Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on Nvidia Tegra X1 Gets About 75,000 Points in Antutu

Nvidia Tegra X1 Gets About 75,000 Points in Antutu

Nvidia Tegra X1 was expected to outperform the competition, but based on Antutu results provided by Mydrivers, the performance leap might be greater than expected, as Nvidia Tegra X1 reference tablet gets 74,997 points in Antutu 5.6.1. As usual caution is warranted with Antutu results, as the benchmark is easily cheated, which explains why Allwinner A80T devices can get over 140,000 points. But let’s assume Tegra X1 result is representative and compare it to its predecessor the Tegra K1. Surprisingly I struggled to find a detailed Antutu 5.x score for the Nexus 9, and I had to get the scores from that video with Antutu 5.2.0. Nexus 9 (Tegra K1 64-bit) Tegra X1 Reference Platform Ratio Antutu 57040 74977 1.31x Multitask 11817 9217 0.78x Runtime 4146 4758 1.15x CPU integer 3038 11295 3.72x CPU float-point 1939 7274 3.75x Single-thread integer 2920 3206 1.10x Single-thread float-point 2831 2878 1.02x RAM operations […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on HPH NT-V6 Firmware V1.4.4 (Rockchip RK3288) Fixes Ethernet Performance, Adds Smartphone App

HPH NT-V6 Firmware V1.4.4 (Rockchip RK3288) Fixes Ethernet Performance, Adds Smartphone App

When I first started to review Rockchip RK3288 based TV boxes I noticed several had critical issues with Ethernet including Nagrace HPH NT-V6 and Kingnovel K-R6. The main cons of the Nagrace media player included: XBMC has too many issues: VC1 not supported, H.265 support only partial, audio/video sync issue, some MPEG-2 and XVID videos are skipping frames, some of the 4K videos I used could play properly, etc… Some MPEG-2 file won’t play smooth in either XBMC or MX Player Potential Ethernet issues, confirmed with my Gigabit switch (D-Link DSG-1005A) and 10/100Mbps D-Link router (configured as a switch). Since then SPMC and Kodi must have improved video playback issues, but as late as last month I still got feedback from one person (Mr. B.) complaining about Ethernet on HPH NT-V6, but he finally got an email with a new firmware that is said to fix the Ethernet issues and […]

ArmSoM CM5 Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with Rockchip RK3576 SoC
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Olimex Announces Availability of TI AM3352 and Rockchip RK3188 SoM and Evaluation Boards

Olimex Announces Availability of TI AM3352 and Rockchip RK3188 SoM and Evaluation Boards

Olimex showcased prototypes for both Texas Instruments Sitara AM3352 and Rockchip RK3188 system-on-modules and evaluation boards in May 2014. However, development and production took a bit longer than expected, and the company has just announced availability of the platforms now. Rockchip RK3188 CPU Modules and Kit RK3188-SOM-EVB kit specifications: RK3188-SOM-4GB System-on-Module with the following key features: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 quad core Cortex A9 processor @ 1.6GHz with Mali-400MP4 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 4GB Flash + micro SD slot Debugging – 4-pin UART connector Misc – Reset and Recovery buttons, 3x status LEDs Dimensions – 55.88 x 81.28 mm Video Output – HDMI output + LCD output Connectivity – 10/100Mbps Ethernet USB – 4x USB Hosts, 1x micro USB OTG Expansion Connectors LCD connector for LCD-OLinuXino-XX LCDs 2x UEXT connectors 2x 40 pin GPIO connectors Misc – RTC with backup battery Power Supply – 6-16 V via […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments on Android 4.1 vs Android 5.0 Performance Comparison

Android 4.1 vs Android 5.0 Performance Comparison

Most of the time people compare the performance of different hardware platforms, but since Wandboard released an Android 5.0 image in the last few days, I wondered what difference two years of software development may make by comparing benchmark results. So I ran both Antutu 5.6.1 and Vellamo 3.1 on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean (android-4.1.2-wand-dual-20130411.zip) and the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop firmware for Wandboard Dual (Freescale i.MX6 Dual) development board. Android 4.1.2 Benchmark Results Antutu 5.6.1 Vellamo 3.1 You’ll notice the yellow triangle on the top right corner of the multicore and browser results due to some warning related to missing CPU frequency information, and a DOM timeout. Android 5.0 Benchmark Results Antutu 5.6.1 The 2D graphics looked weird at some point as it zoomed out on1/4 of the display. The screenshot did not show the total score, so I added it manually to the picture above. Vellamo 3.1 Vellamo […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on Android 5.0 Lollipop Image for Wandboard Development Boards

