BeagleBoard-X15 - seriously? :)

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1

Hey guys!

BeagleBoard-X15 - Are you really going to release such monster? :slight_smile:

2

That sounds amazing. What are we looking at in terms of expected price?

3

No announcement, pictures, or price. I’m sure Gerald will comment when he sees fit.

http://www.cnx-software.com/2014/11/07/beagleboard-x15-development-board-to-feature-ti-sitara-am5728-dual-core-cortex-a15-processor/

4

But notice that the processor still has PRUSS units integrated (4 PRUs if I’m reading it right) ! So this looks very promising :slight_smile: – Bas

5

Yep. That monster is showing some life! It is actually looking good. But there is that other issue we always seem to have to deal with.

Processor availability of a new part. We plan to build a limited number of these initially just to make sure we get it all pounded out before we build a bunch of them.

Oh and we also have a plan for a lower cost version based on a single core version.

Gerald

6

Why "pseudo-opensource hardware"?

thanks,
drew
http://keybase.io/pdp7

7

He's probably irritated about the 'sgx' graphics. He's more then free
to contact TI, place a $bil order and request TI use an "open source"
gpu, probably take around a year for development.

Or he could just start reverse engineering sgx or pay someone. But in
my 6 years working bb.org no user has done that and gotten anywhere
yet..

Regards,

8

Definitely not one of those. Look at what it has on it and make a good guess.

Gerald

9

On Fri, 7 Nov 2014 12:05:13 +0300>
Beagleboard-x15, the nexgen pseudo-opensource hardware based on

Why "pseudo-opensource hardware"?

He's probably irritated about the 'sgx' graphics. He's more then free
to contact TI, place a $bil order and request TI use an "open source"
gpu, probably take around a year for development.

Or he could just start reverse engineering sgx or pay someone. But in
my 6 years working bb.org no user has done that and gotten anywhere
yet..

There is even a GNU project (wiki, mailing list) with this goal. But a project
with nobody contributing recently:

http://powervr.gnu.org.ve/doku.php

10

I believe RPi is really pseudo open source because you can’t make the same board although you have all schematics. Stuff from bb.org was cloned dozens of times

11

Yeah, that gnu project has been around for awhile, they have only
updated the list of boards..

I thought this we a little interesting..

http://blog.imgtec.com/powervr/the-latest-powervr-sdk-v3-4-and-tools-are-live

imgtec must be now desperate for new business, as they provide the isa
for the 6 series..

PowerVR SGX544 is used on the am57xx

Regards,

12

more like "mob" open source.. you can start making a board
(hardkernel guys), but then broadcom stops selling you chips :wink:
Because they don't want you to compete with the foundation..

Regards,

13

Definitely not one of those. Look at what it has on it and make a good
guess.

You got me wondering because Richard basically copied his info
from Nishanth Menon himself:

https://patchwork.kernel.org/patch/5245961/

"BeagleBoard-X15 is the next generation Open Source Hardware
BeagleBoard based on TI's AM5728 SoC featuring dual core 1.5GHZ A15
processor. The platform features 2GB DDR3L (w/dual 32bit busses),
eSATA, 3 USB3.0 ports, integrated HDMI (1920x108@60), separate LCD
port, video In port, 4GB eMMC, uSD, Analog audio in/out, dual 1G
Ethernet."

So where's the truth? :slight_smile:

AM5728 looks exciting, in particular the 2xC66!

Laurent

14

Sigh.. at least use the typo corrected patch V2:
https://patchwork.kernel.org/patch/5254791/ :stuck_out_tongue:

15

I must admit to a little curiosity about the design process.
Is there a particular reason to avoid DIMM socket RAM?

I find the idea of recycling old PC RAM, or buying new from a PC shop, rather appealing.
I get a cheap(er) board, can upgrade, and can even venture into overclocking...

16

Looking at BeagleBoard-X15 wiki, I like that the connectors are only on two sides, so now it is possible to use enclosures like this:

http://www.contextengineering.com/split_body_enclosures.html

Pricing is pretty reasonable:

http://www.frys.com/product/2090771?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Nice work Gerald.

Regards,
John

17

I see almost nil GPIO pin headers on this board. How many GPIO pins would be there on this one, and would it include all the PRU pins?

Also, just to confirm if there’s an eSATA port onboard.

18

There is only four connectors with 66 pins each, so I could only get 157 GPIO pins on it. And yes it is eSATA.

BTW, the connectosr are on the back of the board. You can see their mounting holes from the top of the board, three on each end. The connectors are SMT.

Gerald

19

Any ideas how this compares to the wandboard quad? 4x Cortex-A9 vs 2x Cortex-A15?

Also, this would be awesome to setup a small Arm cluster with since it has a decent RAM/core count ratio, gig/e and sata.

20

Are either of the AM5278’s PCIe ports run out to the connectors?

Thanks,

Scott