High-Performance Stackable SBC

Mixtile Blade 3 is a low-cost, low-power single-board computer (SBC) powered by the cutting-edge, 8-nanometer Rockchip RK3588 CPU. This power-efficient chipset makes Blade 3 ideal for quick development, AI-application prototyping, and edge computing. You can easily scale your deployment by clustering multiple Blade 3 boards together via the four-lane PCIe Gen3 port. This enables flexible, high-performance edge computing while maintaining a minimal carbon footprint.

Blade 3 Case is designed specifically for the needs and functionality of the Mixtile Blade 3. Integrating M.2 NVMe SSD support, this case has built-in fans for heat dissipation.

Highlights

• Strong scalability and wide applications

The mini PCIe interface and 30-pin GPIO header allow for easy expansion. The U.2 edge connector provides 12 V power, PCIe Gen 3.0 x 4, and SATA signals to interface with other Mixtile boards and build clusters. This makes Mixtile Blade 3 ideal for AI, edge computing, and image data processing applications requiring high bandwidth and scalability.

• Rich display interfaces, up to 8K video decoding

The HDMI 2.1 output port enables up to 8K@60fps display, while the HDMI 2.0 input port allows for up to 4K@60fps capture. Two 1.4a DisplayPorts over Type-C provide additional display connectivity at up to 8K@30fps. For video input, the 4-lane MIPI-CSI interface is included.

Powerful H.265/VP9 hardware decoding up to 8K@60fps and H.264/H.265 encoding up to 8K@30fps enables real-time video processing on the board.

• Wide range of OS compatibility

Mixtile Blade 3 offers compatibility with various operating systems, including Ubuntu, Armbian, and Debian. Upcoming support for Android and OpenWrt will open up even more possibilities.

• Portable 2.5-inch Pico-ITX Mainboard

With a standard Pico-ITX mainboard (100 x 72 mm) and standard interfaces, Mixtile Blade 3 is designed for space-constrained embedded applications. The compact form factor meets the growing market demand and highly customized requirements of the Industrial IoT industry.

Block Diagram

Technical Specifications

CPU	Rockchip Octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 SoC processor RK3588
NPU	Up to 6 TOPS
Memory	32 GB LPDDR4 memory
Storage	256 GB eMMC storage
HDMI interface	HDMI 2.1 output (8K @ 60 FPS or 4K @ 120 FPS) HDMI 2.0 input (4K @ 60 FPS)
Video encoder	H.264/H.265 video encoder up to 8K @ 30 FPS
Video decoder	H.265/H.264/VP9 video decoder up to 8K @ 60 FPS
Camera Input	4-lane MIPI-CSI
PCIe expansion	Mini-PCIe socket with PCIe Gen 2.1, USB 2.0 support
Storage expansion	4-lane PCIe Gen 3 in U.2 port SATA 3.0 in U.2 port, Micro-SD 3.0 flash socket
Ethernet expansion	Dual 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet ports
USB	Dual USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C ports, DisplayPort 1.4 A
GPIOs	40-pin GPIO socket: Digital I/O, I²C, USB 2.0, TTL UART, SPI, I²S
Software support	Preloaded customized Debian 11, other Linux distributions and Android 12
Power	USB Type-C port-1 supports USB PD 2.0 protocol (Optional: 12 V DC standard SATA power input via U.2 port) Note: The power adapter must support PD2.0 or PD3.0 protocol. Use a USB C to USB C cable for connection.
Output Voltage	5 V DC
Operating Current	Maximum 3 A @ 20 V DC
Blade 3 dimensions	2.5-inch Pico-ITX form factor, 100 x 72 mm
Blade 3 Case material	Aluminium alloy, black anodized
Blade 3 case dimensions	112.4mm x 89mm x 27.4mm
Operating temperature	0 to +80°C

Functional Description

This section provides a detailed description to the following components of Blade 3:

• MicroSD socket
• Mini-PCIe socket
• Ethernet ports
• USB-C ports (Power port/Display port)
• HDMI ports (HDMI Out/HDMI In)
• U.2 connector
• LED
• Dip switch

MicroSD Socket

The MicroSD socket accepts standard 11 mm x 15 mm Micro-SD cards with capacities up to 64 GBytes. The 4-bit data interface supports the SDMMC3.0 protocol. Blade 3 boots from eMMC flash by default and can be changed to boot from a MicroSD card.

