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6W AMD 3015e Dual-Core “Zen” Processor Shows Up in Lenovo Laptops

While AMD has done a good job with their Ryzen processors based on Zen architecture, the company did not provide alternatives to low-cost, low-power  Intel Gemini Lake processors with the closest equivalent being the 15W AMD Athlon 3000-series processors. But this may be about to change, as Lenovo has now unveiled two new education laptops, namely Lenovo 100e 2nd gen and Lenovo 300e 2nd gen, powered by a previously-unannounced 6W AMD 3015e processor, and expected to become available in September 2020 for $219 and up. AMD 3015e key features and specifications: CPU – 2x cores, 4x threads @ 1.2 GHz / 2.3 GHz (Boost) GPU – Vega 3 Graphics @ 600 MHz Cache – 1MB L2 cache, 4MB L3 cache Memory I/F – Single-channel DDR4 up to 1,600 MHz Video – HDMI and DisplayPort Peripheral Interfaces – PCIe 3.0 TDP – 6W Process – 14nm Based on the product page, […]

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MINIX Unveils USB-C Hub with 960GB SSD, 100W USB Charger

MINIX, the Hong Kong company, is well-known for its Android media hubs and Windows 10 mini PC‘s but in recent years they’ve started designing accessories for Windows & Mac computers and laptops. In the past, we’ve checked out MINIX NEO C Plus USB-C Adapter, an M.2 SSD card pre-loaded Windows 10 Pro for N42C-4 Mini PC, and another USB-C hub with integrated 120 or 240GB SSD. The company has now unveiled four new accessories with three USB-C hubs, including one with a 480GB or 960GB SSD, and one compact 100W USB charger using the latest Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology. This morning, I received two pairs of USB-C hubs with different colors and two 100W USB chargers. The model I did not get – MINIX NEO Storage Pro – is specifically made for Apple MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with built-in SSD storage, HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60 Hz, […]

ArmSoM CM5 Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with Rockchip RK3576 SoC
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ODYSSEY-X86J4105 Gemini Lake & Arduino SBC Review with Windows 10 Enterprise

I’ve recently received ODYSSEY-X86J4105 SBC with Re_Computer case, and we’ve had a look at the SBC hardware, installed some internal components like an M.2 SATA SSD, and play around Re_Computer case using Raspberry Pi 4, Beaglebone Green Wireless and Jetson Nano SBC, before assembling the Intel SBC into the enclosure. I’ve now taken the time to test the combo using the pre-installed Windows 10 Enterprise operating systems. ODYSSEY-X86J4105 is very much like any Intel Gemini Lake mini PC, but with the addition of Arduino and Raspberry Pi headers, so we’ll look at those as well. Connections and First Boot For the first boot, I connect USB mouse and keyboard, a HDMI cable to a 4K TV, an Ethernet cable, a USB 3.0 hard drive, and finally the power supply. I actually had a small problem during boot, but we’ll talk about it later as it’s really specific to my setup, […]

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Star Lite Mk III Pentium N5000 Laptop Ships with a Choice of 6 Linux Distributions

There aren’t that many companies shipping Linux laptops, and often it’s either at the entry-level of the market with Arm-based Pine64 PineBook or PineBook Pro, or at the higher-end with products such as Dell XPS 13 developer edition or System76 Linux laptops. If you’d like something in between, you could install Ubuntu on a laptop yourself, but drivers are not always working, and sometimes when the laptop is confirmed to work, the manufacturer may decide to completely redesign the hardware. Star Lite Mk III Linux laptop may be an interesting alternative, as the Intel Pentium N5000 Gemini Lake laptop is up for pre-order for $427 US and up with delivery scheduled to start in September. Specifications: SoC – Intel Pentium N5000 quad-core Gemini Lake processor @ 1.1 GHz / 2.7 GHz (Turbo) with 4MB cache, Intel UHD 605 graphics @ 200/750 MHz; 6W TDP System Memory – 8GB LPDDR4 @ […]

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Wainlux K6 & Alfawise C50 Mini Laser Engravers Offered for $130 and Up

