You're right. Upon closer inspection the PCB layout is really bad. It comes down to simple things like if they used a higher density DRAM module (or used both sides of the PCB) the JTAG\arduino connector could have been moved up to make the PCB a rectangle.
It's a really strange design. Using a "proprietary" barrel-sized connector for a 5V input is also beyond ridiculous in 2015 when USB has been able to do this for almost two decades.
One of the things I respect most about the RPi is the use of a mini-USB power connector, even though it uses the older style...almost everyone has a power adapter for this connector buried in a drawer, reducing cost, shipping weight and e-waste.
USB connectors only survive a certain number of plug-unplug cycles, mini/micro USB connectors survive even fewer cycles (not to mention how many times I've seen people accidentally rip the connector off by hitting whatever was plugged into it).
Barrel connectors are much sturdier than mini/micro USB, trivial to replace (only 3 large pins/contacts to resolder) and can be used with generic adjustable wall adapters ("wall warts").
I don't think there is something wrong with barrel power connectors, aside from going the "efforts" to standardize mini-usb for device power delivery. But this only applies when the barrel is the only connector, IMO there is enough room for both and the add of cost is negligible. Plus there are a LOT of existing power supplies with barrel connectors, so it is a good thing if they still can come handy. Another benefit is the pins are pretty big, so if you want to solder a power cord directly onto the board, that makes it easier, soldering onto a small usb connector is harder and much easier to short something.
The upsides of a usb power connector are compatibility with the now more common currently produced power adapters and of course, the possibility to use it for data as well.
I have to admit, the complaint about the barrel connector is a strange one. They've been around for over half a century and rights are owned by no one. One of the big bane's of the Pi's design has been the mini-USB, as the standard USB spec only provides 500mA, but the Pi with a keyboard and mouse will need closer to 700mA. There are any number of forum posts where people have connected USB power supplies that are too small. Even so, the photo of the CI20 shows that it *comes with* a USB to barrel adapter cable. A USB tablet charger should be fine.
Connectors on only 2 sides instead of the Pi's 3, so a better design there. I still like the BeagleBone Black more though. Board shape is odd, but it is still 4"x3.5", so only a bit larger. Built in WiFi alone should be worth the extra space. You could probably use the cutout L shape to add a user-defined connector next to the SD card.
Anyway, mine showed up today. I haven't programed for a MIPS CPU since we got rid of the old SGIs. I guess I won't get anything else useful done tonight. We'll see how the benchmarks compare to the Pi and Pandaboard.
I still think the Beaglebone Black as the best form factor. All of the major cord connectors are on one side. I like the RPi form factor with the exception of the power connector being at a 90 degree angle to everything else. WHY?!?! It totally jacks with project cases. And then there is this form factor.... Lolwat?
I am not aware of any particular specific form factor for that, IMO it is "embedded" for factor, which is quite abstract really, since there is embedded platforms the size of a dime and all the way to the size of an ATX board.
Mine arrived today. Having read the first 16 comments on this forum, I have to say I'm not upset with the Ci20 at all.
You are right about the shape of the board. There's about it that suggests it was originally intended for something else... Or is it just a coincidence that the protruding section contains a Rpi GPIO and Rpi-style camera connector?
In any case, it's interesting, from a Computer Scientist perspective, to finally own one of the most talked-about RISC microprocessor architectures of its day, for just £50. I'm not aware of any other MIPS based SBC on the market. And it's pretty reasonable on the performance spec to boot.
If anyone here is looking for buyer's remorse - I wish I hadn't been quite so keen to put away my D-Link USB HUB I had bought for my *very* old (256MB) Model B Pi. (To the uninitiated, an external USB HUB made it possible to hot-plug memory sticks without the old Pi resetting itself). This week's news suggests the $35 I invested in that B+ last summer, could have been better spent :(
Last summer there was nothing better you could have bought for that 35$. Learn how to track market update cycles in order to spend your money in a way to maximize the value of what you get. I have to admit though, the B+ was a clever trick, a "refresh before a major update" that probably tricked a lot of people into spending money on something that's tremendously weaker than what they could have bought just a few months later.