Mini-PCIe Socket

The module supporting configuration, including power, reset, and interrupt signals, is under software control by Core 3588. Since each module needs specific configuration definitions, check the configuration setting before connecting the module.

The mini-PCIe is a PCI card interface with a small form factor that uses a standard 52-pin mini-PCIe socket. It also contains a USB 2.0 interface. The mini-PCIe socket supports the module sizes of 3052.

Dual 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet

The IEEE 802.3 compliant Ethernet supports auto-negotiation of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 1 Gbps, and 2.5 Gbps data rates in both half-duplex and full-duplex modes. The RGMII interface from the processor connects the 2.5GbE to an external PHY, RTL8125BG-CG. The RJ45 connector has some status and speed lights:

• Green light: A valid link is established
• Flashing light: Data is being transmitted
• Yellow light: Link speed is 2500 Mbps
• Off: 10/100/1000 Mbps

Power Input

Power Delivery (PD)

USB1/PD Port of Blade 3 supports USB Power Delivery 2.0. A Power Delivery controller on-board allows for a maximum power input of 20 V@3 A.

12 V DC

DC power inputs from a DC SATA power via U.2 port require 12 V@3 A.

USB-C Port

Blade 3 features two USB-C ports. There is silkscreen on PCB to indicate two USB-C ports:

• “USB0/ADB” Type-C port near the HDMI port: supports USB-OTG and can be used for ADB debugging and firmware update.

• “USB1/PD” Type-C port near the corner of the board: supports USB PD 2.0 for power input and does not support USB-OTG.

Both ports support USB host and DisplayPort modes. DisplayPort over USB-C enables audio/video (AV) data transfer. The ports support DisplayPort 1.4 and have a maximum resolution of 7680 x 4320@30 Hz.

Display Support

The video output processor supports the resolution from 1920 x 1080@60 Hz to 7680 x 4320@60 Hz. The default main display is HDMI.

HDMI-OUT

This port complies with HDMI 1.4, HDMI 2.1, and HDCP 2.3. It supports up to 1920 x 1080@120 Hz and 7680 x 4320@60 Hz/3840 x 2160@120 Hz resolution.

HDMI-IN

This port complies with HDMI 1.4, HDMI 2.0, and HDCP 2.3. It supports input source up to 1920 x 1080@120 Hz and 3840 x 2160@60 Hz resolution.

U.2 Connector

The U.2 interface employs a 68-pin U.2 connector with a standard SATA signal, a SATA 3.0 signal, a PCIe 3.0 x4 signal (four-lane PCIe 3.0), and 12V power input.

LED and Dip Switch

The power LED indicates the status of the power supply.

Blade 3 has an SPST four-position dip switch that can be used to determine the system booting mode.

• When position 1 is turned to ON, Blade 3 boots from eMMC.
• When position 2 is turned to ON, Blade 3 boots from the MicroSD card.
• When position 3 is turned to ON, Blade 3 boots from SPI Flash.
• When position 4 is turned to ON, Blade 3 enters MaskROM mode for firmware development.

Note:

• Only one position can be turned to ON at a time.
• When none of the four positions is ON, the CPU automatically searches for available boot media and boots from it. The boot order is EMMC -> SD Card -> MaskROM Mode.

Block Diagram

Connectors & Pin assignments

This section lists Blade 3 connector and pin assignments, and pin types with corresponding signal descriptions.

