The Qualcomm S3 Gen 2 Sound Platform (QCC5181) is a Bluetooth 5.4 audio solution designed for dongles and adapters with ultra-low latency (<20 ms) and support for the latest LE Audio and Auracast broadcast audio standards. The platform was introduced last year, but the company says it has now launched a “newly enhanced solution” optimized for gaming that “combines Snapdragon Sound and LE Audio to deliver ultra-low latency of less than 20ms for lag-free wireless audio with voice back-channel for in-game chat”. The new solution also focuses on USB dongles and adapters since few hosts support Bluetooth 5.4 at this time. Qualcomm S3 Gen 2 (QCC5181) Sound Platform specifications: CPU – Dual-core 32-bit microcontroller clocked at up to 80 MHz DSP – Qualcomm Kalimba DSP @ 240 MHz with 384 kB program RAM, 1,024kB data RAM Storage – External QSPI flash Connectivity Bluetooth 5.4 qualified Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth Classic, […]
Morefine M600 6900HX review – A Ryzen 9 6900HX mini PC tested with Windows 11 and Ubuntu 23.04
Under review today is Morefine M600 6900HX mini PC which is a generational update to the previously released S500+ (5900HX or 5700U) although it should be noted that Morefine will soon be releasing a newer version of the M600 with either a Ryzen 7 7840HS or Ryzen 9 7940HS. The current M600 (6900HX) brings both processor and iGPU improvements over the S500+ together with a couple of port upgrades and the welcome introduction of USB4, DDR5, PCIe Gen 4.0, and an additional M.2 storage slot. This review will look at Windows 11 performance together with a quick look at running Ubuntu 23.04 and experiences from using the new features. Morefine M600 6900HX product specifications The Morefine M600 6900HX specifications are as follows: Product overview Overview of hardware The M600 physically consists of a 149 x 145 x 40 mm (5.87 x 5.71 x 1.57 inches) square metal case with […]
MangoPi mCore-R818 module powers CyberPad 3.1-inch handheld android “tablet”
mCore-R818 is the first time that MangoPi adopts the design combination of a core-lite module and a carrier board. As its name suggests, it is an AllWinner R818 SoM whose SoC integrates an Imagination PowerVR GE8300 GPU for UI rendering, can drive MIPI DSI, LVDS, and RGB displays, as well as cameras through a MIPI CSI interface, 8MP/5MP/2MP interfaces. The Allwinner R818 system-on-module powers a feature-rich carrier board as well as an upcoming Cyberpad Android “tablet” with a 3.1-inch display. MangoPi mCore-R818 The package design of the processor itself is small, so the MCore-R818 core board is only 3x3cm in size, but still contains four components with the Allwinner R818, the eMMC flash, LPDDR4 memory, and the AXP717 PMU. MangoPi provides two hardware configurations: 2GB DDR with 16GB eMMC flash, and 4GB DDR with 32GB eMMC flash. MCore-R818 Core Lite Specifications: SoC – Allwinner R818 CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 […]
$25 Sipeed Tang Nano 20K FPGA board can simulate a RISC-V core, run Linux, retro games
The Sipeed Tang Nano 20K is a low-cost FPGA development board based on Gowin GW2AR-18 FPGA with 20,736 logic cells and 64Mbit RAM, which coupled with 64MBit QSPI flash provides enough resources to simulate a 32-bit RISC-V core booting Linux or playing retro games in an emulator. The FPGA board comes with a USB-C port for power and to load the FPGA bitstream through a BL616 microcontroller that also acts as a USB to serial chip, an HDMI port and an RGB LCD interface for video output, two user buttons, and two rows GPIOs to connect peripherals such as gamepads (through adapters). Sipeed Tang Nano 20K specifications: FPGA – Gowin GW2A-LV18QN88C8I7 with 20,736 logic units (LUT4) 15,552 flip-flops (FF) RAM 41,472 shadow SRAM (S-SRAM) 828K block SRAM (B-SRAM) Numbers of B-SRAM – 46 64Mbit 32-bit SDR SDRAM 48x 18×18 multipliers 2x PLLs 8x I/O Bank Onboard debugger – Bouffalo Labs […]
