PINE64 Packs a StarPro64 Into a Passive Cooling Case to Make the ALPHA-One DeepSeek Gen AI Box
All-in-one system comes with a Docker container running the 7-billion-parameter version of the DeepSeek LLM — but comes with no warranty.
Open hardware specialist PINE64 has unveiled a new gadget aimed at running large language models (LLMs) locally, rather than relying on cloud providers for your generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) needs: the ALPHA-One.
"[The] ALPHA-One [is] based on [the] StarPro64 single-board computer," the company explains of its creation. "Preinstalled 64G[B] eMMC module contains 7b [parameter] DeepSeek/Owen LLM build in Docker form, [and] will provide Meta['s] Llama LLM in [the] near future."
The machine, brought to our attention by Linux Gizmos, is designed to showcase exactly what you can do with the StarPro64 — announced by the company along with two other devices, the Oz64 and Quartz64-Zero, last year. Built around an ESWIN Computing EIC7700X system-on-chip featuring a neural coprocessor claimed to deliver up to 20 tera-operations per second (TOPS) of compute for machine learning and artificial intelligence workloads at INT8 precision, PINE64 promised support for the headline-grabbing DeepSeek large language model at launch.
The ALPHA-One delivers on that promise: it's a StarPro64 installed in a metal chassis that doubles as a passive heatsink, connecting to the system-on-chip via a built-in heat pipe system. Drawing a claimed sub-30W at the wall, the device can run the distilled 7b-parameter version of DeepSeek at around 3.5 tokens per second — making it usable for entirely-local operation, if you don't mind a little delay between inputting your prompt and getting your answer-shaped response.
The company has confirmed pricing for the gadget at $329.99, a premium over the uncased StarPro64 — but also warns that it's purchased on buyer-beware terms with no comeback. "[This has a] No Return and No Refund policy," the company says, "due to [the fact that the] AI agent is a nascent product and everyone has different expectation[s]. This product [is] only suitable for [the] early adopter who has interest exploring into AI agent, [and is] not suitable for [the] curious individual who just want[s] to buy, try, and return."
The ALPHA-One is now listed on the PINE64 store, but at the time of writing had not yet been put up for sale.