A few days ago I saw Wainlux K6 “most compact, powerful and simple-to-use” laser engraver on Kickstarter for about $159. I did not think too much of it at the time, but this morning I thought it already showed up for pre-order on GearBest for $129.99 as Alfawise C50. But I was mistaken, as both products are different, albeit sharing some of the same attributes. Nevertheless, this brought back my curiosity about these types of devices, especially with Wainlux K6 having already managed to raise over $200,000 from close to 1,400 backers so far. So let’s look at both. Wainlux K6 Laser Engraver Key features and specifications: Laser Source – OSRAM Semiconductor blue color laser Laser Power – Up to 3,000 mW, 100 adjustable levels of power Engraving area – 8 x 8 cm Routing Speed – 1500 mm/min maximum Resolution – 508 dpi adjustable Lifetime Estimation – 10,000 hours […]

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Intel Issues Product Discontinuance Schedule for Gemini Lake Processors

Intel Gemini Lake low power processors based on Goldmont Plus architecture were announced in 2017 as successors of Apollo Lake family with the official launch in 2018 fairly quickly followed by a supply shortage… But the processors have still been used in plenty of sub-$250 mini PCs, and some SBCs like ODROID-H2 or ODYSSEY-X86J4105, as well as a few laptops. More recently, the company announced Gemini Lake Refresh family, but to my surprise, Intel has already issued several product discontinuance notices for the several Gemini Lake (Refresh) processors. Affected Gemini Lake processors include: PCN117653-00 Intel Celeron J4005, J4105, J4115 Intel Celeron N4000, N4100 PCN117657-00 Intel Celeron Processor N4000C Intel Pentium Silver J5005, Intel Pentium Silver N5000 Intel has two end-of-life notifications because the schedule is slightly different: PCN117653-00 Product Discontinuance Program Support Begins: July 6, 2020 Product Discontinuance Demand To Local Intel Representative: October 9, 2020 Last Corporate Assurance Product […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs abd SoMs
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CrowPi2 Raspberry Pi 4 Laptop Doubles as Electronics Learning Kit (Crowdfunding)

CrowPi portable learning kit for Raspberry Pi 3 B+ and Pi Zero boards was launched in 2018. It comes with a 7″ display, several sensors, buttons, a breadboard, and more all packed in a small suitcase. Elecrow has now started a new crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to fund the second generation portable electronics learning kit: CrowPi2 which looks much more like a laptop than a suitcase found in the first model thanks to a large display, and a detachable keyboard placed on top of the electronic prototyping/learning area. It’s also more powerful thanks to the latest Raspberry Pi 4 SBC. CrowPi2 specifications: Compatible Raspberry Pi boards – Raspberry Pi 3B/B+, Raspberry Pi 4 Display – 11.6-inch 1920×1080 IPS screen Camera – 2MP camera Audio – Built-in microphone and stereo speaker; 3.5mm audio jack Keyboard – 2.4GHz detachable wireless keyboard (QWERTY only) with touchpad Sensors and Modules under the keyboard: Displays […]

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ASUS PN50 – The World’s First AMD Ryzen 4000U Mini PC

AMD Ryzen 4000-U Series family was announced in January with the 15W processors targetting ultra-thin laptops. It’s already been found in laptops and the first reviews of Acer Swift 3 were positive with the laptop being slim, fast, and offering long battery life. But I had yet to see an AMD Ryzen 4000U mini PC until today, with ASUS PN50 mini PC shipping with a choice of five processors from AMD Ryzen 3 4300U to Ryzen 7 4800U, and a design identical to the company’s PN60 mini PC powered by Intel Kaby Lake Refresh processors. ASUS PN50 specifications: SoC (one or the other) AMD Ryzen 7 4800U 8C/16T processor up to 1.8 / 4.2 GHz with 8-core Radeon Graphics; 12MB L2/L3 cache AMD Ryzen 7 4700U 8C/8T processor up to 2.0 / 4.1 GHz with 7-core Radeon Graphics; 12MB L2/L3 cache AMD Ryzen 5 4600U 6C/12T processor up to 2.1 […]

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