […]
Amlogic S905X3-B SoC Powers Android 9.0 TV Boxes with Dolby Audio License
Amlogic S905X3 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor has been found in various TV boxes and single board computers such as ODROID-C4 for about a year. But I’ve just been informed some new TV models come with Amlogic S905X3-B processor adding a Dolby Audio license. AX95 DB is one of those with the S905X3-B Android 9.0 TV box equipped with 4GB RAM, up to 128GB storage, HDMI 2.1 output up to 4Kp60, as well as Fast Ethernet, and USB 3.0/2.0 ports. AX95 DB specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X3-B quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor @ 2.0 GHz with Arm Mali-G31MP2 GPU, Dolby audio license System Memory – 4GB DDR3 Storage – 64GB flash (32GB or 128GB optional), MicroSD card slt up to 32GB Video & Audio Output HDMI 2.1 up to 4K @ 60Hz or 8K @ 24Hz 3.5mm AV jack for composite video and stereo audio Optical S/PDIF with Dobly Digital audio support Video […]
Beelink GT-R Review – An AMD Ryzen 5 Mini PC Tested with Windows 10 and Ubuntu 20.04
Whilst Windows mini PCs have traditionally used Intel processors similar small form factor (SFF) devices using AMD based processors have recently been announced and Beelink is amongst the first manufacturers to deliver one with their newly released GT-R mini PC. Available as a barebones device and in various configurations Beelink sent a fully configured model for review. Hardware overview The Beelink GT-R is a slightly larger mini PC physically consisting of a 168 mm x 120 mm x 39 mm (6.61 x 4.72 x 1.54 inches) rectangular metal case with a plastic top. It is an actively cooled mini PC that uses a (previous generation) Zen+ microarchitecture 12 nm Ryzen 5 3550H mobile processor which is a quad-core 8-thread 2.1 GHz processor boosting to 3.7 GHz with Radeon Vega 8 Graphics. The front panel has a power button, two 3.0 USB ports, a headphone jack, and a Type-C USB port […]
Fraunhofer HHI H.266/Versatile Video Coding (VVC) Halves the Data Requirements of H.265
There’s a lot of hype around AV1 royalty-free video codec since it has backing from large companies, better characteristics than H.265 or VP9, and is already used by YouTube and Netflix. AV1 hardware decoders are also found in new processors like Amlogic S905X4 or Mediatek Dimensity 1000+. But we previously noted that H.266, aka VCC (Versatile Video Coding), was in the works, and Fraunhofer HHI has just announced the release and official adoption of the H.266/Versatile Video Coding (VVC) video compression standard. H.266 standard offers improved compression, which reduces data requirements by around 50% compared to the previous H.265/HEVC standard at the same visual quality. In practical terms, a 10GB H.265 video now only needs 5GB with H.266 video codec saving both storage and bandwidth. The standard can be used to transmit and store commonly used video resolutions from SD to HD up to 4K and 8K and also supports […]
AI Edge Fanless Embedded Box PC is Powered by HiSilicon HI3559A Penta-Core 8K AI Camera SoC
HiSilicon Hi3559A is a penta-core Cortex-A73/A53 processor designed for 8Kp30 or 4Kp120 smart cameras thanks to DSP cores and a single or dual-core NNIE (Neural Network Inference Engine) AI accelerator. We first found the processor in an expensive development board and noted its integration into OBSBOT Tail 4Kp60 “auto-director” smart camera and a 4Kp120 action camera. AAEON has now launched BOXER-8410AI AI Edge fanless embedded box PC based on Hi3559A V100ES processor to add an alternative to its Intel and NVIDIA based AI edge PC‘s. AAEON BOXER-8410AI specifications: SoC – Hisilicon Hi3559A V100(ES) (See product brief) CPU – Penta-core processor with 2x Arm Cortex A73 cores @ 1.8 GHz, 2x Arm Cortex A53 cores @ 1.2 GHz, 1x low power Arm Cortex A53 core @ 1.2 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G71 MP2 GPU @ 900 MHz AI Accelerators – Quad-core DSP & dual-core NNIE MCU – Arm Cortex-M7 based Sensor […]
Rockchip RK3588 8K TV Box Triples as 5G & WiFi 6 Router, Home Automation Gateway
Rockchip RK3588 octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 processor was only expected in the second half of 2020 for IoT and vision/AI applications, but at least one company is working on a 3-in-1 product based on Rockchip high-end processor with a “5G AIoT 8K TV box” that also works as a 5G and WiFi 6, and with features such as Zigbee can also act as a home automation gateway. “5G AIoT Android TV Box” preliminary specifications: Main SoC – Rockchip 3588 octa-core processor with 4x Cortex-A76 and 4x Cortex-A55 cores in dynamIQ configuration, Arm “Natt” GPU (i.e. NOT Mali-G31 MP2), NPU 2.0, 8K H.265/AV1 video decoder, 4K video encoder System Memory – 4GB DDR4 Storage – 32GB eMMC flash, MicroSD card slot up to 64GB?! Video Output – HDMI 2.1 up to 8K resolutions Audio – SPDIF audio output, HDMI audio Connectivity 802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 via Qualcomm QCA6391 WiSoC 1x […]
4K Digital Signage Player Drives up to 4x 4K Displays with AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000 SoC
We’ve covered plenty of AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000 SBC‘s, as well as some mini PC‘s, but the processor’s multimedia capabilities make it an ideal candidate for advanced digital signage players capable of driving multiple 4K displays. Axiomtek leveraged those capabilities in DSP600-211 4K digital signage player that offers four HDMI ports driving up to four 4K displays, as well as dual Gigabit Ethernet. Axiomtek DSP600-211 4K digital signage specifications: SoC (one or the other) AMD Ryzen Embedded V1605B quad-core/octa-thread processor @ 2.0GHz / 3.6 GHz (Boost) with AMD Radeon Vega 8 Graphics; 12-25W TDP AMD Ryzen Embedded V1807B quad-core/octa-thread processor @ 3.35GHz / 3.8 GHz with AMD Radeon Vega 11 Graphics; 35-54W TDP System Memory – 2x DDR4-2400 SO-DIMM up to 16GB Storage – 1x M.2 Key M 2280 (SATA) and 1x M.2 Key M 2280 (NVMe) Video Output – 4x HDMI 2.0 ports up to 4K @ 60 Hz […]