mini pc News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

March 4, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

UP Squared 7100 Edge fanless mini PC features Intel Processor N97 or N100 CPU for industrial automation

AEEON UP Squared 7100 Edge is a fanless industrial mini PC for edge applications powered by an Intel Processor N97 or Processor N100 CPU and based on the UP Squared 7100 SBC. The computer comes with up to 16GB LPDDR5, 128GB eMMC flash, M.2 sockets for storage and wireless expansion, HDMI and DisplayPort video outputs, two gigabit Ethernet ports, three USB 3.2 ports, two COM ports (RS232/RS485), and Line Out and Mic In audio jacks. The mini PC takes 12V DC up to 5A via a screwable DC lock and can operate in the 0 to 60°C temperature range. UP Squared 7100 Edge mini PC specifications: Alder Lake-N SoC (one or the other) Intel Processor N97 quad-core processor up to 3.6 GHz with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD Graphics Gen 12 @ 1.2 GHz; TDP: 12W Intel Processor N100 quad-core processor up to 3.4 GHz with 6MB cache, 24EU […]

February 21, 2025February 21, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Ubuntu 24.04.2 released with Linux 6.11 kernel and hardware enablement stack

Ubuntu 24.04.2 has just been released with Linux 6.11 kernel and hardware enablement (HWE) stack. I would typically not care too much about a point release, but our reviews of mini PCs have shown Ubuntu 24.04 with Linux 6.8 was not always well supported with recent mini PC, mostly due to issues with WiFi or Bluetooth, but sometimes it’s even worse. The most common problem I encountered was that MediaTek MT7922-based WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 module would not support Bluetooth on Ubuntu 24.04 unless we updated the Linux kernel to version 6.10 or newer. Mini PCs with recent processors like the Khadas Mind 2 AI Maker Kit based on Intel Core Ultra 7 258V AI SoC required even more tweaks for HDMI audio, GPU, and WiFi + Bluetooth which is why I tested it with Ubuntu 24.10 instead. Ubuntu 24.04.2 should solve all of those issues. The announcement explains […]

February 16, 2025February 16, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

GEEKOM A6 Review – Part 3: Ubuntu 24.04 tested on an AMD Ryzen 7 6800H mini PC

We’ve already checked out the hardware of the GEEKOM A6 mini PC with an unboxing and teardown in the first part of the review, and thoroughly tested the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H mini PC in Windows 11 Pro in the second part, so it’s now time to report our experience with Ubuntu 24.04 Linux on the mid-range mini PC. We’ve gone through features testing, system benchmarks, storage (SSD and USB) performance tests, 2.5GbE and WiFi 6 network evaluation, 4K and 8K YouTube video playback, a stress test to check out the cooling ability of the mini PC, and finally fan noise and power consumption measurements. Ubuntu 24.04 installation and system information Since we wanted to install Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS alongside Windows 11 Pro, we resized the partition by roughly half. But since the C: drive was “BitLocker Encrypted”, we knew Ubuntu installation wouldn’t be successful that way, so we went to […]

February 13, 2025February 14, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

CWWK X86-P6 Pocket NAS / PC features Intel N150 or Core 3 N355 CPU, four NVMe SSD sockets, dual 2.5GbE, dual HDMI 2.0

CWWK X86-P6 is a pocket-sized mini PC and NAS powered by either an Intel Processor N150 or Core 3 N355 Twin Lake processor, and equipped with four M.2 Key-M sockets slot for NVMe SSDs or AI accelerators. The Twin Lake mini PC supports up to 48GB DDR5 memory, features two 2.5GbE ports, two HDMI 2.0 video output, and two USB 3.0 ports, and can take Intel AX211 or BE200 WiFi 6/7 wireless modules. CWWK X86-P6 specifications: Twin Lake SoC (one or the other) Intel Processor N150 quad-core processor @ up to 3.6 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD graphics @ 1.0 GHz; TDP: 6W Intel Core 3 N355 octa-core processor @ up to 3.9 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 32EU Intel UHD graphics @ 1.35 GHz; TDP: 15W System Memory – Up to 48GB DDR5 4800 MHz via SO-DIMM socket Storage – 4x M.2 M-key 2280 (PCIe 3.0 […]