30-Pin connector

Pin#	PinName	PinType	Input/Output	Signal Description
1	VCC_5V0	Power	Output	Power supply for USB, 5 V output MAX 500 mA
2	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
3	USB20_HOST0_DM	LVDS	BI	USB20 HOST Port0 Data Minus
4	I2S2_SDI_M1	signal	Input	I2S2 data input
5	USB20_HOST0_DP	LVDS	BI	USB20 HOST Port0 Data Plus
6	I2S2_SDO_M1	signal	Output	I2S2 data output
7	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
8	I2S2_MCLK_M1	signal	Output	I2S2 Master clock
9	I2C5_SDA_M3	signal	BI	I2C5 Bus Date
10	I2S2_SCLK_M1	signal	BI	I2S2 serial clock or BCLK
11	I2C5_SCL_M3	signal	Output	I2C5 Bus clock
12	I2S2_LRCK_M1	signal	BI	I2S2 Left/Right channel clock
13	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
14	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
15	SPI4_MISO_M2	signal	Input	SPI4 Master input, Slave output
16	CAN2_RX	signal	Input	CAN2 receive data
17	SPI4_MOSI_M2	signal	Output	SPI4 Master output, Slave input
18	CAN2_TX	signal	Output	CAN2 transmit data
19	SPI4_CLK_M2	signal	Output	SPI4 clock
20	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
21	SPI4_CS0_M2	signal	Output	SPI4 Chip Select 0
22	GPIO0_B0	signal	BI	GPIO bank 0 port B0
23	GPIO1_A4	signal	BI	GPIO bank 1 port A4
24	SARADC_VIN7	Analog	Input	SAR ADC Channel 7 input
25	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
26	SARADC_VIN6	Analog	Input	SAR ADC Channel 6 input
27	PWM14	signal	BI	Pulse Width Modulation 14 input or output
28	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
29	PWM15	signal	BI	Pulse Width Modulation 15 input or output
30	VCC_3V3_S0	Power	Output	Power supply  for peripheral, 3.3 V output MAX 500 mA

Fan Connector

Pin#	PinName	PinType	Input/Output	Signal Description
1	VCC5V_FAN	Power	Output	Power supply for FAN,5V output MAX 400 mA. Controlled by GPIO3_C0
2	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground

Mini-PCIe

Pin#	PinName	PinType	Input/Output	Signal Description
1	MINIPCIE20_WAKEN_3V3_L	signal	Input	Wake up signal from mini-PCIe device
2	VCC3V3_MINIPCIE	Power	Output	Power supply for mini-PCIe device,3.3V output MAX 3A in all pins
3	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
4	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
5	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
6	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
7	MINIPCIE20_CLKREQN_3V3_L	signal	Input	PCIe2.0 Channel Reference clock request
8	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
9	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
10	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
11	PCIE20_2_REFCLKN	LVDS	Output	PCIe20 Port2 differential clock Negative
12	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
13	PCIE20_2_REFCLKP	LVDS	Output	PCIe20 Port2 differential clock Positive
14	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
15	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
16	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
17	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
18	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
19	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
20	W_DISABLEN	signal	Output	PCIE device wireless disable
21	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
22	MINIPCIE20_PERSTN	signal	Output	PCIE device reset
23	PCIE20_2_RXN	LVDS	Input	PCIe20 receive differential Negative
24	VCC3V3_MINIPCIE	Power	Output	Power supply for mini-PCIe device,3.3V output MAX 3A in all pins
25	PCIE20_2_RXP	LVDS	Input	PCIe20 receive differential Positive
26	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
27	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
28	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
29	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
30	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
31	MINIPCIE20_TX_N	LVDS	Output	PCIe20 transmit differential  Negative
32	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
33	MINIPCIE20_TX_P	LVDS	Output	PCIe20 transmit differential  Positive
34	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
35	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
36	MINIPCIE_USB_DM	LVDS	BI	USB20 HOST Port1 Data Minus
37	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
38	MINIPCIE_USB_DP	LVDS	BI	USB20 HOST Port1 Data Plus
39	VCC3V3_MINIPCIE	Power	Output	Power supply for mini-PCIe device,3.3V output MAX 3A in all pins
40	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
41	VCC3V3_MINIPCIE	Power	Output	Power supply for mini-PCIe device,3.3V output MAX 3A in all pins
42	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
43	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
44	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
45	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
46	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
47	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
48	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
49	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
50	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
51	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
52	VCC3V3_MINIPCIE	Power	Output	Power supply for mini-PCIe device,3.3V output MAX 3A in all pins

