http://www.hardkernel.com/renewal_2011/products/prdt_info.php?g_code=G1374633...





Remember back when I told you about all them custom case mod guys and hard core overclocker guys that were left out in the rain when the PC when solder type ball connect and left them with nothing to fiddle with?   That they were gonna have to get into Android in a big way eventually?

Well, it has started in South Korea already.   And it is rapidly spreading across the world.

Hardkernel is a performance mod company that builds performance boards and accessories for Samsung chipsets.  They have goosed and cooled and overclocked and generally had a good time playing with each generation of Samsung manufactured ARM hard macro designs as they rolled in.

This encased board set with the tiny little overclocker fan built into takes advantage of the FOUR sensors on the board that monitor chip heat and critical systems reliability.  This little thing was built to cook, but not burn, to cook right along at rates not seen yet out of any Android chipset (especially after the refrigerated water jacket is put on, that is).

 

Remember these are the guys that figured out how to light all 8 cores at once, yup, this is them.

What is neat is that they fiddled with the OctaCore until Samsung paid attention -- they had uncovered ways to make the stock chip DO a lot more, so Samsung built some of their tricks into version 2 of the big dog Samsung OctaCore.   Now they want to play with the 20-40% extra stock power in version 2 OctaCore to see what it can do.

       

Now, look at the first picture that has the smaller board partially stripped of connectors, etc.  That is one small chipset to have so much power inside it.

We look forward to watching the Hardkernel crew goose this "second most powerful ARM chipset" to levels that go double and triple the output speed of the old white HP box that I type this on ....

Linux versions will be available for this board soon.   If it sells big enough it will likely get supported by Ubuntu and Linaro and get into the kernel so it will be around for a long long time .....
See posts below for the bad news about VR graphics and no accelerated driver support from VR at all.

HardKernel has been pretty regular about putting out new Samsung overclocker mini-boards for the last 3 generations of chipsets.   Build quality is excellent and fan based software support is good, so we are watching this one to see how it turns out.

Watch out for the video specs if you want to buy something quick -- the OctaCore version 2 changed over to a fast Mali graphics core and this verbiage still refers to the old VR graphics -- watch out that they are selling the first run of boards built using the unimproved Samsung chip.

I'd hold off buying until Linux distro support is mainstream Ubuntu 14.04 which will be out in April of next year.

Next, this thing is double up on the price of their old boards -- I'd expect the price to drop down during the wait time as well.

MM, this simply signals that the first wave of real, significant ARM based PC type thingies are a coming.

The issue is that they may never arrive because Shuttleworth and the use your phone convergence idea may make them "unnecessary".

But still, copies of this sort of thing are going to come out using cheaper chipsets, like the RK3188.

Lower cost high spec phones that offer the Shutteworth trick may come popping out of the far east as well.

MM, this simply signals that the first wave of real, significant ARM based PC type thingies are a coming.

The issue is that they may never arrive because Shuttleworth and the use your phone convergence idea may make them "unnecessary".

But still, copies of this sort of thing are going to come out using cheaper chipsets, like the RK3188.

Lower cost high spec phones that offer the Shutteworth trick may come popping out of the far east as well.

Doin't know what your saying here but thanks for the advice !  

When Dollar General started taking credit cards and selling beer their stock tripled !   That was nice.     ....   but its also "History" .  so whats next ?

MMRanch wrote on 08/01/13 at 09:51:41:



OK, the Shuttleworth trick is using your cell phone as your computer.  Right now you have to plug it into a docking station, but next year's future phones with improved Blue Tooth will be able to do the trick with the phone sitting in your pocket.

Right now folks have 3 devices, a phone, a tablet and a PC.   Since the phone is as powerful as the old PC, why have all that hardware?

Even if it doesn't have play there are lots of ways to get play put on it by side loading.

I had to Google "sideloading"...

Sounds good...  one reason I liked this little toy was that it has a full size USB slot... that should make things easy...
...

Wups, it SAYS Linux is supported, but because there are no video drivers for the VR GPU on the chipset you can't get hardware accelerated video and there is NO distro that will support this chip until VR makes the VR GPU open source, which VR is never going to do.

These are some of the exact same reasons that Samsung redid the chip after only 6 months, they dumped the VR graphics and did a good bit of work with ARM on a Mali T-628 graphics core that is OPEN SOURCE and distro supported.  Plus the NEW Exynos 5420 OctaCore is able to do actual real work sharing with the 8 Mali GPUs and all 8 of the CPUs big and little.  

Plus the new chip does better big/Little management and doesn't just light 4 or light 4 like the 5410 did.


================================

Conclusions:

DO NOT BUY THIS BOARD UNTIL IT COMES WITH A DISTRO SUPPORTED CHIPSET.   This will happen soon as the Exynos 5410s will all dry up and Hardkernel will have to redo the board to fit a Exynos 5420 which is the type 2 Samsung OctaCore chipset.

Next, you really don't need all that horsepower -- you will wind up running the thing off the 4 A-7 littles over 97% of the time unless you are doing some gaming in some really serious fashion.  

PS, that tightly built sucker has a fan for a reason, if you fiddle with the overspeed stuff any at all you will toast it unless the fan is plugged in and running.  The early reports are that the fan is multi-speed and the fan is clearly audible whle always changing speeds sitting out on your desk all bare like.