Khadas Mind Premium Review: Raptor Lake-P in a Modular Portable Workstation
by Ganesh T S on September 14, 2023 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
- Intel
- Mini-PC
- Raptor Lake-P
- Khadas
Setup Notes and Platform Analysis
Our review sample of the Khadas Mind Premium came with all necessary components pre-installed along with Windows 11 Home. However, prior to setting up the system, we took some time to look into the BIOS interface. The video below presents the entire gamut of available options in the BIOS of the Khadas Mind Premium.
The main screen of the BIOS provides an overview of the hardware configuration along with the version. The 'Advanced' > 'Connectivity Configuration' section shows that the Wi-Fi / Bluetooth module uses the CNVi interface. The 'CPU Configuration' sub-section provides information about the efficiency and performance cores. It also allows cores to be selectively disabled, and hyper-threading to be turned off on the performance cores. Control over virtualization support is also available in this sub-section. The 'Power and Performance' subsection provides fine-grained control over the CPU and iGPU power consumption. By default, the system boots in 'Max Non-Turbo Performance' mode with Intel SpeedStep and Turbo Mode enabled. The iGPU render standby is enabled, and it is allowed to turbo as needed. Control over various trip points (temperatures) is available in the 'Platform Thermal Configuration' sub-section. The 'ACPI Settings' sub-section allows configuration of hibernation support and sleep behavior. System wake on alarm events can be configured in the 'RTC Alarm' sub-section. Switchable graphics configuration and setting of the active iGPU display output is also possible. The USB ports can also be controlled to prevent use of mass storage devices. Network boot support can also be configured in the 'Advanced' section. Under the 'NVMe Configuration' subsection, a self-test for the WD PC SN740 can also be triggered.
Moving on to the chipset section, VT-d can be optionally disabled. Memory chip parameters can be viewed, and the iGPU memory allocations can be configured. The PCIe links and the USB ports off the PCH can also be can also be configured in this section. The 'Security' section allows a password to be set for the BIOS interface, configuration of secure boot, and the configuration of the hardware encryption features of the WD PC SN740 NVMe SSD. The 'Boot' section allows the ordering of different boot devices, and also control over the 'Fast Boot' feature (disabled by default). The BIOS interface also allows boot overrides on a per-boot basis in the 'Save & Exit' section.
Based on the BIOS options, it is already known that the AX211 Wi-Fi card is connected to the Raptor Lake-P package via CNVi . The teardown pictures show the presence of two Analogix ANX7447 USB-PD controller chips behind the two Type-C ports in the main unit. On the upstream front, they apparently connect to the Thunderbolt ports of RPL-P, but strangely, these are restricted to USB 2.0 and USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) speeds without PCIe tunneling support. We connected the Mind Premium to the Mind Dock, ensured all ports were connected to different peripherals, and took a screenshot of the device layout report.
The ports on the Mind Dock all appear to be behind a USB 3.2 Gen 2 VIA Labs hub chip, with Realtek controllers behind the LAN and SD card reader. Though the Mind Link interface has an effective bandwidth of 64 Gbps (up to PCIe 4.0 x4), it appears that the Mind Dock doesn't do anything beyond 10 Gbps for data transfers. Khadas also indicated that the two display outputs on the dock are also part of the 64 Gbps budget.
Intel's platform diagram for Raptor Lake P/H/U processor lines shows a large number of connectivity options. However, the RPL-P doesn't support the x8 discrete graphics lanes. Since the Mind Link connector-exercising Mind Dock doesn't have any PCIe connectivity, it became difficult to figure out which PCIe lanes were allocated to the Mind Link interface. The specifications from Khadas had indicated that the Mind Link interface was developed to support up to 8 lanes of PCIe Gen5, but the platform constraints of RPL-P resulted in the current implementation being restricted to PCIe Gen4 x4. After a bit of back and forth with Khadas, we were informed that the M.2 2230 slot accessible from the underside of the main unit behind the magnetic cover was backed up by four Gen3 lanes from the PCH, while one of the Gen4 x4 lanes from the CPU was connected to the pre-installed SSD. The other Gen4 x4 lanes from the CPU are routed out through the Mind Link connector.
In today's review, we compare the Mind Premium as well as the Mind Premium + Mind Dock and a host of other systems based on processors with TDPs ranging from 15W to 35W. The systems do not target the same market segments, but a few key aspects lie in common, making the comparisons relevant.
