When you switch the u-boot startup from SPI, you can assume that you will have a system startup with NVMe. SPI can be seen as an analogue of the BIOS on a PC, and NVMe as an analogue of the SSD hard drive. You enable SPI to run with NVMe and get the placement of the entire system completely on NVMe. 
SPI+NVMe (VIM3 and EDGE-V) = BIOS+SSD\HDD (PC)
Yep, indeed!
Actually, our imagination is: UEFI on SPI Flash, and OS on media like eMMC/uSD/SSD, and one OS image for all the Khadas SBCs(VIM2, VIM3, EdgeâŚ), the installation process will load different drivers for different SBC boards. Just like a PC, the Windows or Linux images can be installed to different PCs made by different CPU models, different hardware modules, and different vendors.
Absolutely, it will take quite long time for us to achieve this 
Well this is a big plan! But if you made it, you will become probably most popular SBC vendor with quite a big demand!
Not with S922 boards like Vim3 since PCIe is a single lane Gen2 implementation and as such common SATA SSDs on common SATA ports will be faster: Khadas VIM3 Amlogic S922X Board to Support M.2 NVMe SSD, WiFi 5, and Bluetooth 5 Connectivity - CNX Software â so on Vim3 you buy the more expensive NVMe SSDs to get lower speeds than SATA 
Also PCIe and USB3 are pinmuxed so once the single PCIe lane is occupied no USB3 any more.
Which would require u-boot with working NVMe drivers otherwise your only option with that limited space in SPI NOR flash is chainloading Linux kernels, right?
@tsangyoujun @Gouwa Will Volumio running from emmc be available on VIM3??
My buying decision is based majorly on this.
Thank you.
Will do, but cannot complete before the launch time, you can wait some time until we finally release the Volumio.
BTW, VIM3 will with a model with HDMI eARC feature, recommend it for music fanatic.
Have fun!
Thank you for the prompt response. I wil buy vim3 on launch day anyways 
Will I be able to buy from aliexpress store?
I would want an invoice and value declaration around $12 USD . Will this be possible if I buy from the khadas website?
VIM3 v10 power consumption test.
Weâre still waiting for v11 to come back from the factory, so maybe we can test that next week.
Standard USB Adapter:
Boot:
5.1V, 0.21A (1.1W)
Idle (Android):
5.1V, 0.26A (1.3W)
CPU Load Generator (16 services):
5.04V, 0.93A (4.7W)
CPU Stress Tester (75-90%, 6 Cores):
5.05V, 0.82A (4.2W)
Khadas USB-C P.D Adapter:
Boot:
4.98V, 0.253A (1.3W)
Idle (Android):
4.98V, 0.277A (1.4W)
CPU Load Generator (16 services):
5.02V, 0.902A (4.5W)
CPU Stress Tester (75-90%, 6 Cores):
5.02V, 0.837A (4.2W)
Notes: @numbqq says that the driver for USB P.D (power delivery) has not been installed yet, so both results are similar.
Idle Android
CPU Stress Tester
VIM3 v10 w/ Heatsink + Thermal Pad
With this methodology the shown numbers are worthless. The Amlogic BSP implements thermal throttling so itâs important to monitor temperatures and clockspeeds at the same time since if throttling occurs consumption decreases as a side effect.
Can you provide consumption numbers made with stress-ng --cpu 6 --cpu-method matrixprod while monitoring system behavior (e.g. running sbc-bench -m) in parallel?
Yup I am aware of that. Also a better test would be to have USB P.D enabled, otherwise Iâm quite sure the results will be similar to that of a VIM2.
What âcommonâ SATA ports are we talking about ?
You have the equipment S922 with a connection option SATA M2 for comparison with the M2 NVMe ?
This is written in the documentation (description) VIM3 that when you turn on NVMe USB 3.0 is disabled. This is a known issue of s922. Everyone knows that.
I havenât yet seen how specifically u-boot is implemented to be used on VIM3, but I donât see a problem in adding the necessary driver to u-boot. Also, there is already the first implementation of u-boot-2019 for s922, given that u-boot is the Linux kernel, I donât see a problem with adding a PCIe driver (as it was done for EDGE to the mainline kernel).
Those that exist outside of small vendor communities. With an average SATA port and an average M.2 SATA SSD we get today sequential and also random write and read speeds that exceed whatâs possible with NVMe SSDs on Vim3 due to the simple fact that S922 is only capable of a single Gen2 PCIe lane (and really fast NVMe SSDs want a Gen3 x4 interface which is an 8 times faster host interface). The bottleneck here is simply the boardâs PCIe implementation.
But as you pointed out thereâs no alternative to using NVMe SSDs anyway since S922 is not SATA capable. Though people thinking about NVMe speeds theyâre used to on other platforms will be disappointed as can be seen by the fio tests Gouwa did.
And I donât think everyone is aware of this major S922 limitation that USB3 will be gone once PCIe/NVMe will be used even if itâs mentioned somewhere in the docs. Thatâs why I pointed it out again.
This was the missing piece of information (I didnât pay close attention to anything around S922 the last months). Yep, with mainline u-boot PCIe/NVMe support might work and a bootloader in SPI NOR flash can run an OS directly from USB or NVMe storage.
For me personally the most important information around VIM3 launch is Gouwaâs NVMe test since this confirms that PCIe on S922X is usable. Unfortunately Khadas only focuses on fancy and cool looking stuff with full feature set resulting in high prices. But for me as a âuse case firstâ person with NAS and server use cases in mind a VIMS (S for server or NAS) would be the greatest device in 2019.
Simply remove everything not needed, add an ASM1061 for two SATA ports (and plan a Pro variant with an Marvell 88SE9215 for four SATA ports), combine this with a stackable enclosure allowing for efficient passive cooling (see ODROID HC2), 12V input and done. The OpenMediaVault HC2 image gets installed +200 times a week so if Khadas would manage to provide this at a competitive price (same as or below HC2) and manages to keep full compatibility with VIM3 and allows for a stackable design supporting 2-4 3.5" SATA disks then this would really sell well (if Khadas is faster than Hardkernel here).
IMO the best use of the single PCIe lane on S922 with the specific highly energy efficient NAS and server use cases in mind.
I donât have a VIM3, so this is just a guess. According to my data , the distribution of the real speed (with the active use of read/write when compiling large projects) on S922 is about this. SD cards, eMMC, USB 3.0 (obviously good media that meet the parameters of USB 3.0), NVMe. This is not a 100% guarantee of such behavior, it is only a General trend and much depends on the specific parameters of the equipment used.
VIM3 Update!
Participate in our contest to reserve a VIM3 (or several) at $69.99 (Basic) or $99.99 (Pro)!
Okay guys, our VIM3 contest is live at: https://khadas.com/vim3
Contest Rules:
Complete all competition tasks to reach the full discount price of $69.99 (VIM3 Basic) and $99.99 (VIM3 Pro). You may also choose to only partially-complete the tasks (e.g. share launch message for $10-off), however you will then only be entitled to a partial-discount on launch day.
Your unique discount code will be sent via email on June 24th, so remember to hit subscribe if youâve only completed step 1.
So if I understand well the contest, the normal price of vim3 (basic or pro) are 40$ more than current displayed price. The contest offers great discount, but Iâm a bit disappointed compared to the price of Odroid N2.
The main advantage is the nvme port even if the single lane will limit performance and I agree that a version with sata ports will provide be a great NAS solution.
Is the headsink a must have or a nice to have?
I want to buy the pro wit headsink but without the Fan.
Just want to use Kodi with coreelec
The cooling fan is not a must for your use case due to the 12nm SoC process.
Have fun! 