And hey, I'd understand if it was 350 or 3500$, but 35$ - what kind of investment is that? You spend more than that for a meal in a decent restaurant, which will be in oblivion just a few hours later ;)
Last but not least, you complain about "wasting" 35$ on a Pi B, but in the same time are over enthusiastic about wasting 65$ on the CI20, that doesn't make sense, and portrays you as fairly biased.
Fans of "purple" I guess. The CI20 allegedly has lower power consumption, so if that is CRITICAL to you, you might consider it instead. But other than that, it cannot really compete with the Pi2 or ODROID C1. Pricing aside, the board is too big, too odd in shape, and the connectors are clumsily placed too.
well keep in mind the CI20 has wifi, bluetooth, and onboard storage. adding dongles for those interfaces increases the pi size, and adding all 3 adds cost. personally my Pi has had continual reliability issues with its SD card... electrically destroying one and corrupting them at least 4 times.
I had compatibility issues with SD cards in my Pi too. Forums unanimously agree Sandisk or Samsung is generally guaranteed to work. My original Transcend card constantly corrupted. Many "crappy" flash cards are not designed for lots of random IO such as kernel paging and seem to just shit themselves or cause the RPi to queue up and corrupt the bus.
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20 Comments
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ddriver - Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - link
A little too little... Hardly a bargain at that price, plus PCB "form factor" is just plain out terrible.Samus - Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - link
You're right. Upon closer inspection the PCB layout is really bad. It comes down to simple things like if they used a higher density DRAM module (or used both sides of the PCB) the JTAG\arduino connector could have been moved up to make the PCB a rectangle.It's a really strange design. Using a "proprietary" barrel-sized connector for a 5V input is also beyond ridiculous in 2015 when USB has been able to do this for almost two decades.
One of the things I respect most about the RPi is the use of a mini-USB power connector, even though it uses the older style...almost everyone has a power adapter for this connector buried in a drawer, reducing cost, shipping weight and e-waste.
Arnulf - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
USB connectors only survive a certain number of plug-unplug cycles, mini/micro USB connectors survive even fewer cycles (not to mention how many times I've seen people accidentally rip the connector off by hitting whatever was plugged into it).Barrel connectors are much sturdier than mini/micro USB, trivial to replace (only 3 large pins/contacts to resolder) and can be used with generic adjustable wall adapters ("wall warts").
ddriver - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
I don't think there is something wrong with barrel power connectors, aside from going the "efforts" to standardize mini-usb for device power delivery. But this only applies when the barrel is the only connector, IMO there is enough room for both and the add of cost is negligible. Plus there are a LOT of existing power supplies with barrel connectors, so it is a good thing if they still can come handy. Another benefit is the pins are pretty big, so if you want to solder a power cord directly onto the board, that makes it easier, soldering onto a small usb connector is harder and much easier to short something.The upsides of a usb power connector are compatibility with the now more common currently produced power adapters and of course, the possibility to use it for data as well.
alexvoica - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
It's not proprietary, it is the same connector used for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) game console.UrQuan3 - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
I have to admit, the complaint about the barrel connector is a strange one. They've been around for over half a century and rights are owned by no one. One of the big bane's of the Pi's design has been the mini-USB, as the standard USB spec only provides 500mA, but the Pi with a keyboard and mouse will need closer to 700mA. There are any number of forum posts where people have connected USB power supplies that are too small. Even so, the photo of the CI20 shows that it *comes with* a USB to barrel adapter cable. A USB tablet charger should be fine.Connectors on only 2 sides instead of the Pi's 3, so a better design there. I still like the BeagleBone Black more though. Board shape is odd, but it is still 4"x3.5", so only a bit larger. Built in WiFi alone should be worth the extra space. You could probably use the cutout L shape to add a user-defined connector next to the SD card.
Anyway, mine showed up today. I haven't programed for a MIPS CPU since we got rid of the old SGIs. I guess I won't get anything else useful done tonight. We'll see how the benchmarks compare to the Pi and Pandaboard.