MIPI-CSI

Pin#	PinName	PinType	Input/Output	Signal Description
1	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
2	MIPI_CSI0_RX_D0N	LVDS	Input	MIPI CSI0 receive differential data lane 0 Negative
3	MIPI_CSI0_RX_D0P	LVDS	Input	MIPI CSI0 receive differential data lane 0 Positive
4	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
5	MIPI_CSI0_RX_D1N	LVDS	Input	MIPI CSI0 receive differential data lane 1 Negative
6	MIPI_CSI0_RX_D1P	LVDS	Input	MIPI CSI0 receive differential data lane 1 Positive
7	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
8	MIPI_CSI0_RX_CLK0N	LVDS	Input	MIPI CSI0 receive differential Clock 0 Negative
9	MIPI_CSI0_RX_CLK0P	LVDS	Input	MIPI CSI0 receive differential Clock 0 Positive
10	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
11	MIPI_CSI0_RX_D2N	LVDS	Input	MIPI CSI0 receive differential data lane 2 Negative
12	MIPI_CSI0_RX_D2P	LVDS	Input	MIPI CSI0 receive differential data lane 2 Positive
13	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
14	MIPI_CSI0_RX_D3N	LVDS	Input	MIPI CSI0 receive differential data lane 3 Negative
15	MIPI_CSI0_RX_D3P	LVDS	Input	MIPI CSI0 receive differential data lane 3 Positive
16	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
17	MIPI_CAM_PWM2	signal	Output	PWM2 for LENS
18	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
19	VCC_3V3_S0	Power	Output	Power supply for sensor board,3.3V output
20	MIPI_CAM_RESETN	signal	Output	GPIO out for sensor reset
21	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
22	MIPI_CAM_PDN	signal	Output	GPIO out for sensor power down
23	I2C3_SDA_M3_MIPI	signal	BI	I2C5 Bus data
24	I2C3_SCL_M3_MIPI	signal	Output	I2C5 Bus clock
25	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
26	MIPI_CAM2_CLK_M1_3V3	signal	Output	Camera Master clock output
27	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground.
28	VCC_5V0	Power	Output	Power supply for sensor board, 5V output
29	VCC_5V0	Power	Output	Power supply for sensor board, 5V output
30	VCC_5V0	Power	Output	Power supply for sensor board, 5V output

