Twister OS Armbian is a fully featured, fast and lightweight desktop OS based upon Armbian Focal 20.04.2 LTS (aarch64) for Rockchip RK3399-based SBCs that is designed to work “out-of-the-box.”
A RK3399-based SBC/development board with 4 GB of RAM and a 16 GB of microSD/eMMC storage is strongly recommended. (It is currently best supported on Rock Pi 4B, Rock Pi 4C, and RockPro64 boards) We have successfully test it also on NanoPiM4, NanoPiM4V2 and PinebookPro. We didn’t have a Edge-V board to try on.
Some of Twister OS Armbian’s features and specifications include:
5.10.21 Kernel(On Newest 2.0.0 version)
XFCE desktop environment with Xfwm4 window manager
Latest Panfrost GPU drivers with desktop hardware acceleration
OpenGL 3.1 is also supported with fully updated Mesa 21.1.0
Kodi and MPV media players with built-in hardware acceleration support
Installer for Chromium Media Edition via a Docker container for watching streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Hulu, Spotify, and others. (optional)
ThemeTwister application to completely change the appearance of your OS. Choose from a variety of themes ranging from modern to nostalgic (a reboot is required when switching themes).
Includes a number of retro gaming emulators – PPSSPP, DOSBOX-X, Mednaffe, Mesen, Mupen64Plus, PCSX ReARMed, Retroarch (Tested functional, but not included), Redream, ScummVM, and many more…
BOX86 with latest updates included for running x86-based software.
uSD and eMMC booting supported. (RK3399 - NanoPi-M4 requires re-seat of HDMI cable on power on due to firmware limitations, and supports MicroSD at this time)
A number of useful, carefully curated apps are included, such as: Steam, Lutris, Discord, My Android, Wine Desktop, USBImager, LibreOffice suite, Transmission, Gimp, MELD, VLC Player, Audacious, etc.
Vivaldi Browser is included with HW acceleration support.
A sample of OpenGL games are also included for your enjoyment.
Overclocking and hardware profile support out-of-the-box.
Known issues:
Bluetooth audio is not working yet
Kodi repository is missing and needs to be installed manually (sudo apt install kodi-repository-kodi)
Docker Container requires performing some extra steps to fix a no-HDMI audio issue. (Fixed via pavucontrol, and selecting proper output device)
Edit /boot/armbianEnV.txt file and select correct DTB file that matches your RK3399 board (Default DTB is RK3399-RockPi4B) | Case sensitive! | Example: rockchip/rk3399-khadas-edge-v.dtb
After first boot, resize EXT4 partition using GParted or Disks utility (included)
Default password is: asdasd
Changes from 1.1.0 version:
5.10.21 Kernel
Vivaldi Browser is the default browser with full GPU HW acceleration support(Firefox and Chrome are still included)
Conky desktop system monitor has been included by default on 2.0.0 release
TwisterOS diagnostics utility is now included
Winetricks has been added for better x86 emulation support
Stable Panfrost/Mesa has been included to have OpenGL games and retroemulation artifacts free.
Improved GUI responsiveness on XFCE, faster performance on desktop
Flameshot screenshot utility has been added
USB Imager has replaced Balena Etcher
Option to resize partition has been included on desktop
Chromium-Docker has been updated and no longer requires chmod permissions to run
New Dark Themes are available via ThemeTwister utility
Jstest-gtk has been added to have joystick support on retro gaming/openGL games
Mupen64plus N64 emulator issues with visual glitches/artifacts have been fixed.
Coming soon to TwisterOS Armbian 2.0.0, BOX64 emulator which will offer a broader compatibility with x86-64 bit games in Linux ARM 64 bit platform. Many thanks @Ptitseb from TwisterOS development team.
TwisterOS Armbian 2.0.1 patch is here.
Please note this is the first patch we are releasing that doesn’t need to wipe out/reflash previous build. Newest full 2.0.1 version it’s also been uploaded to twisterOS.com main site.
Also, after updating to latest 2.0.1., there will be a TwisterOS Patchericon that will be used to update to future releases.
hello
I tested twister os, on sd card.
no wifi.
no fan.
I did not succeed in changing the boot, with khadas. I am a great beginner.
Edit /boot/armbianEnV.txt file and select correct DTB file that matches your RK3399 board (Default DTB is RK3399-RockPi4B) | Case sensitive! | Example: rockchip/rk3399-khadas-edge-v.dtb.
a helping hand to change that.
I use ubuntu and wind 10 in dual boot. i searched, but saw the image on sd and root, i have no root rights.
I wanted to test it, no current linux can play netflix, prime video, mycanal. Maybe one day.
Under Ubuntu you just type in the Terminal
sudo dolphin
(replace dolphin with your file manager app name eg. Nautilus)
then type your username password.
The file manager app will open with root rights to change files.
After making changes, close the file manager so you don’t accidentally use it to create root files on your hard-drive.
TwisterOS Armbian 2.0.2. Patch is here.
Please note this is the second patch we are releasing that doesn’t need to wipe out/reflash previous contents from TwisterOS Armbian installed on uSD or eMMC
Box64 has been officially released. Box64 public repository is now available.
Box64 obviously will be included in next TwisterOS Armbian version.
Wine 64bits now runs thanks to Box64.
Many thanks to Ptitseb from the TwisterOS Develpment Team
5.13.5 kernel brings some improvements over default 5.10.43 kernel on twisteros armbian 2.0.3. even running from uSD. It’s recommended to switch to 5.13.5 for overall better performance.
