ODROID-U2

For all your Raspberry Pi's, BeagleBoard's, Parallella's, ORDROID'S, TV boxes et al.
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#1 ODROID-U2

Post by Janos (retired) »

ULTRA COMPACT 1.7GHz QUAD-CORE BOARD

ODROID-U2 is a micro sized open development platform which is powered by Exynos4412 Prime. 1.7Ghz ARM Cortex-A9 Quad Cores show PC-like performance. Enjoy various PC peripherals on Android & Ubuntu Linux.

KEY FEATURES

* Low-cost development platform
* Ultra compact size with full metal enclosure
* Quad core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore
* 10/100Mbps Ethernet with RJ-45 LAN Jack
* 2 x High speed USB2.0 Host port
* Audio codec with headphone jack on board
* Android 4.x & Ubuntu 12.10
* Community-driven projects & supports

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#2 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Silver »

Looks better with the heatsink/cover, also makes it a bit more practicable.
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#3 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Janos (retired) »

Aye, it does

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#4 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Silver »

I can give you some rough numbers for my odroid now its crunching away. I maybe should've done this in a more sensible fashion and set it to crunch one project at a time and noted down results but that would be far to straight forward and no fun at all!

Project - Time/Unit/Hours - Credit - Number of units
Asteroids------------14.5-----------240-----------1
Einstein--------------9.3-------------63------------1
Enigma---------------1.5-------------60------------7
Milkyway-------------4.7------------106-----------10+
Skynet Pogs---------5.3------------170----------10+
SETI@Home Beta--18.75----------104----------1

** Running Android OS - mainly because it was pre installed on the mmc card and I'm too lazy to change to Linux, and I've never used it before either!

Please note: I make no promises that these numbers are 100% accurate, the times and credits where multiple units have run are roughly averaged/estimated and calculated.
I will add to the list as I run other projects.
I think you can probably work out which projects will not be going into the scheduler again!

Hope that is of some help/interest to some of you guys :)

Edited to add OS info
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#5 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Janos (retired) »

Looks good Silver :)

Can't wait to get mine cookin'
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#6 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Janos (retired) »

My first Android device up and running. :)

I must say I am impressed with the U2 as it is really easy to set up and use.
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#7 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Janos (retired) »

Silver wrote:Skynet Pogs---------5.3------------170----------10+
Is that 5.3 hours run time per task? Are you on nativeboinc?
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#8 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Janos (retired) »

Been crunching for a couple of hours and the heatsink is up to 55 degrees... may have to see about a fan. How hot is yours Paul?
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#9 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Janos (retired) »

Running at 100% BOINC it is consuming a fairly steady 1060mA at 5v DC.
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#10 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Silver »

Janos wrote:
Silver wrote:Skynet Pogs---------5.3------------170----------10+
Is that 5.3 hours run time per task? Are you on nativeboinc?
Yip, that's per task. Again its a bit of a guesstimated average though.
Yes again, running native boinc.
Are you getting vastly different numbers Janos?
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#11 Re: ODROID-U2

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Janos wrote:Been crunching for a couple of hours and the heatsink is up to 55 degrees... may have to see about a fan. How hot is yours Paul?
How did you get the temperature?
Mine gets warm but I didn't think it was particularly hot. I did get the fan but haven't got as far as plugging it up.
Maybe my house is cold enough that I don't need it :?
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#12 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Janos (retired) »

Silver wrote:How did you get the temperature?
Just an external thermometer.
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#13 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Janos (retired) »

Silver wrote:Are you getting vastly different numbers Janos?
About the same, give or take. I did have one which was way longer.
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#14 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Silver »

Janos wrote:
Silver wrote:How did you get the temperature?
Just an external thermometer.
I thought you'd found something clever in the settings somewhere.
Not sure if I have thermometer I could use!
Does your heatsink feel really hot at 55 degrees? I thought mine felt pleasantly warm to the touch and not much warmer than the network switch its sitting on just now....
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#15 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Janos (retired) »

Silver wrote:Does your heatsink feel really hot at 55 degrees? I thought mine felt pleasantly warm to the touch and not much warmer than the network switch its sitting on just now....
Yeah, it is a fair heat. Hotter than I was expecting. The cpu was up around 60. I have since moved location to gain a draft from one of my "standard" crunchers. CPU temps are now down to around 40.
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#16 Re: ODROID-U2

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Janos wrote:
Silver wrote:Does your heatsink feel really hot at 55 degrees? I thought mine felt pleasantly warm to the touch and not much warmer than the network switch its sitting on just now....
Yeah, it is a fair heat. Hotter than I was expecting. The cpu was up around 60. I have since moved location to gain a draft from one of my "standard" crunchers. CPU temps are now down to around 40.
I should maybe have a proper look at mine then, I really don't want to melt it :shock:
Maybe I should just stick the fan on it, although I was thinking about putting a top exhaust fan on my case and I could stick my U2 on top of it
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#17 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Alez »

