If someone would build a Linux-friendly competetor to the ARM64 Mac Mini, I would consider that for my home computer.
As it is, I either have to stick with x86_64, go to Apple, or have an under-powered RPi.
As it is, I either have to stick with x86_64, go to Apple, or have an under-powered RPi.
1: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/windows-dev-kit-2023/94K0P67W7581
2: https://developer.qualcomm.com/qualcomm-robotics-rb5-kit
3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RArzm3h_0vg
4: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/autonomous-machines/embedded-systems/jetson-orin/
5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFgsOeHMAW4
6: https://developer.nvidia.com/embedded/jetson-linuxAlso the price, at $600, is decent in comparison with the excessive prices requested by NVIDIA for the faster of the Orin variants.
Unfortunately, the new MS Developer Kit also includes a Microsoft Pluton, and it is very likely that Pluton is configured to allow only Windows to boot.
Otherwise, I would have also been tempted by it, because all the previous ARM-based alternatives have been either very slow, like Raspberry Pi, or very expensive in comparison with the computers with Intel or AMD CPUs having similar performance, like the Qualcomm and NVIDIA development kits.
1: https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/vh1xse/setup_linux_on_x13s_snapdragon_thinkpad_megathread/
2: https://youtu.be/YWRbNogRBTw&t=1755Things you take for granted as working, and performing well, won't. Putting it another way, its at an early stage of bring up, on x86 you buy a laptop it will tend to mostly work in linux with a problem here/there that will likely get resolved over the next year or two. This is the same, only the level of busted is much worse, enough you probably won't want to actually use it as a daily driver.
It's a fine windows machine, and virtualizes linux just fine, but the same can be said of the M1 as well.
Nothing in the SBC world is going to come close to an M1 any time soon, though. The fastest ARM SoCs just don’t end up in SBCs.
And as always, this is the biggest problem with Rock stuff.
> ROCK5 maker Radxa says the board supports Linux kernel 5.10 and will be able to run operating systems including Android 12 and Debian 10 Buster.
Sweet. Debian 10.
There are lots of fanless x86_64 options that are also energy efficient if you are willing to buy from small manufacturers or stick a fanless case yourself.
The M1 performs so well partly because it uses a very advanced fabrication process.
A modern Ryzen is going to have comparable single-core performance, better multi-core performance and slightly higher energy usage.
The closest ARM systems in price and performance are the new RK3588 based ones like the Khadas Edge 2 or ROCK 5B, but those really are only practical if you really need the NPU and MIPI camera inputs they provide. They carry only a minor power efficiency edge (max draw around 12W vs maybe 18W for the x86 boards), are compromised in software compatibility, and are limited in IO (i.e. either PCIe-2 only or PCIe-3 but with only 4 lanes).
An older version of one of these: https://www.akasa.com.tw/update.php?tpl=product%2Fproduct.li...
Huh? I've been working with ARM based systems for years and this hasn't been an issue since, like, 2015. ARM support on Linux has been very good.