GEEKOM AE7 Review – An AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS mini PC tested with Windows 11 and Ubuntu 24.04

Today we’ll review the GEEKOM AE7 mini PC powered by an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS octa-core processor with up to 32GB DDR5, a 1TB NVMe SSD, four 4K capable video outputs through HDMI and USB-C ports, 2.5GbE and WiFi 6E connectivity, and six USB ports for expansion. As its name implies the GEEKOM AE7 is an evolution of the earlier GEEKOM A7 with almost identical specifications that we reviewed with Windows 11 Pro and Ubuntu 22.04 earlier this year. So we won’t do our usual three-part review and instead focus on differences between the two Ryzen 9 7840HS mini PCs in terms of features, performance, and cooling ability in a shorter review that covers hardware, Windows 11 Pro, and Ubuntu 24.04 testing. GEEKOM AE7 specifications SoC – AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS 8-core/16-thread processor up to 4.0GHz with 16MB cache, AMD Radeon 780M Graphics; TDP: 35 to 54W System Memory – […]

SunFounder PiPower 3 kit is a UPS solution for the Raspberry Pi 5 SBC

SunFounder PiPower 3 kit is a UPS solution designed to work with the Raspberry Pi 5, other Arm SBCs, or even MCU boards like Arduino UNO and Raspberry Pi Pico. The board delivers a stable 5V/5A output, and a 32-bit CH32V003 RISC-V microcontroller takes care of power management and battery level reporting to make sure the Raspberry Pi 5 keeps running when a power failure occurs and shutdowns gracefully when the battery level is low. The kit comes with two 18650 2,000mAh batteries that connect through a 2-pin connector, and all accessories – standoffs, acrylic case, and fan – for assembly with the Raspberry Pi 5, or other compatible boards like the Pi 4, Banana Pi BPI-M5, Radxa Rock Pi E, Orange Pi 3B, and others.   PiPower 3 kit specifications: 32-bit CH32V003 RISC-V microcontroller supporting I2C communication Input – 5V/5A via USB Type-C with PD support Output – 5V/5A […]

Khadas Edge2 Arm mini PC

Forlinx FET3562J-C SoM features Rockchip RK3562(J) SoC with 1 TOPS NPU, dual Ethernet, camera, display interfaces

The Forlinx FET3562J-C is a Rockchip RK3562/RK3562J powered System-on-Module (SoM) built with a 22nm process and features four high-performance ARM Cortex-A53 cores running at up to 2GHz. It also can support up to 2GB LPDDR4 RAM and can be configured with up to 16GB eMMC storage. Additionally, it has 1 TOPS NPU and standard peripherals like Ethernet, Wifi, Bluetooth, LVDS, MIPI DSI, and much more. All these features make this SoM useful for IoT, automation, and consumer electronic applications. Previously, we have seen Forlinx launch similar SoM with development boards such as the Forlinx RZ/G2L, the FET-MX9352-C, the OK335xS-II and much more feel free to check those out if you are interested in the topic. Forlinx FET3562J-C SoM and carrier board specifications SoM Specifications SoC (one or the other) Rockchip RK3562J – ARM Cortex-A53 quad-core @ 1.8GHz Rockchip RK3562 ARM Cortex-A53 quad-core @ 2.0 GHz NPU – 1 TOPS INT8 […]

HIGOLE F9B Pro Intel N100 mini computer comes with a built-in 7-inch touchscreen display and 5,000 mAh battery

HIGOLE F9B Pro is a mini PC powered by an Intel Processor N100 quad-core CPU and equipped with a built-in 7-inch touchscreen display, a 5,000mAh battery, and full-size ports that could be confused with a 7-inch tablet if it was not so thick… GOLE/HIGOLE has made many such mini PCs with integrated displays over the years initially to lower the Windows license fee, but they’ve kept making those with new Intel families, for example with the Gemini Lake-powered GOLE1 Pro mini PC with a 5.5-inch display introduced in 2022. The HIGOLE F9B Pro is just the latest iteration with a modern Alder Lake-N CPU and a 7-inch touchscreen display. HIGOLE F9B (Pro) specifications: SoC – SoC – Intel Processor N100 quad-core Alder Lake-N processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel HD graphics @ 750 MHz; TDP: 6W System Memory – 16GB LPDDR4 Storage 256GB or […]