Ikefu - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
I still think the Beaglebone Black as the best form factor. All of the major cord connectors are on one side. I like the RPi form factor with the exception of the power connector being at a 90 degree angle to everything else. WHY?!?! It totally jacks with project cases. And then there is this form factor.... Lolwat?ddriver - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
I am not aware of any particular specific form factor for that, IMO it is "embedded" for factor, which is quite abstract really, since there is embedded platforms the size of a dime and all the way to the size of an ATX board.jonathan_markland - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
Mine arrived today. Having read the first 16 comments on this forum, I have to say I'm not upset with the Ci20 at all.You are right about the shape of the board. There's about it that suggests it was originally intended for something else... Or is it just a coincidence that the protruding section contains a Rpi GPIO and Rpi-style camera connector?
In any case, it's interesting, from a Computer Scientist perspective, to finally own one of the most talked-about RISC microprocessor architectures of its day, for just £50. I'm not aware of any other MIPS based SBC on the market. And it's pretty reasonable on the performance spec to boot.
If anyone here is looking for buyer's remorse - I wish I hadn't been quite so keen to put away my D-Link USB HUB I had bought for my *very* old (256MB) Model B Pi. (To the uninitiated, an external USB HUB made it possible to hot-plug memory sticks without the old Pi resetting itself). This week's news suggests the $35 I invested in that B+ last summer, could have been better spent :(
ddriver - Thursday, February 5, 2015 - link
Last summer there was nothing better you could have bought for that 35$. Learn how to track market update cycles in order to spend your money in a way to maximize the value of what you get. I have to admit though, the B+ was a clever trick, a "refresh before a major update" that probably tricked a lot of people into spending money on something that's tremendously weaker than what they could have bought just a few months later.And hey, I'd understand if it was 350 or 3500$, but 35$ - what kind of investment is that? You spend more than that for a meal in a decent restaurant, which will be in oblivion just a few hours later ;)
Last but not least, you complain about "wasting" 35$ on a Pi B, but in the same time are over enthusiastic about wasting 65$ on the CI20, that doesn't make sense, and portrays you as fairly biased.
monstercameron - Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - link
who would buy into this close system rather than use an opensauce friendly rpi2ddriver - Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - link
Fans of "purple" I guess. The CI20 allegedly has lower power consumption, so if that is CRITICAL to you, you might consider it instead. But other than that, it cannot really compete with the Pi2 or ODROID C1. Pricing aside, the board is too big, too odd in shape, and the connectors are clumsily placed too.Stephen Barrett - Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - link
well keep in mind the CI20 has wifi, bluetooth, and onboard storage. adding dongles for those interfaces increases the pi size, and adding all 3 adds cost. personally my Pi has had continual reliability issues with its SD card... electrically destroying one and corrupting them at least 4 times.Samus - Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - link
I had compatibility issues with SD cards in my Pi too. Forums unanimously agree Sandisk or Samsung is generally guaranteed to work. My original Transcend card constantly corrupted. Many "crappy" flash cards are not designed for lots of random IO such as kernel paging and seem to just shit themselves or cause the RPi to queue up and corrupt the bus.ddriver - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
You can get a Pi2 with USB wifi, bt, and 16 gigs of storage for a lower price still.speculatrix - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
typo: MEPG2Stephen Barrett - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
fixed thank you!speculatrix - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
I won't be touching it unless Imagination come up with the source code for the relevant drivers in the kernel.Pteridium - Sunday, February 8, 2015 - link
First of all: what do you want to mean with relevant drivers?Anybody that take a look to the kernel sources will realize that only the PowerVR SGX540 3D gpu driver is closed while contrary to the rest (VPU, 2D gpu, NAND, usb, ...).
Dma and VPU need a firmware file because those subsystems have an xburst cpu each one.
I suggest to check these links:
https://github.com/MIPS/CI20_linux/branches
https://github.com/ZubairLK/CI20_linux/branches
https://github.com/gcwnow/linux/branches
The performance in some areas with kernel 3.0.8 is bad, but with kernels 3.16 and 3.18 is much better thanks to imgtec guys and other people that is collaborating.
http://www.mikronauts.com/2015/02/02/mips-creator-...
ant6n - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
One of these boards should come with like 4 or 8 Satas, so one could build a cheap NAS