Android 5.0 Lollipop Image for Wandboard Development Boards

Wandboard Solo, Dual and Quad are development boards powered by Freescale i.MX6 Solo, Dual, and Quad, that have been launched in 2013. I can remember running Android 4.1.2 and Ubuntu on both Wandboard Dual and Wandboard Quad. Fast forward to 2015, the board is still supported, and Android 5.0 Lollipop beta has been released for the three boards, making these one of the few hardware platforms supporting Android Jelly Bean, KitKat, and Lollipop. You can try it out by downloading the image, and flashing it to a micro SD card (8GB or more) as follows: Linux

Where X is the letter for your micro card which can be found with lsblk command Windows – Download wandboard-lp-5.0.0-20150213-sdcard-boot.img.xz, extract it, and flash to the the micro SD with Win32DiskImager. Insert the micro SD into the micro SD slot on the CPU board, and enjoy! At least in theory… If you have […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Freetronics Introduces an Arduino Shield for ESP8266 ESP-01 Wi-Fi Module

Freetronics Introduces an Arduino Shield for ESP8266 ESP-01 Wi-Fi Module

ESP8622 has drastically brought down the price of adding Wi-Fi to MCU boards such as Arduino UNO,  but you need to add some cables, and take care of 3.3V to 5V conversion for the UART pins either with a divider made of 2 resistors, or a FET level shifter, and you may not be able to access all I/O of ESP8622 on the popular ESP-01 version of the module. For a neater solution, Freetronics had designed ESP-01 WiFi Module Shield that takes care of all these small issues. Key features of the shield: 3.3V regulator dedicated to the module Logic level shifters on TX/RX lines: compatible with both 3.3V and 5V Arduino models Selectable TX/RX pins: use D0/D1 for hardware serial, or D2 – D7 for software serial CH_PD pin on ESP-01 module pre-biased for correct operation mode Extra ESP-01 pins broken out for your own connections Prototyping area with […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs abd SoMs
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on ZRRO Android Game Console Includes a Hover and Touch Controller (Crowdfunding)

ZRRO Android Game Console Includes a Hover and Touch Controller (Crowdfunding)

Android games are fun to play… on smartphones and tablets, but if you want to play such games on a TV screen via an Android mini PC, it can become more problematic, as most of the games were designed for touchscreen, so you have to be prepare to juggle between input devices.. In my reviews, I have to play Candy Crush Saga with an air mouse, and I switch to a wireless gamepad for racing games such as Riptide GP2 or Beach Buggy Racing, while some games are simply not playable at all without touch emulation, unless you install a software remote such as Droidmote on your smartphone, and use the latter as a controller, which may not be ideal either. ZRRO, an Israeli company, came with a new package comprised of an Android game console (ZRRO Box), and a game controller (ZRRO Pad) featuring a hover and touch surface […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Voltera V-One is a Low Cost PCB Printer and Solder Paste Dispenser (Crowdfunding)

Voltera V-One is a Low Cost PCB Printer and Solder Paste Dispenser (Crowdfunding)

The traditional hardware development cycle involve sending PCB Gerber files to a manufacturer, wait a few days (or weeks), get the boards back, find and fix bugs, send a new revision of the gerber files to the manufacturer and so on. This wastes a lot of time, so PCB printers capable of handline single and dual layer PCBs have started to see the light of the day, for example with BotFactory Squink. The latter can also do pick and place, but costs over $3,500. Luckily if you’d like something cheaper, Voltera V-One will do many of the same tasks, for but for only $1,500. Voltera V-One specifications: Minimum Trace Width – 8mil (~0.2mm) Minimum Passive Size – 0603 (0402 for solder paste) Minimum Pin-to-Pin Pitch – 0.8mm (0.5mm for solder paste) Resistance – >12 mOhm/sq @ 70um height Max Heated Bed Temperature – 250C Heated Bed Ramp Rate – ~2C/s […]

Boardcon Rockchip RK3588S SBC with 8K, WiFI 6, 4G LTE, NVME SSD, HDMI 2.1...