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June 11, 2024June 10, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

GEEKOM A8 Review – Part 3: Ubuntu 24.04 tested on an AMD Ryzen 8945HS mini PC

GEEKOM A8 mini PC Review Ubuntu 24.04 Linux

We’ve already checked out GEEKOM A8 mini PC hardware with an unboxing and a teardown, before testing the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS mini PC in Windows 11 Pro, and we’ll now report our experience with the GEEKOM A8 running Ubuntu 24.04 to see how it performs in Linux. We tested most features of the GEEKOM A8 mini PC on Ubuntu 24.04, ran several benchmarks to compare it to the similar GEEKOM A7 mini PC, performed storage and networking performance testing, ran stress test to check thermal performance, and measured fan noise and power consumption under various conditions. Installing Ubuntu 24.04 on the GEEKOM A8 mini PC As usual, we resized the Windows 11 partition to install Ubuntu 24.04 alongside Microsoft OS using a bootable USB flash drive created with the Ubuntu ISO. But you’ll notice BitLocker is enabled so the Ubuntu 24.04 installation can’t proceed. The installation wizard will ask […]

June 7, 2024June 7, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Orange Pi 3B V2.1 SBC has been revamped with better WiFi 5 connectivity, M.2 2280 NVMe/SATA SSD socket

Shenzhen Xunlong Software has introduced the Orange Pi 3B V2.1 SBC with an M.2 socket that supports 2280 NVMe or SATA SSDs, and a new Ampak AP6256 WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5 wireless module replacing the Allwinner AW859A-based CDTech 20U5622 module in the first revision of the board. The Orange Pi 3B SBC was first introduced in August 2023 as a Rockchip RK3566 SBC with Raspberry Pi 3B form factor and support for M.2 2230 and 2242 NVMe or SATA storage. The new Orange Pi 3B V2.1 supports longer M.2 2280 SSDs at the cost of being slightly bigger than a credit card (89×56 mm) and offers better WiFi 5 connectivity. Orange Pi 3B V2.1 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3566 CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 1.8 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G52 2EE GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.0, Vulkan 1.1 NPU – 0.8 TOPS […]

May 26, 2024May 26, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

ODROID-H4 Plus review – Part 2: Intel N97 NAS Kit and fanless SBC tested in Ubuntu 24.04

In the first part of the ODROID-H4+ kit review, I checked out the hardware and showed how to install the Intel N97 SBC into the H4 Type 3 case taking up to four 2.5-inch SATA drives. I’ve now had time to test the ODROID-H4 Plus with Ubuntu 24.04 both as an actively cooled NAS kit and a fanless SBC and will report benchmark results, 2.5GbE and storage test results, 4K and 8K YouTube video playback capability, check IBECC memory support, measure power consumption, and more in the second part of the review. Ubuntu 24.04 installation on ODROID-H4 Plus The ODROID-H4 Plus SBC does not come with any preinstalled OS since there’s no storage by default, so I installed Ubuntu 24.04 on the 128GB M.2 NVMe SSD I inserted into the board. The installation went relatively smoothly, but in hindsight, I would have probably installed the OS before installing the SBC […]

May 16, 2024May 15, 2024 by Debashis Das - 5 Comments

52Pi W01 U2500 HAT adds 2.5GbE and NVMe SSD support to Raspberry Pi 5 SBC

52Pi W01 U2500 USB 2.5G Ethernet+NVME HAT for Pi5

Designed specifically for the Raspberry Pi 5 SBC, the 52Pi W01 U2500 HAT offers support for M.2 M-key NVMe SSDs (2230, 2242, 2260, and 2280) along with a 2.5GbE (2.5 Gbps Ethernet port) using a Realtek RTL8156BG chipset. The most interesting thing about this board is its connectivity – the M.2 SSD is driven directly by the Raspberry Pi’s PCIe port that supports Gen2 & Gen3 standards. However, the 2.5Gbps Ethernet port requires a connection to one of the Pi’s USB ports using a specialized USB-to-USB adapter included by 52Pi. Previously, we have seen 52Pi come up with very innovative and interesting HATs for Raspberry Pi including 52Pi P02 PCIe expansion board, 52Pi NVdigi Expansion Board, 52Pi CM4 Router Board, and many other products. If you want to try something new with your Raspberry Pi, feel free to check those out. 52Pi W01 U2500 2.5Gbps Ethernet + NVMe HAT specifications: […]

