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How to install ExaGear Desktop Trial on Odroid

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Thank to Eltechs for the great instruction and giving ODROID users a trail. This article is written by Eltechs team.
Please share your experience on ODROID forum.

ExaGear Desktop is a powerful emulator for porting almost any x86 applications to ARM-based devices. In a nutshell, if you need some Windows apps or on your Odroid for any specific purpose (e.g. Notepad++ or even MS Word), ExaGear is the best solution to make it happen. Not mentioning the fact, that some native Linux applications, such as Skype and TeamViewer, when launched within ExaGear run even faster than launched via Wine on Linux. If you need more information visit our product page!

Install ExaGear Desktop Trial on Odroid
Our ExaGear Odroid Trial is kept on Odroid repos and is available for the following ODROID models:

ODROID-XU4 / XU3
ODROID-C2
ODROID-C1+ / C1
ODROID-U3 / U2 / X2 / X

Within the following OS images on:

Ubuntu 16.04
Debian Jessie
ODROID GameStation Turbo
DietPi

 

Within the following OS images on:
1. Connect a keyboard and a mouse to your Odroid device, or connect to it remotely – whatever you got used to.
2. Call for the command line and input the following commands to update the system.
 $ apt-get update
3. After a few minutes of auto-updating, you need to proceed with the following command:
 $ apt-get install exagear-desktop
4. As soon as the installation is finished, simply switch on the ExaGear software:
 $ exagear
5. The pop-up window will appear for you to provide your name and e-mail address. After you are done with that your ExaGear Odroid Trial will be activated and will last for 3 days from the moment of activation.

You might want to check if ExaGear is properly installed on you Odroid device. You can do it the following way:

 $ uname -a
You should get the output like:
Linux odroid 4.9.51-64 #1 SMP PREEMPT Sat Sep 23 03:28:28 UTC 2017 i686 i686 i686 GNU/Linux
6. Finally, we recommend to check that everything is OK by running the “arch” command (it should result in “i686” output):

$ arch
i686
Playing Windows Games on Odroid
Well, you are done with the installation and activation of your trial, so it’s the very time to enjoy the full power of ExaGear Desktop emulator by playing different famous Windows games on your Odroid device. Of course, gaming on Odroid is just a very small part of what ExaGear software can really do, but this user case is very representative and after all simply cool!
Tobias Schaaf from Odroid Magazine has prepared an outstanding article, covering some of the most popular PC games to be installed and played on Odroid, using ExaGear Desktop as an emulation machine and PlayOnLinux app. Read the ultimate tutorial here or watch a detailed video-guide below!
Moreover, as a bonus, he has prepared a list of games compatibility for Odroid, tested by him personally on Odroid XU4 model. See the table bellow:

 

Linux x86 Compatibility list for ODROID XU3/XU4 running ExaGear 2.1 Desktop 

Game Rating Notes
Airline Tycoon Deluxe Perfect Uses Desktop resolution, up to 720p should run fine

Windows x86 Compatibility list for ODROID XU3/XU4 running ExaGear 2.1 Desktop

Game Rating Notes
7th Legion Perfect 640×480 only
8th Wonder of the World Very Good no music, long loading times, many resolutions, very demanding
Age of Empires 1 + The Rise of Rome Very Good No Music (no MIDI support in ExaGear)
Age of Wonders Perfect Requires IndeoVideo, offers many in game resolutions
Airline Tycoon Deluxe Broken Fonts don’t work can’t be played that way (else perfect)
Alien Nations Perfect requires: amstream, quartz, icodecs/iv5setup
Alpha Centaruri + Alien Crossfire Perfect use PlayOnLinux installer
Anno 1602 Perfect Requires NoCD patch
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura Perfect 800×600 only
Atrox Very Good Very similar to Starcraft, supports 800×600 and 640×480 resolution, Videos are not working
Balls of Steel Perfect 800×600 max resolution
Caesar III Perfect runs in 640×480, 800×600, or 1024×768 resolution
Call to Power 2 Good Videos are not working, game supports many resolutions.
Capitalism II Fair Graphical glitches in game (known issue with the game)
Civilization III Very Good 1024×768 only, has some known sound issues.
Dark Colony Very Good requires Linux PC to install, 640×480 only, minor sound issues
Diablo 1 Very Good 640×480 only, requires ddraw patch
Diablo II Complete Edition 1.13d Very Good Videos don’t work, runs in 640×480 or 800×600
Dune 2000 Perfect use high resolution patcher for all kind of resolutions
Earth 2140 Perfect GoG classic Windows versions is only 800×600, reduce sound volume.
Emperor – Rise of the Middle Kingdom Good runs in window mode, annoying sound issues.
Gangsters: Organized Crime Good graphical issues in menu, game is fine, requires gdi rendering
Homeworld: Cataclysm Perfect 3D rendering in software mode, complicated resolution switch
Jack Orlando: A Cinematic Adventure (Director’s Cut) Good 640×480 only, often keyboard input issues
KKND: Krush Kill ‘n Destroy Xtreme Poor 640×480 only, Everything except New Game will crash the game (would be “perfect” otherwise)
KKND2 Krossfire Perfect supports 640×480, 800×600 and 1024×768 as resolution.
Larry 7: Love for Sail Perfect runs in ALL resolutions, you can NOT use “System” wine version
Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader Very Good 800×600 only, can slow down at times, especially with special effects
Mech Commander Gold Perfect Must be installed on another PC, supports 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, and 1280×1024 resolution.
Microsoft Office 2007 Perfect Runs directly on your Desktop
Pharaoh and Cleopatra Good runs in 640×480, 800×600 or 1024×768 resolution, suffers from sound issues (echoing)
Rollercoaster Tycoon Deluxe Very Good only minor sound issue, offers window mode which allows to start it on any desktop resolution (without virtual desktop)
Rollercoaster Tycoon 2: Triple Thrill Pack Very Good 800×600 only
Starcraft Very Good 640×480 only, can have slowdowns
Stronghold Crusader HD + Stronghold Crusader Extreme HD Very Good Some sound issues similar to Pharaoh and other games where sounds are played twice, many different resolutions supported including 1080p and 720p
The Tone Rebellion Perfect only runs in 640×480, needs to be installed on another PC
Tropico Gold Perfect offers different resolutions from 640×480 to 1600×1200
Unreal Very Good runs in software mode only, supports many different resolutions
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Benchmark results for Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, ODROID-C1+, ODROID…

