Can I get R3 code now？
Introduce ROCK 5B - ARM Desktop level SBC
Still seems to be running
I have a Chromebook Duet with a Helio P60T and 4GB RAM. I’m pretty excited to see the difference in performance of the Rock5 with 16GB RAM and NVMe. This will be ultimately my 3rd SBC, but the first with some decent power behind it. Hopefully LXD will work without issue. 
I think you will b quite happy threadripper it aint but there is a sort of level we get from what we use and especially with lite OS such as Chromebooks, Android and Linux OS with LXD and other lighter desktops it should be a really good experience.
For JeOS such as Kodi it should be an absolute ripper.
I think it will be good but sometimes think some others are getting a little carried away as like a x4 NVME is almost going to be like permant virtual memory where likely the CPU will bottleneck access speeds at time.
I went for the 8gb Rock5b and think that sits in a nice niche but think if Radxa can then do a real stripped down version on the RK3588s eMMC as digital exclusion is such a huge problem for many in this unequal world.
PS I think the RadxaZ2 might be making an appearance soon and I think that is going to be a really fun SBC that is like a Pi4+ with a decent GPU than that videocore sh it 
I hope so as it will make the Rock5b wait more tolerable, but also hoping it will be very cost effective as not a good desktop as the Rock5b but for those on a real tight budget could still perform as a desktop.
Hi all! Ordered R3 code for 16Gb version and while waiting for release have some questions, hope will find answers to them)
- Will the board support connectin the LiPo backup batteries? This will be useful for short-term operation and correct shutdown in case of mains loss.
- Will SPL(uboot?) support nvme boot from release or should we wait (as it was with RPI CM4, not a fan of it…)?
- And the cooling fan? Will the board have the ability to connect and programmatically control the fan?
Thanks!
- Will the board support connectin the LiPo backup batteries? This will be useful for short-term operation and correct shutdown in case of mains loss.
It’s possible to power from the GPIO header +5V
- Will SPL(uboot?) support nvme boot from release or should we wait (as it was with RPI CM4, not a fan of it…)?
This will be supported later in u-boot. We have on board SPI Flash
- And the cooling fan? Will the board have the ability to connect and programmatically control the fan?
There is a fan header on the board, PWM control is supported, but not linear control nor speed read.
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Again about the fan: The fan header on the board looks like a 3-pin one. Is that right?
Will the fan be running on 5V or 12V?
Btw, if PWM is supported shouldn’t the header have 4 pins and not 3?
Its PWM controlled fan without linear control nor speed read so you can set a speed might even be 2pin I expect.
PWM is just the fan voltage with a mark/space whose ratio gives approximate Voltage without the loss of torque as just lowering the voltage does.
Its not a standard 3/4 pin mobo header it prob purely to assist cpu cooling with cost effective 2 pin 5v fans at guess.
We will just use 2P fan header, the voltage is 5V.
Is there any information on when will the product start shipping? I hope the lockdown didn’t delay the development and production too much.
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I noticed the Rock5 has a headphone out due to the RK3588 having a DAC which is really great for audio DSP as likely it shares the same clock as mic inputs being on the same device.
You did a mic array for the RockPiS which was great to have but for me was problematic as with the speed of sound 343Ms even at 96Khz only gives a single sample for each 3.6mm time of travel.
So small fixed arrays can produce much more load than just simply widening the array.
Also you might not want linear for more than just azimuth processing such as square or circular arrays.
Might not even be an array purely a opposite facing pair for adaptive noise cancellation or acoustic isolation and the list goes on where a set format array has quite a number of disadvantages.
Do you think it would be possible to provide a daughter board to allow individual mics or you can just buy the mics with cable strings to go to GPIO be it PDM or I2S as still haven’t worked out the VAD on the RK3588 and the audio functionality.
Totally open to any solution as long as its not the relatively tiny fixed 4 mic format that was done for the RockPiS and maybe could be used on both? (RockPiS / RK3588)
So I ordered the other day 2 discount codes, had the order confirmed by AllNet but never received an email with discount codes. Is that the way it should work?
Yes! That is!
When the board will be available, you’ll receive another email with payment details including discount.
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Does the board support UEFI boot so that we can use a standard Linux distribution by booting from usb and install on an nvme?
Please re-read whole topic.
Also, do you understand what you are asking? Firefly says about “support bios”, but until they provide their motherboard - that’s just words.
P.S. you still will be able to install OS on nvme, since there is spi chip
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Arm boards don’t have a BIOS and even though some are porting UEFI its still doesn’t mean a standard Linux distribution will boot as the ‘BIOS’ is a software implementation of the UEFI port.
One good thing is the Collabora https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20220422170920.401914-1-sebastian.reichel@collabora.com/ have started initial postings and with a big if UEFI boot is supported its prob at the end of a long queue.
Its Likely to use mainline Uboot as generally Arm don’t have a bios or UEFI and don’t think that might change as UEFI on arm is a exception not a normal, currently at least.
If you want to read what it takes to get a Pi4 to boot EUFI then https://rpi4-uefi.dev/ and that was years in the making.
U-Boot implements UEFI. (open)SUSE and Fedora both use U-Boot’s UEFI interface to boot the Linux kernel on ARM (and already do also on all PIs - 1-4).
U-Boot is the standard “BIOS” on most ARM SBCs (take BIOS as “Bootloader firmware” here).
" Development target¶
The implementation of UEFI in U-Boot strives to reach the requirements described in the “Embedded Base Boot Requirements (EBBR) Specification - Release v1.0” [2]. The “Server Base Boot Requirements System Software on ARM Platforms” [3] describes a superset of the EBBR specification and may be used as further reference.
A full blown UEFI implementation would contradict the U-Boot design principle “keep it small”."
https://u-boot.readthedocs.io/en/latest/develop/uefi/uefi.html
Its not the same its a subset and it still doesn’t mean a standard Linux distribution will boot as the ‘BIOS’ is a software implementation of the UEFI port so you will need specific images.
Uboot contains board Dtbs to get the boot loader work and no it will never work like a PC where the BIOS is a flash implementation on the hardware motherboard that is a Basic Input Output System to boot the bootloader.
Never noticed but it is in the store