Station P2 Arm mini PC offers dual GbE, M.2 & SATA SSD, up to 8GB RAM (Crowdfunding)

Rockchip RK3568 mini PC

Last week, we noted Firefly launched the first RK3568 system-on-module with Core-3568J AI Core and a corresponding full-featured development kit. But the company has been working on another interesting Rockchip RK3568 based device with Station P2 mini PC. Most Arm mini PCs need to make compromises when it comes to interfaces having to rely on USB bridges, but Station P2 feels very much like standard x86 based mini PC, albeit with a slower processor, thanks to native interfaces, or implemented through PCIe, with M.2 and SATA 3.0 SSD/HDD, dual Gigabit Ethernet, as well as WiFi 6, several USB 3.0/2.0 ports, and support for up to 8GB RAM among other features. Station P2 mini PC specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 2.0 GHz with Arm Mali-G52 2EE GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.0, Vulkan 1.1, 0.8 TOPS NPU for AI acceleration, 4Kp60 H.265/H.264/VP9 […]

Axiomtek’s Compact Fanless Embedded System Features Intel Processors

Axiomtek eBOX560-52R-FL embedded system

Axiomtek has announced eBOX560-52R-FL, which is a palm-size fanless embedded system featuring Intel Core and Celeron Whiskey Lake-U processors. We also saw ICP Germany’s fanless Linux embedded system featuring NXP i.MX 8M processor. This device was dedicated to IoT gateways and data acquisition applications. In contrast, the eBOX560-52R-FL fanless embedded system is for more diverse use cases including machine and logistics automation, station gate controls, and ticket vending machines. The eBOX560-52R-FL fanless embedded system comes with two independent 4K Ultra HD displays via DisplayPort++ and HDMI ports. The device features 2 GbE LAN for faster communication and networking, as well as one M.2 Key E 2230 for the Wi-Fi module. The embedded system can endure up to 50G shock and 3Grms vibration thus suitable for industrial applications. The operating temperature of the device ranges from -10°C to +50°C with 0.7 m/s airflow whereas the storage temperature ranges from -20°C to […]

Pockit modular Linux computer takes hot plugging magnetic blocks

Pockit modular Linux computer

There have been attempts to create modular computers and smartphones to reduce electronics waste and improve user-serviceability over the years with initiatives and products like Google Project Ara, PinePhone and Fairphone3 smartphones, DevTerm mini computer, Olimex TERES-I laptop, and many more. Here’s another modular computer project that looks really cool. Pickit modular computer is comprised of an STM32+ESP32 based mainboard with a socket for an optional Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3. The board includes magnets and electrical contacts to snap and hot-plug modules/blocks while the computer is running. The video demo embedded further below, is really impressive, but let’s check out Pockit preliminary specifications first: MCU – STMicro STM32 microcontroller Wireless MCU – ESP32 dual-core processor with WiFi and Bluetooth LE CPU module – Socket for Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 Expansion 24+ feature BLOCKS ready to use with instant connection using magnetic-snaps including Ethernet, Display (HDMI), audio, sensor modules […]

Windows Performance on an Intel NUC 11 Enthusiast Phantom Canyon NUC11PHKi7C

NUC11PHKi7C skull

The Enthusiast Phantom Canyon is Intel’s flagship product from its latest NUC 11 range of mini PCs. Specifically targeting gamers it includes an NVIDIA RTX 2060 GPU. In this article, I take a brief look at the performance under Windows and compare it against Intel’s previous NUC with a discrete GPU: the NUC 9 Extreme Ghost Canyon. Hardware Overview The NUC11PHKi7C physically consists of a 221 x 142 x 42 mm (8.70 x 5.59 x 1.65 inches) rectangular plastic case which is remarkable because of its size and is similar to just a graphics card like NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 2060 Founders Edition (229 x 113 x 35 mm). It is an actively cooled mini PC and uses Intel’s 10 nm Core i7-1165G7 Tiger Lake processor which is a quad-core 8-thread 2.80 GHz processor boosting to 4.70 GHz with Intel’s Iris Xe Graphics. But it also includes NVIDIA’s N18E-G1-B notebook graphics […]