| Comparative PC Configurations | ||
| Aspect | Khadas Mind Premium | |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-1360P Raptor Lake 4P + 8E / 16T, up to 5.0 GHz (P) up to 3.7 GHz (E) Intel 7, 18MB L2, Min / Max / Base TDP: 20W / 64W / 28W PL1 = 28W, PL2 = 64W |
Intel Core i7-1360P Raptor Lake 4P + 8E / 16T, up to 5.0 GHz (P) up to 3.7 GHz (E) Intel 7, 18MB L2, Min / Max / Base TDP: 20W / 64W / 28W PL1 = 28W, PL2 = 64W |
| GPU | Intel Iris Xe Graphics (96EU @ 1.50 GHz) |
Intel Iris Xe Graphics (96EU @ 1.50 GHz) |
| RAM | 32GB LPDDR5-5200 Soldered 64-48-48-112 @ 5200 MHz 4x8 GB |
32GB LPDDR5-5200 Soldered 64-48-48-112 @ 5200 MHz 4x8 GB |
| Storage | Western Digital PC SN740 SDDQTQD-1T00 (1 TB; M.2 2230 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe;) (Western Digital 112L BiCS5 3D TLC NAND; SanDisk 20-82-10081 DRAM-less Controller) |
Western Digital PC SN740 SDDQTQD-1T00 (1 TB; M.2 2230 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe;) (Western Digital 112L BiCS5 3D TLC NAND; SanDisk 20-82-10081 DRAM-less Controller) |
| Wi-Fi | Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211 (2x2 802.11ax - 2.4 Gbps) | Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211 (2x2 802.11ax - 2.4 Gbps) |
| Price (in USD, when built) | US $1099 (as configured, with Windows 11 Home OS) | US $1099 (as configured, with Windows 11 Home OS) |
The next few sections will deal with comparative benchmarks for the above systems.
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peterfares - Friday, September 15, 2023 - link
This is really cool, but who is this for?abufrejoval - Friday, September 15, 2023 - link
I’d say it’s mostly for commuters, who’ll oscillate between two or more workplaces with high frequency and regularity, but don’t want to carry more than the “soul” of the computer with them.When I do that, I tend to make that a VM I keep on a high-speed USB stick and I then suspend the VM when I commute. Get’s the job done with a bit of overhead but in a smaller form factor but it means having a physical computer at every workplace and other compromises.
Having a full-sized GPU dock on every location might be somewhat difficult in terms of budget, but a power primary and somewhat after-hours secondary, might be enough to satisfy a large part of the user base.
Being able to just pick up the running machine right in the middle of something and then try catching a train or plane running might seem attractive, but Windows tends to glitch in far too many ways to make that realistic.
I’ve had far too many Windows laptops being woken up from some powersave or even hibernation slumber in the middle of a flight, ostensibly for scheduled maintenance, only to then have them cook themselves and their battery to death for lack of cooling in the onboard luggage: I guess I should be glad they didn’t go as far as combusting, but generally I wound up without a working machine on the busy end of the trip…
If you own a tiny home, operate in a boat, trailer or some other space constrained place this could be cool, but with an eye on longevity I’d not risk anything that wasn’t standards based and if TB isn’t enough, including dGPU, it’s really just tough luck.
BTW, I do believe they offer TB and not just USB4, they just don’t have the certification done, because they do mention eGPU on their website.
Pre-configured only: 32GB is certainly better than 16, even if I’d go for 64, especially at current prices for DRAM. The M.2 slots are only 30mm length so there wasn’t that much variety in terms of updates anyway, but that is currently changing because of these Steam console class devices. I guess the reason they won’t let you open the device is mostly to cut down on customer service issues, because there is just too many people out there who overestimate their technical skills and dexterity.
I guess mostly it just inspired me into looking using a NUC for this commute style use case instead. They aren’t really that much bigger than this, especially if you don’t carry a power brick. Having to make sure they are properly hibernated, isn’t that much of an issue and they are far more economical.
brucethemoose - Friday, September 15, 2023 - link
> 64-48-48-112 @ 5200Whoa, is this a typo?
The timings seem awfully loose, like waay above default JEDEC.
meacupla - Friday, September 15, 2023 - link
I can't even find what JEDEC specifies for LPDDR5Timings for LPDDR have always been looser than their regular counterparts.
They clock higher at lower voltages, and the timings are loose as a result.
Kamen Rider Blade - Friday, September 15, 2023 - link
So, instead of creating a "Proprietary Standard"?Why don't they use the existing PC/104 stacking Board standard that has been around for decades?
meacupla - Saturday, September 16, 2023 - link
PC/104 is meant for internal only. It has exposed and unsupported pins, which makes it easy to bend the pins. It's fragile.This slot connector is a more robust design.
Having said that, oculink and TB4 are plenty robust and have an existing market.
Kamen Rider Blade - Saturday, September 16, 2023 - link
You do know that PC/104 has updated to PCIe/104 and uses PCIe connectors that are plenty strong. Version 3 of the spec has been ratified since Feb 17, 2015.Also it would be pretty easy for them to figure out how to create a base board to stack modules onto given the modular nature.
They could've used a EPIC or EBC MoBo base board and stack modules on top.
meacupla - Saturday, September 16, 2023 - link
not my fault you named the wrong specsjkpublic@gmail.com - Sunday, September 17, 2023 - link
One main difference between this and other NUC's is the LPDDR5. This could have been a show stopper if they broke the 64GB barrier. Would consider a 128GB LPDDR5 memory version. Otherwise not much to see here.xol - Wednesday, September 20, 2023 - link
Polite reminder that "industrial design" means designing a product to be mass produced, not edgelord brushed titanium designed to convinced suckers a product is worth twice its equivalent value