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We ran several benchmark tests to measure the computing power of the XU4. The same tests were performed on the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, ODROID-C1+, ODROID-C2 and ODROID-XU4. The values of the test results were scaled uniformly for comparison purposes. The computing power of the XU4 was measured to be ~7 times faster than the latest Raspberry Pi 3 thanks to the 2Ghz Cortex-A15 octa-core and much higher 64bit memory bandwidth. Using the XU4 as a computer provides a “desktop like” experience, unlike the industry wide sluggish performance of most single-board computers! Particularly for developers, compiling code on the XU4 is super fast. The coveted high-performance 2GB DDR3 RAM is an additional advantage allowing most programs to be compiled directly on the XU4.

Benchmarks (Index Score) Raspberry Pi 3 ODROID-C1+ ODROID-C2 ODROID-XU4
Unixbench: Dhrystone-2 865.4 1571.6 2768.2 5941.4
Unixbench: Double-Precision Whetstone (x3) 1113 1887.3 3076.8 6186.3
Nbench 2.2.3: Integer (x40) 619.92 1173.6 1808.92 2430.52
Nbench 2.2.3: Floating-Point (x100) 781.8 1245.3 2300.3 3787.3
mbw100: Memory Bandwidth (MiB/s) 542.912 616.339 1472.856 2591.461
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Feel the sound!!

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The nostalgic 20 year-old Macintosh analog amplifier meets 21st century audiophile.

The C1+ HiFi Shield is a high-resolution Digital to Analog Converter(DAC) for the ODROID-C1+. This is a special sound card for the C1+, that is optimized for the best fidelity audio playback quality. It delivers a nicely balanced sound, solid, deep, wide and nicely layered.

We’ve analysed the the audio quality of the HiFi Shield DAC output with the famous industry standard equipment, Audio Precision. The Audio Precision is a high performance audio analyser optimized for the digital audio product.

The analog output of the HiFi Shield is connected to the equipment and measurement data shows on the host PC.
This picture shows a basic configuration of the set-up. Note that I disconnected the external amplifier when we measured the line-out audio quality.
The Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)
The Noise Level in dBm
The Frequency Response and RMS output level in dBV
The Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise Ratio  (THD+N)
The FFT spectrum analyzer for 1Khz signal

This is a great idea if you want an audiophile set-up with ODROID-C1+. Enjoy a variable output connecting directly into a power amp or active speakers.
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Volumio Audiophile Music Player for Odroid C1 released

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Time to enjoy the great Volumio audiophile music player on the ODROID-C1.

Michelangelo Guarise (The creator of Volumio) has announced the Volumio OS image for the ODROID-C1 today.

We have a 1.5 Ghz quad Core CPU, which on paper is faster than many competitors (not only the PI). I’m not able to say how those figures are actually a sensible improvement, as I just started looking at the Amlogic SOC ( which seems quite ubiquitous in embedded multimedia appliances).

But what makes it really interesting for Volumio based scenarios are the Gigabit Ethernet, the eMMC memory slot (sold separately) and the integrated IR receiver. Add that Hardkernel seems to have the widest range of accessories for their boards, and you get that we can consider the C1 one of the best candidates to power a Volumio system.

Talking about real-world performances: the Odroid C1 delivers one of the smoothest Volumio experiences. It boots faster, and loads faster than the high-specs comparable quad-core boards (UDOO, Cubox-i).


More exciting news.

ODROID-C1+ is coming with a native I2S interface to support the HiFi DAC add-on boards. It will be available in the middle of August.
Volumio 2 is coming with four exciting key words Speed, Modularity, High Fidelity and Future Proof.

For those of you with an ODROID-C1, grab the image from the DOWNLOADS page as usual, and drop your feedbacks on this thread !

Setup

Setting up your C1 as a Volumio music player is dead easy, and the project’s website has documentation to guide you though the steps.

– Download Volumio image for C1 from http://volumio.org/get-started/
– Install the image on an SD card (2GB or larger). Installation guide is here.
– Connect the C1 and a USB-DAC to your amplifier and the network
– Boot the C1
– On any PC/Mac/Phone/Tablet, browse to http://volumio.local
– Configure NAS locations, Samba shares, etc,
– Add file to the playlist, sit back and listen !

First impressions

On the C1+, 192Khz/24bit FLAC/WAV files in a NAS server could play back flawlessly thanks to the 1.5Ghz quad-core processor and Gigabit Ethernet connectivity of ODROID-C1.
We could control the full features of Volumio with iPhone or Android smartphones. The Web UI does well on mobile.