Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on AMD Ryzen 5 5500U mini PC goes for $177 with 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD

AMD Ryzen 5 5500U mini PC goes for $177 with 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD

Inexpensive AMD Ryzen 5 5500U mini PC

Among all the inexpensive Intel Alder Lake-N mini PCs, ZXIPC is selling a no-name AMD Ryzen 5 5500 mini PC for $177 with 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, or $143.03 as a barebone system. This weekend, I compared the benchmarks of various Intel Alder Lake-N processors using results from our mini PC reviews, and one user asked me whether I could do the same for AMD systems: It would be interesting to compare the performance on these to similarly priced AMD offerings. I’m specifically thinking here of Mini PCs based on the Ryzen 5560U and the Ryzen 5800U/H Since we haven’t reviewed this type of mini PC, I won’t be able to do such a comparison, but I was still intrigued, as most AMD mini PCs I had seen sold for at least $300. So I went to Aliexpress and found a few AMD Ryzen 5/7 mini PCs […]

Posted on by Tomisin Olujinmi - 1 Comment on SparkFun RTK Torch is a compact and waterproof GNSS surveyor with RTK functionality

SparkFun RTK Torch is a compact and waterproof GNSS surveyor with RTK functionality

GPS 24672 RTK Torch

SparkFun’s RTK Torch is a real-time kinematic (RTK) surveying device that offers tri-band reception, tilt compensation, and millimeter accuracy in a portable, waterproof enclosure. It features an ESP32-WROOM module with 16MB flash and 2MB PSRAM, providing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality. The onboard RTK-capable Unicore UM980 module receives various GNSS frequencies with high accuracy and supports all available constellations and frequencies. Also included is an STMicroelectronics STM32WLE5CCU6 MCU for obtaining corrections via LoRa radio. The RTK Torch builds on the earlier RTK Facet, adding improvements such as wider reception, higher precision, and a more portable form factor. Like the Facet, the RTK Torch comes in a bundle that includes a carrying case, a 3m USB C-to-C charging cable, a 65W PD wall adapter, and a 1/4in. to 5/8in. antenna thread adapter. It supports several operating modes including GNSS Positioning (~800mm accuracy) – also known as ‘Rover’ GNSS Positioning with RTK (8mm […]

ArmSoM CM5 - Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with Rockchip RK3576 SoC
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments on Review of CrowVi 15.6-inch portable USB-C and HDMI touchscreen display with Windows 11, Ubuntu 24.04, and Raspberry Pi 5

Review of CrowVi 15.6-inch portable USB-C and HDMI touchscreen display with Windows 11, Ubuntu 24.04, and Raspberry Pi 5

Elecrow CrowVi review

Elecrow CrowVi VF156T  – or just CrowVi for shorts – is an ultra-thin 15.6-inch portable touchscreen display with mini HDMI and USB-C input ports making it suitable for a wide range of devices from Windows 11 and Linux mini PCs or laptops, SBCs such as the Raspberry Pi 5, and smartphones featuring a USB-C port with DisplayPort Allt. mode. The display supports 10-point multitouch, offers a 1920×1080 “Full HD” resolution, and includes stereo speakers and a 3.5mm audio jack. Besides the USB-C input, it also comes with an additional USB-C PD port for power in case the host does not provide enough power or only HDMI input is used without the touchscreen function. There’s also a “smart case” acting as a foldable stand on the back so you don’t need to bring your own stand. Elecrow sent us a sample of the CrowVi 15.6-inch portable monitor for review and we […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - No Comments on Nano-ITX motherboard is powered by Intel Atom x7000RE Series “Amston Lake” SoC

Nano-ITX motherboard is powered by Intel Atom x7000RE Series “Amston Lake” SoC

NANO 6064 ASL An Intel Atom x7000RE Series SoC based NANO ITX Board with Triple Display, 2.5GbE LAN, USB 3.2 Gen2, M.2, SATA III

Portwell NANO-6064-ASL is an Intel Atom “Amston Lake” x7000RE-powered Nano-ITX motherboard. The board looks very similar to the Portwell Nano-6062 and features an operating temperature of -40°C to 85°C. The motherboard can support a max of 16GB DDR4 memory and features triple display output, dual 2.5Gbps Ethernet, USB, M.2, SATA, GPIO, and more, and takes power from a 12V external power input. Previously, we’ve written about a range of Nano-ITX boards and SoMs with Amston Lake SoCs, including the ASRock SBC-262M-WT, conga-SA8 SMARC modules, ADLINK Atom x7000RE & x7000C COM Express and SMARC 2.1 modules and others. If you’re looking for similar options, feel free to check out those articles. Portwell NANO-6064-ASL Specifications SoC (one or the other) Amstom Lake Intel Atom x7211RE dual-core processor with 6MB cache, 16EU Intel UHD graphics; 6W TDP Intel Atom x7213RE dual-core processor with 6MB cache, 16EU Intel UHD graphics; 9W TDP Intel Atom x7433RE […]

