CWWK i5-1235U 6 port i226 report

[noless]

First of all, thanks to all the participants of this thread.

With this thread you made me want to buy a unit!
Oh so it was, after many months of following this thread and the nuc n100/n200/n305 threads I finally made my decision.

#Start of the adventure#
I contact CWWK and let him know if what is said in this post is true, then I ask for confirmation regarding the included fan, the double adapter for the m2 SSD and other details. Once I have decided, I proceed with the purchase, paying with PayPal, around 400 euros.
So at the same time I also order the on Amazon the Crucial RAM CT2K16G4SFRA32A 32Gb Kit (2x16Gb) DDR4 3200MHz CL22.
I already had an unused SSD at home, a 256GB Samsung Gen3 taken from a broken laptop.

Summing up: (For Info, I live in France, Europe)

• 11 October --> purchase and payment (it will ship tomorrow, it was already too late)
• 12 October --> cwwk provides me with tracking, from yuntrack, the package leaves from Mainland, China
• 15 October --> the package arrives in France and is disposed of
• 20 October --> I have the package at my house

View attachment 32380
View attachment 32381

The power supply (DAJING unit, as many users here) may not be the highest quality but it weighs 400 grams, I don't think it's really poor.
Of course I would feel better with a DELTA, that's clear. I will buy a more efficient power supply in the future.
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The package arrives in excellent condition, perfectly packaged as indicated on this post:
I proceed to update the BIOS kindly posted by fta with the config recommended in this post ( 06-08 BIOS):
So with the configuration settings BIOS of this post:

The score with the stock bios was just over about 15,000 points on passmark.
The score with the fta's bios and recommended settings was more than 19,000 points on passmark.
View attachment 32384

Here are the temperatures at idle and full-load
-idle temps in the first screenshot (sensors)
-full-load temps in the second screenshot (s-tui)
View attachment 32382View attachment 32383


Very satisfied with the resulting.
Temperatures looking good, considering that now i only have the stock fan from cwwk.

#Future#
I'm thinking of adding some heatsinks to the hottest areas of the motherboard.
I will better evaluate which areas are the hottest using the heat gun.
I will definitely add heatsinks to the nvme ssd.
In the future I will reinstall proxmox on a raid1 ZFS, definitely get two different 500Gb minimum SSDs.

My files are too large to upload here, so I'll link to a gdrive folder

##--UPDATE-1--##
15watt of power consumption in idle with opnsense and 2 eth port ON

##--UPDATE-2--##
What will I install on Proxmox?
For now these are the plans:
vm - Opnsense (always online)
vm - Win11-tiny (always online)
vm - kali Linux
vm - ubuntu
lxc - pihole (always online)
lxc - wireguard (always online)
lxc - home assistant (always online)

Did you ask them to upgrade your CPU to i5-1240P ?

 

[slidermike]

@fta what firewall OS are you running and do you plan on staying there for now?
I am asking because of the sudden change by Netgate to remove free home/lab pfSense+ use and also the low tier annual subscription.
Looking at the options (again).
Most of us are not command line wookies so using native Linux is not in the cards unless there is some gui overlay.

Thank you for all the shared contributions you have made here in the community.

 

[fta]

Most of us are not command line wookies so using native Linux is not in the cards unless there is some gui overlay.

I'm the wrong person to ask then I use debian and install all of my router functionality on top of that using ansible. The only graphical stuff is netdata, which is what I use for monitoring. I started with OPNSense. There were some things I didn't like, but for someone who just wants a router that is easy to configure and just works, I'd go with that.

 

[slidermike]

I'm the wrong person to ask then I use debian and install all of my router functionality on top of that using ansible. The only graphical stuff is netdata, which is what I use for monitoring. I started with OPNSense. There were some things I didn't like, but for someone who just wants a router that is easy to configure and just works, I'd go with that.

Nah, I am a power gui user. Not a full CLI master but still not your average end user that sets and forgets. Those folks do not visit these types of forums but thank you for responding. Your input is always appreciated @fta .

 

[enzotekk]

Did you ask them to upgrade your CPU to i5-1240P ?

I didn't dare because I wanted to be sure of having a stable and problem-free minipc (most of us here have the 12##U). In any case yes, once you place the order just write him a message in chat with the number of orders and the fact that you want that CPU.