May 15, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

Blaustahl USB storage device features 8KB FRAM with up to 200 years of data retention

Machdyne’s Blaustahl is a USB storage device equipped with a Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU and 8KB of FRAM with a potential lifespan of over 200 years and designed for long-term storage of text up to about 8,000 characters. FRAM (Ferroelectric RAM) has been around for years delivering ultra-low power consumption, faster writes, and ultra-long write endurance (one million billion read/write cycles) compared to EEPROM or NOR flash, but the cost is quite higher and it’s mostly used in applications that require ultra-low power consumption and non-volatile storage write capabilities such as data logging, sensor networks, batteryless applications. The Blaustahl storage device and USB text editor is one of those. Blaustahl speciications: Microcontroller – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0 processor at 133MHz and 264kB RAM. Storage 4MB (32Mbit) NOR flash for firmware 8KB (64Kbit) FRAM (Fujitsu MB85RS64) Lifespan – 95 years @ +55°C, over 200 years @ +35°C Endurance – 10^12 […]

May 11, 2024May 26, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

ODROID-H4+ kit review – Part 1: Unboxing, H4 Type 3 case assembly, and first boot

I’ve just received a kit comprised of an ODROID-H4+ SBC along with a Type 3 enclosure taking up to four 2.5-inch SATA drives and related accessories for review. I’ll start with an unboxing, followed by an assembly guide, and a quick first boot in the first part of the review, before testing performance, features such as IBECC memory, power consumption, and more in the second part of the review. ODROID-H4+ kit unboxing The package I received included small packages for the “H4 Type 3” enclosure and the ODROID-H4 PLUS SBC, a 15V/4A (60W) power supply with US plug adapter, a large fan with screws, as well as four sets of SATA data and power cables. We’ve already provided the ODROID-H4, H4+, and H4 Ultra specifications in the announcement post, but let’s have another quick look at the Intel Processor N97 fanless SBC. The rear panel comes with a DC jack, […]

May 7, 2024May 6, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

HackerGadgets NVME HAT+ for Raspberry Pi 5 fits in the official case, keeps the fan

HackerGadgets has launched a few Raspberry Pi 5 PCIe HAT+ boards including one M.2 NVMe 2230/2242 HAT+ that fits into the official Raspberry Pi 5 case with proper cooling. We’ve seen many M.2 PCIe HAT+ boards of the Raspberry Pi 5 boards from companies such as Pineboards, Waveshare, or Geekworm, but none of them won’t fit in the official red and white case, at least if you’re not ready to sacrifice active-cooling, but HackerGadgets “NVME Hat for Raspberry Pi 5” keeps the fan by simply allowing users to mount it on the bottom of the board. HackerGadgets “NVME Hat for Raspberry Pi 5” specifications: Compatible SBCs – Raspberry Pi 5 and other compatible SBCs with a 16-pin PCIe connector and mounting holes PCIe interface – 16-pin PCIe FPC connector up to PCIe Gen3 speeds M.2 socket – Support PCIe Gen2/Gen3 x1, M.2 2230 and 2242 SSDs Cooling – PWM fan […]

May 3, 2024May 3, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Geekworm X1011 board adds up to four NVMe SSDs to the Raspberry Pi 5

Geekworm X1011 is a new expansion board for the Raspberry Pi 5 with four M.2 sockets enabling the insertion of up to four M.2 NVMe SSDs with data pushed through the PCIe Gen2 interface of the popular SBC. We were already wondering why most people would want to connect two NVMe SSDs to the Raspberry Pi 5 when the Geekworm X1004 HAT+ was launched considering the 5GT/s limitation from the board and the PCIe switch, but the company decided to double the number of drives with the X1011 meaning each drive can achieve up to around 100 MB/s (or 400MB/s) when used simultaneously. It does look nice and fairly compact though. Geekworm X1011 specifications: Supported SBC – Raspberry Pi 5 and other SBCs with a compatible 16-pin PCIe FPC connector and mounting holes Chipset – ASMedia ASM1184e PCI express packet switch with 1x PCIe Gen2 x1 upstream port and 4x […]