Beelink SER6 Pro 7735HS Review – Windows 11 benchmarks, USB4 port tested with NVIDIA RTX 3050 eGPU’s
Previously I reviewed Beelink’s SER6 Pro mini PC when it was released with an AMD Ryzen 7 6800H processor, mentioning that a ‘refreshed’ model had since been released. Beelink have kindly sent me this updated model which now uses an AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS. Given this is virtually an identical processor with just a 50 MHz improvement to the boost frequency, this review will look at confirming that the Windows performance is just as good as before and also revisiting the issues faced previously with the USB4 port. Spoiler alert: the USB4 now works perfectly! Beelink SER6 Pro 7735S specification Beelink list the SER6 Pro 7735HS specifications as: with the only differences to the original SER6 Pro being firstly the AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS processor which has a Max Turbo Frequency of 4.75GHz, and secondly that two variations are also available: one with ports exactly the same as the original […]
Orange Pi is working on a portable gaming console with Rockchip RK3588S or AMD Ryzen 7 CPU
Single board computer manufacturer Orange Pi Ltd is working on a portable gaming console that will come with either a Rockchip RK3588S processor for Android/Linux gaming, or AMD Ryzen 7 7800U/6800U for Windows gaming. The industrial design looks to be the same for all models with a 7-inch touchscreen display, a D-Pad, two joysticks, XBOX-styled ABXY buttons, two customisable buttons on the back, two microphones, stereo speakers, three USB ports including one only for charging, The Orange Pi portable gaming console will be offered in three variants when it launches in China in October during Golden Week: AMD Ryzen 7 7840U processor with 16GB RAM, 512GB storage running Windows 11 for an early bird price of 3,000 RMB ($434 US), or a regular price of 3,499 RMB ($506). AMD Ryzen 7 6800U with Windows 11 selling for 2,000 RMB, or about $289 US (early bird price). Rockchip RK3588S octa-core Arm […]
AMD Ryzen Z1 “Zen4” processors target Windows-based handheld gaming consoles
AMD has just unveiled the new power-efficient Ryzen Z1 “Zen4” Series processor family designed for handheld gaming consoles running Windows and equipped with AMD RDNA 3 architecture-based graphics. The new series features two processors at launch, namely the Ryzen Z1 hexa-core processor with 4 RDNA 3 Compute Units and the Ryzen Z1 Extreme octa-core processor with 12 RDNA 3 Computer Units for “ultimate high-performance for handheld gaming”. Highlights of Ryzen Z1 and Z1 extreme specifications: Both processors support LPDDR5/LPDDR5x memory, and USB4 interface, as well as the following AMD technologies: AMD Link – Mobile app to connect your phone, tablet, TV, or Windows-based PC, and stream games. AMD Radeon Super Resolution – In-driver feature upscaling lower resolutions set in-game to the native resolution of the active display for higher FPS performance. AMD Radeon Boost – Dynamically lowers the resolution of the entire frame when fast on-screen character motion is detected […]
Beelink SER6 Pro mini PC review – Windows 11, Ubuntu 22.04, and USB4
Beelink upgraded their earlier SER6, which used an AMD Ryzen 5 6600H processor with integrated AMD Radeon 660M graphics, and released the SER6 Pro which has a faster AMD Ryzen 7 6800H processor with much more powerful integrated AMD Radeon 680M graphics. Beelink kindly sent a SER6 Pro unit for review however since receiving the mini PC, Beelink have ‘refreshed’ the processor to use an AMD Ryzen 7 7735H also with AMD Radeon 680M graphics, and called it the SER6 Pro Refresh. As a result, this review looks at Windows performance which should be indicative for both versions, together with a quick look at running Ubuntu and also a more detailed look at the USB4 port which is a new inclusion to Beelink’s mini PCs. Update: you may be interested in the review of the Beelink SER6 Pro 7735HS – in Windows 11 only – as we’ve also received it […]