 

[jmw2800]

I ordered a bare bones system on Sunday from Amazon. I got it today. Added 32 GB RAM and 512 GB of SSD. The inside bottom of the board looks very clean. It came with the i5-1240P processor. It has the bottom fan blowing upward towards the RAM and SSD. I was expecting the i5-1235 but I am not complaining.

I will be running OPNSense and ZenArmor natively on the system. I am replacing a 4 year old Protectli FW6E that is running Pfsense. I have a Unifi USW Enterprise 48 POE switch with 48 ports of 2.5 GbE POE connected via 10GbE DAC cables to a USW Enterprise XG 24 with 24 RJ45 10GbE ports. I wanted to be able to forwarded to my interfaces at 2.5GbE. I also wanted a faster processor so I could effectively run ZenArmor. Timing is good since it looks like my time with Pfsense+ is likely to end after NetGate policy changes.

I like the 6 port firewall because I have a lot of local network segmentation. Security cameras only talk to local Synology NAS on same VLAN. They can't see the rest of the network or access the Internet. IOT devices are isolated from general computing. I have another VLAN just for 10 GbE and network management. I have about 80 clients on the home network. I have managed my university network since 1990 and will retire next summer.

I did the BIOS flash and performance tuning. I am still doing configuration so I only have one live interface. The system is running very cool because it doesn't really have any load. I will cut over tomorrow morning when I am the only one home. I do have a USB powered 140MM fan blowing air down on the top of the heat sink chassis. My CPU hasn't exceeded 85 degrees Fahrenheit yet. That will change once it is forwarding packets and running ZenArmor.

I appreciate the long thread covering the hardware. It was a big help for making my purchase decision and knowing about the BIOS improvements. The i5-10210U processor on the VP4650 Protectli 2.5GbE system is much slower, the NICs are a generation older and the price is a lot more. $375 was a good price for my new barebones system.

I will reuse my old i7 Protectli system as another Ubuntu server. This will give me redundancy for services running on my other Ubuntu server. This makes more sense to me compared to running an OpnSense firewall services guest OS on virtual hardware.

 

[jmw2800]

I brought the OPNsense system online this morning. System is working well. I do need to set some DHCP reservations for my IoT stuff.
The CPU still hasn't become warm because the load is so low on the processor.

I am using a GL.iNet GL-X3000 (Spitz AX) 5G NR AX3000 Cellular Gateway Router. The cellular is connected to T-Mobile Home Internet and the USB port is tethered to a Visible cell phone for load sharing/backup. I am using a rooftop Waveform 4x4 MIMO antenna to get good cellular performance. These GL-X3000 routers are great. I use another in my Artic Fox 22G travel trailer. Visible uses the Verizon network which gives me provider diversity along with T-Mobile.

I dropped the Charter Spectrum service because it was way overpriced at $100/month for about 500 Mbps down/21 Mbps up. I get about 360 Mbps down and 40 to 60 Mbps up with my T-Mobile home Internet. I only pay $30/month for the T-Mobile Home Internet since I have a T-Mobile phone plan. I have had no outages in the 4 months I have been using the service. I used to get a couple of outages a month with Spectrum.

I don't have an option for fiber in my neighborhood. I use my upstream data a lot since I have 21 POE powered security cameras on my property.

 

[jmw2800]

I have ZenArmor with free license enabled on all my internal interfaces. Doesn't seem to have any impact on load.

I did a speedtest this morning at about 6AM. I was able to get 444 Mbps down and 55 Mbps up on my T-Mobile home internet connection. I noticed my cellular signal for the 5G band is much stronger. It may be that enough leaves have dropped that I am getting a stronger signal. I am seeing +11 on SINR for LTE and +4 on SINR for 5G. This is about 6-7 db improvement over a month ago.

My OPNsense firewall CPU peaked at about 12% while the speedtest exceeded 400 Mbps. This firewall has plenty of headroom.

I still have some internal rules to apply to my cameras and IOT stuff but these will have little impact on load because they will just restrict packets on devices that don't need to reach my general computer LANs on my network or for the cameras to reach the firewall at all.

TailScale is very useful to be able to reach internal services while being behind T-Mobile carrier grade NAT. I used to use OpenVPN but that won't work with CGNAT. I don't allow my security cameras and other home automation stuff upload data to the cloud or be accessible from the cloud. TailScale builds a point to point encrypted mesh network for up to 100 nodes for free personal use.

 

[Tech Junky]

T-Mobile home internet

Bars on the box are misleading and don't paint the whole picture as to signal vs bandwidth.

Use HINT to see what's going on.

