CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

October 21, 2021October 26, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

M5Stamp C3 RISC-V board supports WiFI 4, Bluetooth 5.0 Long Range and 2 Mbps bitrate

It was only last month that M5Stack launched the M5Stamp Pico module based on an ESP32-PICO-D4 SiP and heat-resistant plastic shell, but M5Stamp C3 board is already out with most of the same specifications and features but an ESP32-C3 RISC-V SoC replaces the ESP32 dual-core Xtensa processor. M5Stamp C3 offers WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 with high bitrate and long-range connectivity and comes with the same heat-resistant plastic shell, but the company also highlights the RSA-3072-based secure boot and the AES-128-XTS-based flash encryption as a more secure way to address Bluetooth security concerns. M5Stamp C3 specifications: WiSoC – ESP32-C3FH4 32-bit single-core RISC-V processor @ up to 160 MHz, with 384KB ROM, 400KB SRAM, 8KB RTC SRAM, 4MB embedded flash, WiFI and Bluetooth Connectivity 2.4 GHz WiFi 4, 20 MHz and 40 MHz bandwidth, IEEE 802.11 b/g/n protocol, up to 150 Mbps Bluetooth 5, Bluetooth mesh, with supports for 125 Kbps, […]

October 21, 2021August 31, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 61 Comments

Khadas VIM4 – An Amlogic A311D2 SBC with 8GB RAM, Wi-Fi 6, HDMI input & output

We’ve just written about the Amlogic A311D2 processor with some pretty interesting features, and Khadas VIM4 will be one of the first single board computers equipped with the latest octa-core processor, succeeding the company’s earlier Khadas VIM3 board powered by an Amlogic A311D hexa-core processor. Khadas VIM4 makes good use of the extra memory allowance with faster 8GB LPDDR4 RAM, and also offers 32GB eMMC flash, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 6, 4Kp60 HDMI input and output, independent USB 3.0, and PCIe (via M.2 socket) interfaces, and more. Khadas VIM4 specifications with bold highlights showing the differences with the VIM3 Pro model: SoC – Amlogic A311D2 octa-core processor with 4x Arm Cortex-A73 cores @ up to 2.2 GHz and 4x Cortex A53 cores @ up to 2.0 GHz, Arm Mali-G52 MP(8EE) GPU, NPU shown as TBD possibly due to license requirements System Memory- 8GB LPDDR4X @ 2112 MHz Storage – 32GB eMMC […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM

October 21, 2021October 21, 2021 by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 15 Comments

Beelink SER3 Review – A good AMD Ryzen 7 mini PC… after tweaks

Beelink has just launched a new mini PC called the SER3. It is another ‘new’ mini PC using an older CPU, in this case, an AMD mobile processor. However, the performance is surprisingly good once a few tweaks are made to the stock configuration. Beelink kindly sent one for review and I’ve looked at performance running both Windows and Ubuntu together with using an eGPU. Hardware Overview The SER3 physically consists of a 126 x 113 x 40mm (4.96 x 4.45 x 1.57 inches) square metal case. As an actively cooled mini PC, it uses AMD’s older 12 nm Zen+ Ryzen 7 3750H Picasso processor which is a quad-core 8-thread 2.3 GHz mobile processor boosting to 4.0 GHz with Radeon RX Vega 10 Graphics. The front panel has an illuminated power button, dual USB 3.0 ports, a Type-C USB 3.0 port with Alternate Mode, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a […]

October 21, 2021April 26, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 40 Comments

Amlogic A311D2 octa-core Arm processor supports up to 16GB RAM

Amlogic A311D2 octa-core processor is the successor to Amlogic A311D hexa-core SoC with four Cortex-A73 cores, four Cortex-A53 cores, a more powerful Mali-G52 MP8 (8EE) GPU, support for eDP and LVDS video interface, 8Kp24 AV1 video decoding, and support for a whopping 16GB LPDDR4/X memory. But it’s not all! The chip also includes supports for three HDMI 2.1 inputs up to 4Kp60, a 16MP ISP, 4K video encoding, and the more powerful GPU and higher memory bandwidth enable 4K user interfaces which were not feasible on most other Arm hardware barring the NVIDIA Shield. Comparison of Amlogic A311D2 and A311D specifications. * Amlogic A311D multiplexed PCIe and USB 3.0 interfaces means two configurations are possible: 1x USB 2.0 Host + 1 PCIe, OR 1x USB3.0 (No PCIe), but Amlogic A311D2 PCIe and USB 3.0 interfaces are independent, so we are not losing USB 3.0 when using PCIe (5 Gbps). The […]