February 11, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Mekotronics R58-PTZ video surveillance/live streaming embedded computer features a PTZ camera, two HDMI input ports

Mekotronics R58-PTZ embedded computer with pan and tilt camera

I swear it’s not an AI-generated picture of a device, but the Mekotronics R58-PTZ is real and just another unusual Rockchip RK3588 hardware platform from the company that’s an embedded computer with a 3-inch display on the front panel and a PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom) camera placed on top. Mekotronics describes it as a live-streaming box designed for video surveillance, so I assume its main use case is to leverage to built-in 6 TOPS NPU for live streaming with some real-time effect and/or surveillance applications detecting persons, masks, etc… especially it also offers two HDMI inputs for extra cameras. Mekotronics R58-PTZ specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588 octa-core processor with CPU – 4x CortexA76 cores @ up to 2.4 GHz, 4x CortexA55 core @ 1.8 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G610 MP4 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.2, Vulkan 1.2 Video decoder – 8Kp60 H.265, VP9, AVS2, 8Kp30 H.264 AVC/MVC, 4Kp60 […]

February 10, 2025February 19, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

GEEKOM A6 Review – Part 2: A sub-$500 mid-range AMD Ryzen 7 6800H mini PC tested with Windows 11 Pro (Sponsored)

In the first part of the review, we’ve already checked out the specs, gone through an unboxing and a teardown of the GEEKOM A6 mini PC powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 6800H CPU with up to 32GB DDR5 and a 1TB SSD, before quickly booting the preinstalled Windows 11 Pro. We’ve now had time to test the GEEKOM A6 in detail, so we’ll report our experience with the Ryzen 7 6800H mini PC with Windows 11 Pro. We’ve tested the features, ran benchmarks, evaluated storage and networking performance, stress-tested the device to see how it performs under load, and measured fan noise and power consumption. We’ll also compare it to the previous GEEKOM A5 and A7 mini PCs. [Update: The sponsored tag was added temporarily, as GEEKOM paid for the review to be pinned at the top of the website for one week] Software Overview and Feature Testing Going […]

February 2, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Khadas Mind 2 AI Maker Kit Review – Part 3: Ubuntu 24.10 and the importance of power limits

Khadas Mind 2 AI Maker Kit Ubuntu 24.10 Review

I’ve already reviewed the Khadas Mind 2 AI Maker Kit with Windows 11 Home, and today, I’ll report my experience with Linux on the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V mini PC using Ubuntu 24.10 operating system. I would usually review systems with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS OS, but considering the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V SoC is so new, I installed Ubuntu 24.10 when I tested whether disabling VT-d (IOMMU) would improve Intel Arc GPU performance (it does to some extent), and it turns out it was a good decision because Ubuntu 24.04 requires lots of fixes and workarounds to work the Khadas Mind 2 AI Maker Kit, at least until Ubuntu 24.04.2 is released later this month with a more recent kernel. Khadas Mind 2 AI Maker Kit – Ubuntu 24.10 system information My Ubuntu 24.10 installed has both Linux 6.11 (default) and Linux 6.13 kernels, but I did most […]

January 30, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Kidwants KN1 is a $104 mini PC with a large touchpad on its top cover

Most mini PCs have pretty much the same features these days, but the Kidwants KN1 mini PC has a rather unique feature since it integrates a touchpad in its top cover allowing the user to interact without a mouse. The specifications are low-end with an Intel Celeron N4000 dual-core Gemini Lake processor first introduced in 2017, 8GB LPDDR4 RAM, and 128GB eMMC flash. The mini PC also offers two 4K-capable HDMI video outputs, Ethernet and WiFi 5 connectivity, five USB ports, and an audio jack. Kidwants KN1 specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N4000 dual-core Gemini Lake processor @ 1.10 GHz / 2.6 GHz (Turbo) with Intel UHD graphics; 6W TDP System Memory – 8GB LPDDR4 RAM Storage 128GB eMMC flash M.2 2280 SATA socket for up to 1TB SSD Video – 2x HDMI ports up to 4Kp60 Audio – 3.5mm audio jack Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port Dual-band Wi-Fi 5 […]