GitHub - zacharee/ArcadyanKVD21Control: A cross-platform app using JetBrains Compose to view and control the Arcadyan KVD21, Sagemcom Fast 5688W, and Nokia 5G21 T-Mobile Home Internet gateways.

A cross-platform app using JetBrains Compose to view and control the Arcadyan KVD21, Sagemcom Fast 5688W, and Nokia 5G21 T-Mobile Home Internet gateways. - zacharee/ArcadyanKVD21Control

github.com

 

[jmw2800]

I am actually using a GL.iNet GL-X3000 (Spitz AX) 5G NR AX3000 Cellular Gateway Router for my T-Mobile home internet service. The Arcadyan KVD21 did not perform well. Using the GL-X3000 with the Waveform 4x4 MIMO on the roof made a 10 times speed improvement over the T-Mobile provide device.

I sat on my rooftop with a laptop connected via Ethernet to my cellular gateway. I ran speedtests over and over while I adjusted the elevation and azimuth of the 4x4 MIMO antenna until I found the best performance. I didn't use a T-Mobile speedtest server because I found that it rate limited the upload speed.

My house has aluminum foil as a vapor barrier on the wall and ceiling insulation in my 1963 built house. I have to use WIFI calling with my cell phones while in the house to get reliable service. I use the Apple iPhone Shortcuts automation to enable and disable WIFI calling when I arrive or leave my home.

Here is the cellular info data from the cellular gateway.

LTE FDD
Band 2
ul_bandwidth. 10M
dl_bandwidth 10M
RSRP -89 Excellent
RSSI -59 Excellent
RSRQ -13 Excellent
SINR 12 Excellent
ID ID832E0C

NR5G-NSA
Band 41
dl_bandwidth 100M
RSRP -86 Excellent
RSRQ -14 Excellent
SINR 6 Excellent

I am about 1700 feet from my tower with some tall trees obstructing my 4x4 MIMO antenna view of the tower. As the leaves have falling the signal has improved.

Thanks for the link to the tool but I don't think it will be useful on my GL.iNet device.

 

[Lance Longreen]

Soooo, the i5 is now totally out of stock on aliexpress and only the very overpriced i7 is in stock. Also on amazon there is no i5 or i7 units listed at all anymore... anyone knows what's going on or have contact with cwwk to ask them when it will be in stock again or if ever ?

 

[beisser]

i see it in stock on aliexpress with several companies such as topton and kingnovy

 

[Lance Longreen]

i see it in stock on aliexpress with several companies such as topton and kingnovy

But is topton and kingnovy also with cwwk motherboard and uefi ?

 

[beisser]

i own the topton version. its exactly the same device. they all just resell the cwwk stuff under their own name.

 

[Lance Longreen]

i own the topton version. its exactly the same device. they all just resell the cwwk stuff under their own name.

So the topton unit csn be used with the unlocked BIOS from this thread ?

Thank you that you replied so quickly, really appreciate it.

 

[beisser]

yes. im using it.

 

[Lance Longreen]

yes. im using it.

Thank you

 

[enzotekk]

As a user in this trhead I also decided to add a 140mm noctua fan on the top of the case.
I am very satisfied with the work done especially regarding the fact that I managed to pass the cable transparently through the wifi hole.
To fix the fan I used simple double-sided tape, so the application is convenient and if I have to remove and replace it is very simple.

Soon I will add mini heat sinks on the SSD which is the thing that heats up the most inside.

 

[Lance Longreen]

As a user in this trhead I also decided to add a 140mm noctua fan on the top of the case.
I am very satisfied with the work done especially regarding the fact that I managed to pass the cable transparently through the wifi hole.
To fix the fan I used simple double-sided tape, so the application is convenient and if I have to remove and replace it is very simple.

Soon I will add mini heat sinks on the SSD which is the thing that heats up the most inside.
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That's quite a Frankenstein there... ;-) is passive cooling so bad in this case ? Is it really necessary? Is there no cutout in bottomplate to mount a small fan inside the case ?

 

[fta]

That's quite a Frankenstein there... ;-) is passive cooling so bad in this case ? Is it really necessary? Is there no cutout in bottomplate to mount a small fan inside the case ?

The passive cooling in this one is actually pretty good. IIRC, my testing showed it could dissipate around 27W without a fan. With a fan on top it can dissipate around 47W. For reference, mine runs about 15W when doing a 1Gb/s download with NAT and CAKE traffic shaping.