U.2

Pin#	PinName	PinType	Input/Output	Signal Description
E1	PCIE30_REFCLKP_SLOT	LVDS	Output	RC PCIe30 differential clock Positive
E2	PCIE30_REFCLKN_SLOT	LVDS	Output	RC PCIe30 differential clock Negative
E3	VCC_3V3_S0	Power	Output	Power supply for IO
E4	PCIE30X4_CLKREQN_M1_L	signal	Output	DM PCIe30 Channel Reference clock request
E5	PCIE30X4_PERSTN_M1_L	signal	Input	DM PCIe30 Channel reset
E6	PCIE30X4_CLKREQN_M3	signal	Input	RC PCIe30 Channel Reference clock request
E7	PCIE30_PORT1_REFCLKP	LVDS	Input	DM PCIe30 differential clock Positive
E8	PCIE30_PORT1_REFCLKN	LVDS	Input	DM PCIe30 differential clock Negative
E9	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
E10	PCIE30_PORT1_TX2P	LVDS	Output	DM PCIe30 transmit differential  Positive
E11	PCIE30_PORT1_TX2N	LVDS	Output	DM PCIe30 transmit differential  Negative
E12	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
E13	PCIE30_PORT1_RX2N	LVDS	Input	DM PCIe30 receive differential  Negative
E14	PCIE30_PORT1_RX2P	LVDS	Input	DM PCIe30 receive differential  Positive
E15	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
E16	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
E17	PCIE30_PORT0_RX1P	LVDS	Input	RC PCIe30 receive differential  Negative
E18	PCIE30_PORT0_RX1N	LVDS	Input	RC PCIe30 receive differential  Positive
E19	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
E20	PCIE30_PORT0_TX1N	LVDS	Output	RC PCIe30 transmit differential  Positive
E21	PCIE30_PORT0_TX1P	LVDS	Output	RC PCIe30 transmit differential  Negative
E22	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
E23	I2C4_SCL_M0	signal	Output	I2C4 Bus clock
E24	I2C4_SDA_M0	signal	BI	I2C4 Bus data
E25	DUALPORT_EN#	signal	Output	GPIO for Enable dual port, default low
P1	PCIE30X4_WAKEN_M1_L	signal	Output	DM PCIE30 Wake up signal from RC
P2	PCIE30X4_WAKEN_M3	signal	Input	RC PCIE30 Wake up signal from DM
P3	PWRDIS	signal	Output	GPIO for power disable to device
P4	IFDET	signal	Input	GPIO for detect interface of device
P5	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
P6	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
P7	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
P8	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
P9	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
P10	PRSNT#	signal	Input	GPIO for detect device if present
P11	ACTIVITY#	signal	Input	GPIO for detect device if activity
P12	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
P13	U2_12V	Power	Input	Power supply for blade3, input 12V
P14	U2_12V	Power	Input	Power supply for blade3, input 12V
P15	U2_12V	Power	Input	Power supply for blade3, input 12V
S1	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
S2	SATA0_TXP	LVDS	Output	SATA30 Port0 transmit differential Positive
S3	SATA0_TXN	LVDS	Output	SATA30 Port0 transmit differential Negative
S4	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
S5	SATA0_RXN	LVDS	Input	SATA30 Port0 receive differential Positive
S6	SATA0_RXP	LVDS	Input	SATA30 Port0 receive differential Negative
S7	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
S8	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
S9	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
S10	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
S11	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
S12	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
S13	NC	float	NA	Not connected to this pin
S14	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
S15	PCIE30X4_PERSTN_M3	signal	Output	RC PCIe30 Channel reset
S16	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
S17	PCIE30_PORT1_TX3P	LVDS	Output	DM PCIe30 transmit differential Negative
S18	PCIE30_PORT1_TX3N	LVDS	Output	DM PCIe30 transmit differential Positive
S19	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
S20	PCIE30_PORT1_RX3N	LVDS	Input	DM PCIe30 receive differential Negative
S21	PCIE30_PORT1_RX3P	LVDS	Input	DM PCIe30 receive differential Positive
S22	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
S23	PCIE30_PORT0_RX0P	LVDS	Input	RC PCIe30 receive differential  Negative
S24	PCIE30_PORT0_RX0N	LVDS	Input	RC PCIe30 receive differential  Positive
S25	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground
S26	PCIE30_PORT0_TX0N	LVDS	Output	RC PCIe30 transmit differential  Negative
S27	PCIE30_PORT0_TX0P	LVDS	Output	RC PCIe30 transmit differential  Positive
S28	GND	Power	NA	Power and signal reference ground

Debug

Pin#	PinName	PinType	Input/Output	Signal Description
1	UART2_RX_M0_DEBUG	signal	Input	UART2 Receive Data for debug
2	UART2_TX_M0_DEBUG	signal	Output	UART2 Transmit Data for debug
3	GND	signal	NA	Power and signal reference ground

Technical Support

MIXTILE technical support team assists you with the questions you may have. Contact us with the following methods below.

• Email: support@mixtile.com
• Website: https://www.mixtile.com
• Community: https://community.mixtile.com/