Hello, I have an old PCduino 3 that I would like to return to a more dignified life. But I see that it is currently considered as EOS so it will not have an update to Bionic or Stretch. But is it possible to do it unofficially with Armbian build?, if not, can I at least update it from Xenial to Bionic without breaking everything?

you would have to change the config:

https://github.com/armbian/build/blob/1396d775a39176280734382a5ba434b4a72d8e12/config/boards/pcduino3.eos#L8-L10

to something like that:

https://github.com/armbian/build/blob/1396d775a39176280734382a5ba434b4a72d8e12/config/boards/orangepizero.conf#L15-L17

 

and then test if it works...

 

4 minutes ago, Richard Armuelles said:

if not, can I at least update it from Xenial to Bionic without breaking everything?

you've to test it.. I would go for the first one.. which is likely with less pain..

9 minutes ago, chwe said:

you would have to change the config

... or you add an "override" parameter EXPERT="yes" and you unlock all options.

Build a Bionic image is possible and works (WiFi and HDMI works well), but only in Mainline so It is completely unusable on the web

10 minutes ago, Richard Armuelles said:

so It is completely unusable on the web

What is unusable? WEB browsing is at least on the same level as on older kernels. There is no acceleration whatsoever, not just on this board but on most. There are just optimisations, caching ... on 4.19.y (Debian Stretch only) there is web-gl/3D which is not very fast due to OSS implementation and it's still a bit buggy.

30 minutes ago, Igor said:

What is unusable? WEB browsing is at least on the same level as on older kernels. There is no acceleration whatsoever, not just on this board but on most. There are just optimisations, caching ... on 4.19.y (Debian Stretch only) there is web-gl/3D which is not very fast due to OSS implementation and it's still a bit buggy.

The consumption of the CPU goes up to 100% on any page, YT video player shows video (well rather just static images). Something else I saw is that glxgears remains stable at 12 fps

7 minutes ago, Richard Armuelles said:

The consumption of the CPU goes up to 100% on any page, YT video player shows video (well rather just static images). Something else I saw is that glxgears remains stable at 12 fps

Consumption of CPU should be the same as on legacy kernel. Chromium is a bit too bulky & heavy for A20.

 

Video acceleration might be implemented with 4.19.y and with external player of course. 3D GLES as well. But there is still a lot of work to get there.

23 minutes ago, Igor said:

Video acceleration might be implemented with 4.19.y and with external player of course. 3D GLES as well. But there is still a lot of work to get there.

You mentioned an experimental support for webgl and 3D in Stretch. I will do a test, hopefully I can get at least a minimum performance improvement.

I have an old PCduino 3 that I might want to come back to a more noble life. Yet, I see that it is right now considered as EOS so it won't have a refresh to Bionic or Stretch. However, is it conceivable to do it informally with Armbian manufacture?, if not, can I in any event refresh it from Xenial to Bionic without breaking everything?

46 minutes ago, titykouki said:

from Xenial to Bionic without breaking

No warranty for that. Its outside our power.

Better to recreate a new image with our tools. That should work but you are on your own if it doesn't. You have to use a parameter EXPERT="yes" to get access on EOS boards.

Moved to Peer to peer technical support forum.