Silver wrote: I was thinking about putting a top exhaust fan on my case and I could stick my U2 on top of it
That's exactly where my droidbox lives. Cool as a Penguin living in the freezer :D
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#18 Re: ODROID-U2

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Alez wrote:Cool as a Penguin living in the freezer :D
I wondered what had happened to our pink pal :wink:
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#19 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Alez »

Silver wrote:
Alez wrote:Cool as a Penguin living in the freezer :D
I wondered what had happened to our pink pal :wink:
Turned quite blue by all accounts :confused2:
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#20 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by PinkPenguin »

Green with envy! :D
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#21 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Janos (retired) »

One of my U2's just does not seem to want to crunch POGS reliably and with a 10% "Completed and validated" rate I have decided to try it on Enigma. I have raised the issue on the POGS forum to see if anyone can offer advice.
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#22 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Alez »

Might or might not be related but I have found that certain projects don't seem to play well together on anderoid. Running POGS and wuprop I have had an almost zero error rate, but if I run a mixed bag I get errors, except the errors I get are not related to the apps themselves ( as far as I can tell ) but seems to be the native Boinc client crashing. Running only 1 project plus wuprop and native boinc appears to be stable.
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#23 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Alez »

Since these seem to be the beasts to own at the moment i was thinking of taking the plunge. My Droidboxs are good, plug and play etc but whilst advertised at 1800ghz they are all locked by the kernel at 1600ghz. I was thinking of taking one, cutting big slots in the case and flashing the kernel for a 1900Ghz overclock as that makes them 25 -30% faster, however would suspect that 24/7 crunching will eventually overheat it and either melt or brick it. oubt I will be able to gain enough passive cooling.
That said I thought of giving a U2 a whirl. What do you guys think of them and what is the minimum I need to run 1.
I guess an HDMI cable.
The 8GB usb card with android installed. Is there any advantage in the eMMC modules and if so how do they work? ( never had 1 before ) Do they have an adapter to allow for reflashing or what ? I guess they are the same as an SD card only faster ?
How is the power adapter ? The reason I ask is that the one that come with the droidboxes are so poorly made I took one look and through them in the recycling. Wasn't even going to risk plugging them in !
Is there anything else you would recommend ?
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#24 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Janos (retired) »

Alez wrote:Since these seem to be the beasts to own at the moment i was thinking of taking the plunge.
For price/performance the U2 wins easily (this week!).
Alez wrote:My Droidboxs are good, plug and play etc but whilst advertised at 1800ghz they are all locked by the kernel at 1600ghz. I was thinking of taking one, cutting big slots in the case and flashing the kernel for a 1900Ghz overclock as that makes them 25 -30% faster, however would suspect that 24/7 crunching will eventually overheat it and either melt or brick it. oubt I will be able to gain enough passive cooling.
I made my XU's passive cooling at 100% BOINC. I have my Odroid's all close together (touching) so I added an under volted large fan next to them (very quiet). If I were to overclock I would be confident they would work just fine... in fact I might have a dabble later on. The Odroid's have CPU thermal protection with auto slowdown so if they get too hot it is unlikely you will make bricks (errored WU is all). With your Droidbox, I agree, I would cut a hole in the box and then monitor the temp. Do they have a heat sink on the chip? I assume they do as most do. It would not be hard to add a small fan to the side with some tape, hot glue or screws.

If you overclock just make sure you have a rock solid 5v high amp supply. If you provide poor quality power you will have run issues. If you spike the voltage then you will made bricks as they don't do overvolt protection.
Alez wrote:That said I thought of giving a U2 a whirl. What do you guys think of them and what is the minimum I need to run 1. I guess an HDMI cable.
Good power supply, HDMI cable of the correct type (I have several spare if you need) and 10/100 base Ethernet. I tend to shy away from wireless due to reliability. Even if you have to buy a small switch it will still be lower cost than buying wireless modules.
Alez wrote:The 8GB usb card with android installed. Is there any advantage in the eMMC modules and if so how do they work? ( never had 1 before ) Do they have an adapter to allow for reflashing or what ? I guess they are the same as an SD card only faster ?
eMMC is roughly equal to a solid state hard drive. They are way faster and much more reliable than an SD card. I went with eMMC and I have not regretted it. When you start reading about people having to put the images back onto the SD card every few months due to corruption and having to throw out SD cards all the time because they are hardware corrupt...

The eMMC comes with a tiny adapter and will fit into a standard multi-card reader (which you can buy for under a tenner - it fits where the FDD used to go in your PC and connects to an internal USB slot).