Posted on by Dennis Mwihia - 9 Comments on Android no longer supports RISC-V, for now…

Android no longer supports RISC-V, for now…

Android RISC-V

Google dropped RISC-V support from the Android’s Generic Kernel Image in recently merged patches. Filed under the name “Remove ACK’s support for riscv64,” the patches with the description “support for risc64 GKI kernels is discontinued” on the AOSP tracker removed RISC-V kernel support, RISC-V kernel build support, and RISC-V emulator support. In simple terms, the next Android OS implementation that will use the latest GKI release won’t work on devices powered by RISC-V chips. Therefore, companies wanting to compile a RISC-V Android build will have to create and maintain their own branch from the Linux kernel (ACK RISC-V patches). These abbreviations can be confusing, so let’s focus on them starting with ACK. There’s the official Linux kernel, and Google does not certify Android devices that ship with this mainline Linux kernel. Google only maintains and certifies the ACK (Android Common Kernel), which are downstream branches from the official Linux kernel. One of the main ACK branches is the android-mainline […]

Posted on by Sponsored Post - 2 Comments on Save up to $75 on Rockchip RK3588-powered Mixtile Blade 3 SBC and Core 3588E module (Sponsored)

Save up to $75 on Rockchip RK3588-powered Mixtile Blade 3 SBC and Core 3588E module (Sponsored)

Mixtile Blade 3 SBC discount

Mixile has launched a promotion that could save you up to $75 on the company’s Rockchip RK3588-powered devices, namely the Mixtile Blade 3 SBC that can be used standalone or integrated into a cluster and Core 3588E SO-DIMM system-on-module that follows the NVIDIA Jetson Nano, TX2 NX, Xavier NX, and Orin Nano form factor and will work with most carrier boards designed for those. The first part of the “Lucky Offer” promotion is a $50 discount coupon code (cnx50off) applicable to the Mixtile Blade 3, Mixtile Blade 3 Case, and Mixtile Cluster Box. The Mixtile Blade 3 is a pico-ITX SBC powered by a Rockchip RK3588 octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 processor, with up to 32GB RAM, up to 256GB eMMC flash, three display interfaces, an HDMI input port, dual GbE, a 30-pin GPIO header, and a U.2 connector carrying 4-lane PCIe Gen3 and SATA 3.0 signals and specifically designed for cluster applications. […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments on LibreELEC 12 released with Kodi 21, 64-bit Arm support for Raspberry Pi 4/5, and platforms

LibreELEC 12 released with Kodi 21, 64-bit Arm support for Raspberry Pi 4/5, and platforms

LibreELEC 12 Raspberry Pi 64-bit

As one should have expected after the Kodi 21 “Omega” release last month, the LibreELEC 12 lightweight Linux media center distribution is now out with many devices updated to 64-bit, including the Rasberry Pi 4 and 5 SBCs. LibreELEC 11 was released last year based on Kodi 20 “Nexus” and bringing back support for Amlogic devices. LibreELEC 12 builds on that and benefits from the new features added to Kodi 21 such as FFmpeg 6 and works on Arm platforms based on Allwinner, Amlogic, Broadcom (Raspberry Pi), and Rockchip processors, as well as generic x86 computers. It’s an easy option to create a dedicated HTPC based on a range of hardware with all the features brought by Kodi 21 media center. Since so many platforms are supported there are always some limitations for each and known problems: Raspberry Pi  – 50/60fps H.264 HW decoding may need force_turbo=1 or core_freq_min=500 in […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments on Intel Processor N95 vs N97 vs N100 vs Core i3-N305 benchmarks comparison

Intel Processor N95 vs N97 vs N100 vs Core i3-N305 benchmarks comparison

Intel N95 vs N97 vs N100 vs Core i3 N305 benchmarks

Intel Alder Lake-N processors have been pretty popular in mini PCs and to a lesser extent in single board computers in the last year or so, thanks to their excellent performance/price and features/price ratios. All processors have more or less the same features, but performance differences do exist and do not always match the increasing part number. Since we’ve reviewed a bunch of Alder Lake mini PCs, I’ve decided to compare the performance of the Processor N95, Processor N97, Processor N100, and Core i3-N305 CPUs to have a better understanding of the differences between each part. For this purpose, we’ll rely on five mini PCs: Blackview MP80 (Processor N95), Blackview MP80 (Processor N97), the Intel N100-powered MINIX Z100-0dB and GEEKOM Mini Air12, and the Weibu N10 with a Core i3-N305 CPU. A summary of the specifications is listed in the table below. Some important remarks: Prices are taken from Amazon […]

Boardcon Rockchip and Allwinner SoM and SBC products