Hi all,
I was hoping that the CM5 carrier + RK3588 CM5 board could be used to upgrade the MNT Reform Classic. However, that doesn’t look likely.
Hence, my question. Is there an official / unofficial upgrade path for MNT Reform Classic owners?
I could not see the point of buying the Reform Next just to get RK3588 as I have the classic and the extra cost. Now I’m not so sure…
Thanks!
Yes, you just do not go via the CM5 but instead use the RCORE adapter board: MNT Reform RCORE RK3588 Processor Module - MNT Research Shop
Sorry, I should have added the word “affordable” or “cost effective”.
In the CM5 thread linked before I wrote that the RK3588 is about €160 / $300AUD.
… Radxa CM5 RK3588S2 16GB/128GB is about €160 (~300AUD) Radxa
I understand the MNT CPU module are custom board, but is there a way to reduce the cost by holding off production until sufficient demand/quantities make it cheap?
Not to speak out of turn, but I think the idea of a CM5 adapter board has been floated previously, and I seem to recall the response was something along the lines of the CM4 adapter board didn’t turn out to be that popular, and folks were always welcome to develop their own? (ETA – you actually referenced the thread I was half-remembering in your initial post in this one. Sorry!)
Aside from using it with the bpi-cm4 in a bundle, has anyone experimented with other cm4 modules in the adapter? I realize that’s not the thrust of what you’re asking, but I know the bpi-cm4 + adapter board has a number of tradeoffs over the stock imx8xq cpu module, and maybe something else would be a cost effective upgrade?
It does not show the same for me under that link. The offer that costs 160 EUR for me comes with the RK3582, not the RK3588.
Their 32 GB RAM board costs 274 EUR but it says it comes with the RK3588S2 not with the RK3588. I was unable to find a good source for this. Here is a comparison of RK3588 and RK3588S: Rock5/RK3588 vs RK3588S - Radxa Wiki
one TPYEC/DP1.4 less
one HDMI 2.1 TX
one eDP1.4 less
No HDMI RX
three PCIE less(2x PCIE3.0 + 1x PCIE2.0)
one SATA less
one MIPI CSI less(1x4Lane or 2x2 Lane)
one GMAC less(VCCIO3 Domain)
And somebody on reddit claims to have figured out how the S2 removes even more features from the S: https://www.reddit.com/r/embedded/comments/1ddv8z8/rk3588s2_vs_rk3588/
So, the Radxa board is cheaper than the Rockchip RK3588 iCore 3588Q Firefly because it has a different chip on board. Not surprising, no?
As minute said in the other thread: if somebody were to develop an adapter board for the Radxa CM5 board, they are free to do so. MNT decided to go with the version of the RK3588 with more features.
Which ones? I used to use an imx8mq for more than a year and have now been using the bpi-cm4 a311d since 2023 as my main computer. Next to me are two rk3588 (one in a classic reform and one in the pocket reform) and they are blazing fast but I see no issue with the a311d and I thus do not feel rushed to switch my main machine to the rk3588. But the a311d has certainly been an upgrade to the imx8mq in nearly all areas except for suspend/resume. But even that is not 100% reliable on the imx8mq…
Oh, just only 1 display at a time, 4G of memory vs 8G, USB 2.0 only, that sort of thing. I’m using the bpi-cm4/A311D mnt reform right now, and I’m very happy with it’s performance and behavior. But I do sometimes struggle with the OOM killer nuking something I am trying to do.
Ah, earlier you wrote “imx8xq” and I thought you meant “imx8mq”. What you are describing is the imx8mplus (it has 8 GB of ram, the imx8mq only has 4 GB) and yes, that has different trade-offs indeed. 
Sorry, I lose track of what has what sometimes 
I am still on the imx8mplus on the pocket, and I forgot it was an upgrade from the imx8mq originally in my reform classic. Mea culpa!