Atomic Pi Brings Intel to Single-Board Computers

The onslaught of single-board computers continued last week with the debut of Atomic Pi, a product from Digital Loggers that combines the small form factor of a Raspberry Piwith an Intel Atom processor, ostensibly because the company believes it can offer better pricing and performance that way.

Atomic Pi features a quad-core Intel Atom x5-Z8350 with a 2M cache, a 480MHz GPU and 1.92GHz maximum clock speed. According to Digital Loggers, that "eats [Raspberry Pi] for dessert" and also "beats some desktops." Additionally, it features 2GB DDR3L-1600 memory, 16GB eMMC storage complemented by an SD card slot with support for up to 256GB of additional storage, HDMI, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports; as well as Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 4 and Wi-Fi.

Other specs include:

• 9-axis inertial navigation sensor with compass BNO055 
• Secondary XMOS audio output with class-D power amp
• TTL serial debug and expansion serial ports up to 3.6Mbps
• Real time clock and battery
• JST-style connectors on top 
• 26-pin header for power and GPIO underneath 

Atomic Pi also features a "legitimate licensed BIOS" that can boot from SD, USB, or Ethernet-connected storage. Digital Loggers said that Linux comes pre-loaded and that Atomic Pi will also run the 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows 10 (hopefully the experience is better than it is on a Raspberry Pi). More information about the Atomic Pi is available via an FAQ page on the company's website, a user forum and a dedicated subreddit.

Digital Loggers offers multiple configurations of the Atomic Pi. The base version only includes the board and costs $34. The next model up adds support for a 2.5mm PSU at $39, and another model offers a large breakout board with screw terminals for $49. The company also bundled the Atomic Pi as a Full Developers Kit featuring cameras, a power supply and two Atomic Pi boards for $95 or 24 of the single-board computers for $696.

Atomic Pi is sold via the Digital Loggers store as well as Amazon. (With Prime shipping, for those who can't wait to get their itty-bitty computer.) The base model is sold out on Amazon, but the Digital Loggers store appears to have everything but the Full Developers Kit in stock.