Seco has won KS funding for its open-spec, $229 “Udoo Bolt” SBC, which runs Linux or Windows on AMD’s Ryzen Embedded V1000 SoC. The SBC supports up to 4x displays, and offers SATA III, 3x M.2, 2x HDMI 2.0, and Arduino and Grove expansion.

Seco’s Udoo project quickly passed its $100K Kickstarter funding goal for the “world’s first maker board” based on AMD’s new, x86 architecture Ryzen Embedded V1000 SoC. Italy-based Seco claims that the Udoo Bolt is almost 4.5 times faster than the Intel Braswell based Udoo X86 Ultra, which is one of the most powerful hacker boards around next to the Intel Apollo Lake based UP Squared.

Udoo Bolt with heatsink, fan, and case
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The 120 x 120mm Udoo Bolt runs any 64-bit desktop Linux, Android, or Windows distribution, and offers Arduino compatibility, complete with a shield connector and an Arduino Leonardo-compatible Atmega32U4 MCU. The Ryzen Embedded V1000 CPU and the Atmega32U4 can be configured to communicate via USB so the MCU can run while the CPU is turned off, and then wake it up when needed. The full Arduino compatibility also makes it easier to work with the board’s 3x Grove connectors “without the welder” to connect to Seeed’s Grove sensor and I/O add-ons.

The Kickstarter entry point — as long as it lasts — is an early bird package for $229 with an Udoo Bolt V3 model with a dual-core, quad-thread Ryzen Embedded V1202B clocked at 2.3GHz/3.2GHz, along with Radeon Vega 3 graphics. The package includes 32GB eMMC, a heatsink, and a fan, but there’s an empty RAM socket and no power supply unit (PSU). The same package rises to $249 until the campaign ends on July 30. Like all the bundles, it’s expected to ship in December.

Udoo Bolt all wired up
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There’s also a $298 early bird kit version with the same dual-core board, but with 4GB DDR4-2400 and a 19V, 65W AC adapter for the EU or US. A $402 (early bird) and $422 (standard) deal bumps the RAM to 8GB via a second SODIMM module and adds an Intel dual-band, 802.11ac/Bluetooth 4.0 wireless M.2 module. This kit also includes a metal case and HDMI and SATA + power cables.

A $309 V8 offering gives you the same barebones dual-core board, but with superior Vega 8 graphics. Add the 4GB RAM and PSU, and you pay $348.

The Udoo Bolt gives you a choice of the two lower-end Ryzen Embedded V1000 models
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A $309 Udoo Bolt V8 barebones deal moves you up to a quad-core, octa-threaded V1605B SoC at 2.0GHz/3.6GHz, which has the same 12-25W TDP as the V1202B. Like the other quad-core kits, it features Radeon Vega 8 graphics.

The quad-core V8 SBC combined with 4GB RAM and PSU goes for $348 early bird or $378 standard, and the high-end 8GB RAM kit with wireless, cables, and case goes for $452 early bird or $482 standard. There are also 16GB RAM kits for both the dual- and quad-core models ranging up to a completely decked out $564 model.

For those of you who have been struggling to choose between a $35 Raspberry Pi vs. a $20 Orange Pi One Plus, sticker shock is completely understandable. Welcome to world of x86 where the prices are outrageous, but the power is undeniable. Due to the high cost of x86 chips, however, these KS prices are actually pretty reasonable.

The other advantage touted by Seco is that any 64-bit x86 compatible Linux distro will run out-of-the-box. You don’t have to hunt down drivers or wait for a project to incrementally develop and improve builds optimized for a particular Arm SoC.

Udoo Bolt

AMD’s Ryzen V1000 is highly competitive on CPU performance with the latest Intel Core chips, and the Radeon Vega graphics are superior, especially with the Vega 8. The Udoo Bolt is accordingly aimed at “AAA gaming, high-end VR, cryptocurrency mining, client-side 3D rendering, AI, IoT, edge computing, computer vision, and real-time big data analysis.”