They are fiddly little buggers but they work well.
Alez wrote:How is the power adapter ? The reason I ask is that the one that come with the droidboxes are so poorly made I took one look and through them in the recycling. Wasn't even going to risk plugging them in !
The U2 does not come with an adapter by default. It costs extra and does not come with a UK style plug. I went with one of these bad boys http://www.circuitspecialists.eu/power- ... ?output=27. I chose the 40amp version so that I could run many units at the same time with loads of overhead. Yes, this power supply takes wiring - I can give you a hand /tips if you need. I tested these supplies and they are rock solid and efficient - with superb delivery. You will need to wire on a connector plug to the U2, these are available in Maplins or RS components. I spent a happy hour or so wiring all my units up. This power supply will cost you a lot less to buy and "install" and will run at a lower cost than several smaller (less efficient) transformers. I have all tools and bits needed if you need.
Alez wrote:Is there anything else you would recommend ?
Buy lots.

Tip: I would set your U2 farm up to run headless. If something goes wrong it isn't hard to plug in an HDMI cable to your TV.

Tip: The HDMI cables do send power from your TV back to the unit. This can cause problems on boot. Plug your cable in after the boot initialises.

Tip: Once you are happy with one eMMC image, with patches and BOINC installed (no WU's). Save the image to your desktop and burn all your other U2's with the same image. This will save you massive time and repetitive clicking.

Tip: wire your U2 power supply into a UPS for superb reliability in rural Aberdeenshire.

Tip: 8GB eMMC is enough space (unless you start faffing with Linux builds with extra stuff).

Tip: You don't need to buy an eMMC adaptor as each eMMC comes with one.
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#25 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Janos (retired) »

I am about to put in a new order with Hardkernel. If anyone wants to share the postage costs let me know and I will add your stuff to my order.
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#26 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Silver »

Great info Janos, much better than the reply I was going to put!
I'm tempted to get some more, when do you need to know if we pool the order? I need to check the piggy bank and see how it's doing :)
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#27 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Janos (retired) »

I had planned on putting my order in today but I can hold off a little.
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#28 Re: ODROID-U2

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Pm sent
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#29 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Alez »

Janos wrote:I am about to put in a new order with Hardkernel. If anyone wants to share the postage costs let me know and I will add your stuff to my order.
I think I'll take you up on that to, if the offer is still open. Will send PM.
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#30 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Silver »

Everyone buying more toys is great for the team but not really helping me close the gap :?
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#31 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Alez »

Silver wrote:Everyone buying more toys is great for the team but not really helping me close the gap :?
Should help me close the gap to you though Image

Janos, are these the power plugs I need ? http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/power-cab ... 412624|cav If not do you have a link to the correct ones, can't find 0.8 x 2.5, best was 0.7x 2.5 here http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/maplin-07-x-2 ... plug-l43ay

Thought of this power supply http://www.circuitspecialists.eu/5-volt ... 5v-12a-60w this should run up to 8 Ordroids @1.5 amps each.
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#32 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Silver »

Alez wrote:
Silver wrote:Everyone buying more toys is great for the team but not really helping me close the gap :?
Should help me close the gap to you though Image
You really don't need to worry about that though ;)
Alez wrote:Thought of this power supply http://www.circuitspecialists.eu/5-volt ... 5v-12a-60w this should run up to 8 Ordroids @1.5 amps each.
I'm going to put what I think Janos is going to say - No.

Hardkernal recommend a 2 Amp supply - or 3A if your going to use usb hard drives etc - therefore you'd be looking at a 16A supply for 8 units. I'm going with Janos' plan of an over spec'd one, so will probably go with the 20A version
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#33 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Alez »

Silver wrote:I'm going to put what I think Janos is going to say - No.

Hardkernal recommend a 2 Amp supply - or 3A if your going to use usb hard drives etc - therefore you'd be looking at a 16A supply for 8 units. I'm going with Janos' plan of an over spec'd one, so will probably go with the 20A version
I'm not going to be running usb hard drives etc.... but good spot, I seen the 40w , not the 12 amp. :oops: Glad I didn't order it yet. Cheers, you just saved me from making a booboo. Yes I need the 20A version. :D
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#34 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Silver »

Happy to help, especially since I'm not able to do it very often!
Sounds like your planning a fair size of farm Alez :shock:
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#35 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Alez »

Possibility ....... maybe one or two :D
2 more Droidboxes turned up today from Singapore. Hopefully have them running tonight :D
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#36 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Janos (retired) »

Sorry lads, time is not with me at the moment. I plan a good day today and a calm evening of spending money. I will be in contact tonight. Shall I give you a call? Send me a PM with your numbers?
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#37 Re: ODROID-U2

Post by Janos (retired) »

Alez wrote:Janos, are these the power plugs I need ? http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/power-cab ... 412624|cav If not do you have a link to the correct ones, can't find 0.8 x 2.5, best was 0.7x 2.5 here http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/maplin-07-x-2 ... plug-l43ay
I used:
AR29G Power Tip S
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/power-tip-connector-s-ar29g

But I wanted the right angle...
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