MNT Reform LS1028A Processor Module

Note: The 8 GB module version is discontinued in favor of streamlined production. If you bought the 8 GB module, you will be upgraded to the 16 GB module. The second batch is delayed due to chip shortages. We expect it to be ready in April/May 2024.

A Fully Open Hardware Processor Module.

The LS1028A is the open hardware system-on-module featuring the NXP Layerscape LS1028A processor with 16GB of DDR4 RAM. It can be used in the MNT Reform laptop or in any other custom device.

Benefits

Fully open hardware design (Altium sources published, can be opened in KiCAD)
NXP LS1028A SoC is fully supported by mainline Linux
Ability to boot the system without any binary blobs (see next section for caveat)
16GB DDR4 RAM
2x Cortex-A72 cores at 1.5GHz
Big PCIe address space allows usage of some external AMD, NVidia GPUs (experimental)
Vivante GC7000UL GPU supported by open source Mesa graphics library

Drawbacks

Roughly 30% higher power consumption than i.MX8MQ with 4GB RAM
2 faster cores instead of 4 energy-efficient, but slower cores
No HDMI output. Secondary PCIe lane available on HDMI connector
eDP display requires a firmware blob. This can be worked around with a mPCIe/PCIe display adapter, but this takes up a PCIe slot

Detailed Specs

System-on-Chip: NXP LS1028A
CPU: 2x ARM Cortex-A72 (1.5GHz, 1MB L2, 48KB L1I, 32KB L1D, ECC, Cache Coherent Interconnect CCI-400)
GPU: Vivante GC7000L (open source etnaviv drivers in Linux kernel), ARM eDP Controller
Memory: 16GB DDR4
2x PCIe 3.0 (1x external PCIe 3.0 routed to HDMI pins)
SATA 3
2x USB 3.0
1GBit Ethernet PHY
SAI audio
eMMC (16GB), QSPI flash, EEPROM
SD, UART, SPI, I2C, PWM, GPIO
Powered by single 5V input

In the Box

LS1028A Processor/RAM Module to plug into MNT Reform
Internal eDP display adapter
Machined heatsink

Support

Manuals and Downloads
Modularity Comparison Table
For questions, updates and feedback, join the MNT Community or write us an email.