Like most of the early V1000-based products, such as Advantech’s SOM-5871, Congatec’s Conga-TR4, and Seco’s own COMe-B75-CT6 computer-on-modules, the Udoo Bolt supports four simultaneous 4K@60fps displays. In this case, the board provides dual HDMI 2.0 ports and dual USB Type-C ports that support both DisplayPort and USB 3.0 peripherals.

Thanks to the Vega graphics, the Udoo Bolt also supports HDR video for richer colors and other visual attributes. The Bolt can drive VR headsets like Oculus, and can “run Rhinoceros, Adobe After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, 3D rendering software and so on…without any hiccup,” says Seco. The KS page also notes the “possibility to add a 4-lanes-compatible external GPU.”

The Udoo Bolt lacks a microSD slot, but you get 32GB eMMC, as well as SATA III with power support. Two of the three M.2 slots support storage: The B-Key 2260 is designed for SSDs and PCIe x2 peripherals, and the M-Key 2280 can load speedy, gamer-friendly NVME modules and also supports PCIe Gen 3 x4. The third M.2 E-Key 2230 slot is designed for the optional WiFi-ac/BT 4.0 module.

Udoo Bolt detail views
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The Udoo Bolt is further equipped with a GbE port, an audio jack, dual USB 3.1 host ports, and the dual Type-C ports. An IR receiver, RTC with battery, and 19V input are also available.

In addition to the Arduino I/O array for adding Arduino shields and Grove modules, there’s an embedded I/O controller that manages I/O such as UART, I2C, and SPI. The controller also provides a keyboard scan feature to control software using the keyboard.

Finally, like other Udoo boards, the Bolt is fully open source. It will ship with schematics, 3D design file, binaries, and BoM under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 license.

Specifications listed for the Udoo Bolt include:

• Processor — AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000 with Microchip Atmega32U4 MCU:
  • V1202B — 2x (4x thread) Ryzen cores @ 2.3GHz/3.2GHz boost with Radeon Vega 3 or 8 graphics
  • V1605B — 4x (8x thread) Ryzen cores @ 2.0GHz/3.6GHz boost with Radeon Vega 8 graphics
• Memory/storage:
  • 0GB, 4GB, 8GB, or 16GB DDR4-2400 RAM with ECC support via 2x sockets (supports up to 32GB)
  • 32GB eMMC 5.0
  • M.2 B-Key 2260 for SSDs (also supports PCIe x2)
  • M.2 M-Key 2280 for NVME storage modules (also supports PCIe Gen 3 x4)
  • SATA III connector with SATA power
• Wireless — M.2 E-Key 2230 with optional wireless module (802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0)
• Networking — Gigabit Ethernet port (Realtek RTL8111G)
• Display/media:
  • 2x HDMI 2.0a ports
  • 2x DisplayPorts available via 2x dual-role USB 3.0 Type-C ports
  • 4x simultaneous 4K@60 displays
  • Radeon Vega 3 or 8 graphics with DirectX 12, OpenGl, and Vulkan support; H.265 decode and (8-bit) encode, VP9 decode
  • Headphone/mic combo jack
• Other CPU-based I/O:
  • 2x USB 3.1 ports
  • 2x USB 3.0 Type-C dual-role ports with DP and power input support
  • Front-panel headers
• Arduino-compatible MCU I/O:
  • Up to 26x digital I/O (includes up to 7x PWM)
  • 3x Grove connectors
  • Analog input, UART, I2C, SPI, UART or DIO, I2C or DIO
• Embedded controller I/O:
  • 2x UART
  • 2x I2C
  • 10x GPIO
  • SPI, keyboard scan, fan
• Other features — IR receiver; RTC with battery; optional HDMI, SATA/power cables; optional metal case
• Power — 19V DC jack; USB Type-C power support
• Dimensions — 120 x 120mm
• Operating system — 64-bit Linux (incl. Android); 64-bit Windows 7/8.1/10

 
Further information

The Udoo Bolt is available on Kickstarter through July 30, with shipments due in December, starting at $229. More information may be found at Seco’s Udoo Bolt Kickstarter page and at the Udoo project website.