ECS LIVA M300-W industrial mini PC is powered by Rockchip RK3399K SoC

ECS LIVA M300-W industrial mini PC

Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) is mostly known for its x86 motherboards and mini PCs, but earlier with year, ECS LIVA Q1A Arm mini PC was introduced with either Rockchip RK3288 or RK3399 SoC, and support for Linux and Android operating systems. But the Taiwanese company has now unveiled a new Arm-based industrial-grade mini PC with LIVA M300-W powered by Rockchip RK3399K processor that allows for either higher 2.0 GHz frequency at commercial temperature range, or the usual 1.8 GHz frequency in a wider (-20°C to +85°C) temperature range. ECS LIVA M300-W specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399K hexa-core processor with two Cortex-A72 up to 1.8GHz/2.0GHz, four Cortex-A53 up to 1.4GHz, Arm Mali-T860MP4 GPU System Memory – 2GB/4GB DDR3L Storage – 32GB or 64 GB eMMC flash, internal Micro SD slot Video Output 1x HDMI 2.0 port up to 4Kp60, CEC support 1x DisplayPort 1.2 port up to 4Kp60 Audio – 1x […]

Using an eGPU with a mini PC

using r43sg egpu with mini PC

Mini PCs have grown in popularity in part due to their small form-factor offering low-powered basic computing with sufficient ports for connectivity. As such they are useful both in commercial settings such as digital signage as well as with consumers needing a small-footprint or VESA-mounted low-cost computer. However, one drawback is their limited graphical performance due to using CPUs with integrated graphics which results in the options for playing games being somewhat restricted and ‘AAA’ titles typically being unplayable. Lower-priced laptops often share the same drawback and one of the ways that users have addressed their graphical need is by utilizing an external GPU (eGPU) however the commercially available ones are both expensive and require connecting via a Thunderbolt 3 port. Unfortunately, not many Chinese-made mini PCs currently include a Thunderbolt 3 port however now that they have started to include M.2 NVMe ports this has created the possibility of […]

Beelink Expand X USB dock turns your phone into a computer

Beelink Expand X

Beelink is better known for its Intel mini PCs, so the first time I saw Beelink Expand X I thought it was a mini PC somehow fitted with a smartphone stand…  But instead, it’s a USB dock for your mobile phone or tablet, that comes with a  foldable stand to use your smartphone into a computer by connecting it to a monitor, USB keyboard & mouse, and maybe throw a USB hard drive in the mix to complete your setup. Beelink Expand X specifications: Video Output – 1x HDMI port up to 4K UHD resolution USB 1x USB Type -C input port to connect to the host device (data, video, audio) 1x USB Type-C port for power/charging 2x USB 2.0 host ports 1x micro USB port to connect a PC Mode switch button Foldable stand for smartphone or tablet Dimensions – 120mm (length folded) x 65 x 13 mm (Full […]

PoE powered AI Edge computer combines NXP i.MX 8M SoC with Google Edge TPU

AAEON has introduced several BOXER AI edge computers over the years either powered by an NVIDIA Jetson module, a HiSilicon HI3559A Arm SoC, or an Intel processor combined with Movidius Myriad AI accelerator. The latest model, BOXER-8521AI, combines an NXP i.MX 8M SoC with Google Edge TPU AI accelerator, and offers 1GB RAM, USB ports, a 40-pin external I/O connector, and 12V or PoE power inputs. AAEON BOXER-8521AI specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 8M SoC quad-core Cortex-A53 processor with Cortex-M4F real-time core, 2D/3D GPUs AI Accelerator – Google Edge TPU ML accelerator coprocessor System Memory – 1GB LPDDR4x RAM Storage – 8GB eMMC flash, MicroSD card slot Video Output – 1x HDMI 2.0a port Audio – 1x Mic-in, 1x Line-out, optional 2x MEMS microphones Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port with PoE (802.3at) Optional? WiFi 2×2 MIMO (802.11b/g/n/ac 2.4/5GHz) & Bluetooth 4.1 plus two antennas USB – 2x USB3.2 Gen 1 […]

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