GOWIN GW5AT-15 low-cost FPGA provides high-speed video interfaces up to 4K at 120 FPS

GOWIN Semiconductor has just announced the “Arora V” GW5AT-15 FPGA designed for high-speed video interfaces up to 4K at 120 FPS in space-constrained consumer and automotive applications. Manufactured with TSMC’s 22nm LP process, the new FPGA offers high-performance 12.5 Gbps SerDes, PCIe 3.0, MIPI CPHY, and DPHY interfaces. The GW5AT-15 FPGA also provides 15K LUTs of programmable logic, 118kbit of shadow SRAM, 630kbit of block SRAM (BSRAM), optional 64Mbit or 128Mbit of pseudo-SRAM (PSRAM), and optional 8Mbit of NOR Flash in a tiny 4.9mm x 5.3mm WLCSP package. Target applications include AR/VR headsets, 4K gaming tablets, and car infotainment systems. GOWIN GW5AT-15 FPGA specifications: FPGA Fabric 15120 logic elements (LUT4) 118kbit of shadow SRAM 630kbit of block SRAM (BSRAM) arranged as 35 x 18kbit 28x DSP slices, 12x DSP Lite slices  PSRAM GW5ART-15: 64Mbit (in MG132P package) or 128Mbit (in CM90P package) of pseudo SRAM (PSRAM) GW5ANRT-15: 64Mbit PSRAM DDR […]

GEEKOM A8 Review – Part 2: An AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS mini PC tested with Windows 11 Pro

In the first part of the review, we’ve already gone through a teardown and an unboxing of the GEEKOM A8 AI mini PC powered by an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor with AMD Radeon 780M Graphics, 32GB RAM (upgradeable up to 64GB) and a 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD. We’ve now had more time to play with the GEEKOM A8, so we will report our experience with the Windows 11 Pro operating system in the second part of the review testing features, running benchmarks, evaluating networking and storage performance, testing the thermal design, and taking measurements for fan noise and power consumption. Software overview and features testing The System->About window in the Settings confirms we have an A8 Mini PC powered by a 4.0 GHz (base frequency) AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor with Radeon 780M Graphics and 32GB of RAM running Windows 11 Pro 23H2 build 22631.3593. HWiNFO64 provides more details […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

Firefly AIO-3562JQ – A Rockchip RK3562 SBC for industrial applications with isolated I/Os, RS485, RS232, and more

Firefly AIO-3562JQ is an industrial SBC built around the company’s iCore-3562JQ system-on-module with a Rockchip RK3562(J) processor, designed to operate in the -40 to +85°C temperature range, and equipped with a 24-pin isolated terminal block with digital inputs and outputs (relays), RS485, RS232, CAN Bus, and UART. The board ships with up to 8GB RAM and 64GB eMMC flash and features a MIPI DSI interface, two MIPI CSI camera connectors, microphone and speaker connectors, two Ethernet ports, several USB interfaces, and more. Firefly AIO-3562JQ specifications: SoM – Firefly iCore-3562JQ SoC – Rockchip RK3562J CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.2 GHz (against 2.0 GHz for the Rockchip RK3562) GPU – Arm Mali-G52 EE with support for OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.1, OpenCL 2.0 AI accelerator – None listed in the specs (Rockchip RK3562 comes with a 1 TOPS NPU) VPU – 4Kp30 H.364, H.264, VP9 video decoding, […]

GEEKOM A8 (AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS) AI mini PC review – Part 1: Specs, unboxing, teardown, and first boot

GEEKOM A8 is an AI mini PC based on the powerful AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS (or Ryzen 7 8845HS) AI processor with AMD Radeon 780M Graphics, up to 64GB DDR5 memory, up to 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD support for up to four display up to 8K resolution, and comes preloaded with Windows 11 Pro operating system. The mini PC is equipped with two HDMI 2.1 ports, two USB-C ports with DisplayPort Alt mode, 4x USB 3.2 Type-A ports, 2.5GbE, a WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 module, and a stereo headset jack. GEEKOM sent us a sample of the A8 Mini PC with an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS 8-core/16-thread processor, 32GB DDR5, and a 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD with Windows 11 Pro for review this time. We’ll start by listing some specifications, doing an unboxing, going through a teardown, and booting Windows 11. In the second and third parts of the […]

Khadas VIM4 SBC