October 20, 2021October 21, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Raspberry Pi 4 2GB gets a price hike to $45, 1GB version coming back for $35

We’ve been used to getting better hardware for cheaper or in the case of Raspberry Pi model B boards a stable $35 price tag since 2021 with gradual improvements to the hardware. Many companies already had to hike prices for their board due to supply constraints, and Raspberry Pi Trading has become the latest victim of the increase in components with the Raspberry Pi 4 with 2GB RAM going back to its original $45 price tag, and the re-introduction of the Raspberry Pi 4 1GB for $35. We are told this is temporary, and once everything settles the Raspberry Pi 4 2GB should sell for $35 as was the case since last year. This is the very first price hike in Raspberry Pi (short) history. The supply shortage is not as bad as it seems though, as Raspberry Pi Trading expects to sell around seven million units this year, or […]

October 20, 2021October 21, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Alibaba open sources four RISC-V cores: XuanTie E902, E906, C906 and C910

Alibaba introduces a range of RISC-V processors in the last few years with the Xuantie family ranging from the E902 micro-controller class core to the C910 core for servers in data centers. This also includes the XuanTie C906 core found in the Allwinner D1 single-core RISC-V processor. While RISC-V is an open standard and there’s a fair share of open-source RISC-V cores available, many commercial RISC-V cores are closed source, but Zhang Jianfeng, President of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence speaking at the 2021 Apsara Conference, announced that T-Head had open-sourced four RISC-V-based Xuantie series processor cores, namely Xuantie E902, E906, C906, and C910, as well as related software and tools. Those are not empty words as we can find the RTL for the four cores released on T-Head Semiconductor’s Github account with the first commits having taken place yesterday. Each repository contains the code and instructions to get started, all under […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025

October 20, 2021 by Karl Johnson - No Comments

JGMaker Artist-D Pro Review – An IDEX 3D printer

Hey, Karl here for a new 3D printer review. Today we are going to look at the JGMaker Artist-D Pro. The Artist-D Pro is the successor to the non-pro version which debuted on Kickstarter and is an IDEX printer. IDEX is short for independent dual extruders and is a fancy way to say it has 2 complete hotend assemblies. From my perspective, the Artist-D was introduced with a lot of fanfare. I had several buddies back the original on Kickstarter and they seemed happy with it. But I didn’t see much value in it. I was thinking this was going to be just another printer that can print 2 different filaments. I have reviewed printers that had similar capabilities with one key difference being that they shared some common components. BUT…I quickly realized one aspect no one is talking about is speed during production runs. Unboxing, build, and calibration The […]

October 20, 2021October 20, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

QNAP TBS-464 ultra-thin NAS supports 4 M.2 NVMe SSDs, 2.5GbE networking

Most NAS are large boxes that take several 3.5-inch SATA drives, but QNAP TBS-464 NASbook is a different beast with an ultra-thin design enabled by four M.2 PCIe slots for NVMe SSDs, plus two 2.5 GbE ports to match the higher data transfer speed allowed by the SSDs. The NAS is equipped with a recent Intel Celeron N5105/N5095 Jasper Lake quad-core processor coupled with 8GB DDR4 memory, and also offers USB 3.0 ports, as well as two HDMI 2.0 video outputs and an IR receiver that would make it suitable as a NAS & HTPC combo, for example, running Plex. QNAP TBS-464 NASbook specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N5105/N5095 quad-core processor @ 2.0 / GHz with Intel UHD graphics; TDP: 10 or 15W TDP System Memory – 8 GB DDR4 soldered on board Storage 4GB flash for OS with dual boot OS protection 4 x M.2 2280 NVMe Gen3 x2 […]