NXP has announced the IW62X WiFi 6 & Bluetooth 5.1 family of chips designed for high-end gaming, audio, industrial and IoT markets. The family currently consists of IW620 and IW620S parts with respectively PCIe and SDIO host interfaces. Both chips integrate dual-band Power Amplifiers (PAs), Low Noise Amplifiers (LNAs), and switches in order to reduce the board-level BOM (Bill of Materials). IW62X key features and specifications: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 DB (802.11ax) 1024 QAM, 80MHz Peak Throughput: 1.2 Gbps Improved wideband noise & MU-MIMO performance Advanced active channel scanning 802.11s, EasyMesh 802.11mc Bluetooth & Bluetooth Low Energy 5.1 BLE 2Mbps + Long Range BLE direction finding with Angle of Arrival (AoA) and Angle of Departure (AoD) BLE Mesh Antenna support 2×2 5G 1×1 2.4G + BT Multimode energy-efficient support (TWT, Micro AP, TX Power Control, Wi-Fi Direct, BT5.1) Host Interfaces IW620 – PCIe 1.0 IW620S – SDIO 3.0 […]
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 […]
gKINO-V1000 and gKINO-R1000 Mini-ITX SBC’s Feature AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000/R1000 SoC
While we reported earlier AMD Ryzen Embedded V2000 is coming later this year, companies are still launching boards with the previous generation AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000 or R1000 processors. ICP Germany has just announced four AMD Ryzen Embedded Mini-ITX boards with gKINO-V1000 boards equipped with either Ryzen Embedded V1202B or V1605B and gKINO-R1000 SBC’s coming with either Ryzen Embedded R1505G or R1606G processors. gKINO-V1000/R1000 key features and specifications: SoC gKINO-V1605B-R10 SBC – AMD Ryzen Embedded V1605B quad-core processor @ 2.0 / 3.6 GHz with 2MB cache, Radeon Vega8 GPU; 12-25W TDP gKINO-V1202B-R10 SBC – AMD Ryzen Embedded V1202B dual-core processor @ 2.3 / 3.2 GHz with 1MB cache, Radeon Vega3 GPU; 12-25W TDP gKINO-R1606B-R10 SBC – AMD Ryzen Embedded R1606G dual-core processor @ 2.6 / 3.5 GHz with 1MB cache, Radeon Vega3 GPU; 12-25W TDP gKINO-R1605B-R10 SBC – AMD Ryzen Embedded R1505G dual-core processor @ 2.4 / 3.3 GHz with […]
BCM MX4305UE Industrial Mini-ITX Motherboard Features Intel Celeron 4305UE Processor
Yesterday, as I wrote about AAEON UP Xtreme SBC, I realized that while I had seen some other Intel Celeron 4305UE Whiskey Lake boards with 3.5-inch and Pico-ITX form factors, I’ve just found out an industrial mini-ITX motherboard from BCM Advanced Research equipped with the processor. Just like other similar industrial Whiskey Lake SBC’s, Intel Core i3/i5/i7 Whiskey Lake-U Embedded processors are offered as options/upgrades for BCM MX4305UE motherboard, and the company says the board is designed for power-sensitive IoT devices and embedded applications such as video wall control management system, point-of-sales systems (POS), kiosks, automated vending machines, panel PCs, digital signage, medical and gaming devices. BCM MX4305UE mini-ITX board specifications: SoC Default – Intel Celeron 4305UE dual-core Whiskey Lake processor @ 2.0 GHz (base, no turbo frequency) with Intel UHD Graphics 610; 15W TDP Options Intel Core i7-8665UE quad-core processor up to 4.40 GHz max – TDP: 15W Intel […]
CrowPi2 Raspberry Pi 4 Learning Kit Review – Part 1 – Unboxing and First Boot
Last month, we wrote about Elecrow introducing CrowPi2 Raspberry Pi 4 laptop and electronics learning kit for its launch on Kickstarter crowdfunding website. The company has now sent one of its kits to CNX Software for evaluation and review. I’ll start by checking out the content of the package, and boot it up, before publishing a more detailed review in a few weeks. The package is fairly big and highlights it’s made for kids over 8 years old with close to 100 course resources and over 20 electronics modules. The back of the package list the main features and package contents with for example a 11.6″ Full HD display, Raspberry Pi 4 4GB board running a customized (Linux) system or Retropie for game emulation, electronics components and modules like servos and motors, as well as some resources for gaming including two USB gamepads. The first things we get when opening […]
MediaTek Helio G35 & G25 Entry-Level SoCs Feature MediaTek HyperEngine Game Technology
MediaTek Helio G-Series mobile processors come with optimization for gamers including HyperEngine game technology with network optimizations reducing lag and improving connection reliability, faster responses to taps, improved picture quality, and better resources management to avoid thermal throttling. So far, the company had integrated the HyperEngine technology into premium SoCs such as Helio G80 or Helio G90T powered by Cortex-A75/A76 cores, and BiFrost GPUs. There are aggressively Helio G90T priced phones such as Redmi Note 8 Pro going for about $240, but to address the lower-end side of the market, MediaTek has now introduced Helio G35 and G25 octa-core Cortex-A53 SoC with HyperEngine Game Technology. Helio G35 & G25 specifications: Processor Helio G25 – Octa-core Arm Cortex-A53 CPU @ 2.0 GHz Helio G35 – Octa-core Arm Cortex-A53 CPU @ 2.3 GHz GPU Helio G25 – Imagination PowerVR GE8320 up to 650MHz Helio G35 – Imagination PowerVR GE8320 up to 680MHz […]
One Netbook OneGx1 Mini Laptop Supports WiFi 6, 4G LTE or 5G Connectivity
We’ve seen plenty of mini laptops with 6″ to 9″ displays in the last couple of years, mainly from GPD and One Netbook, and to a lesser extend from CHUWI. But so far, I had not seen one with 5G connectivity, and the latest One Netbook OneGx1 mini laptop with a 7″ display and powered by an Amber Lake processor, does offer a 5G model, besides its WiFi 6 and 4G LTE variants. OneGx1 mini laptop specifications: SoC – Intel Core i5-10210Y Amber Lake-Y quad-core/octa-thread processor @ 1.0 GHz (base) / 4.0 GHz (turbo one core) / 2.7 GHz (turbo all cores) with 24 EU Intel UHD Graphics @ up to 1.05 GHz; 6MB cache; 7W TDP (configurable) System Memory & Storage Options 8GB LPDDR3 RAM, 256GB M.2 NVMe SSD, MicroSD card up to 128GB 16GB LPDDR3 RAM and 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD, MicroSD card up to 128GB Display – […]
Powkiddy X2 is a Low-End Nintendo Switch Lookalike
Powkiddy specializes in handheld gaming consoles, and if their latest Powkiddy X2 portable game console looks familiar, it’s because it looks just like a Nintendo Switch. But the comparison stops there. The NVIDIA processor is replaced by a quad-core Cortex-A7 processor, the display has a lower resolution, the controllers aren’t detachable, and unsurprisingly you can’t play any Nintendo Switch games. Powkiddy X2 specification: SoC – Quad-core Cortex-A7 processor @ 1.3 GHz (possibly Rockchip RK3128) System Memory – TBD Storage – TBD flash storage, MicroSD card slot Display – 7″ IPS display with 1024×600 resolution Video Output – Mini HDMI output Audio – 3.5mm audio jack; speaker(s); MP3/MP4 audio playback USB – 2x Micro USB port to connect external gamepads User input – 2x rockers, 2x D-PADs, select and start keys, function key, L&R; power & reset keys, volume control Battery – 3,000 mAh The console is said to come with […]