NVIDIA® recently announced that the Jetson AGX Xavier™ 8GB module is being replaced by the newest member of the platform: the Jetson Xavier™ NX. Considering the comparable performance and smaller dimensions of the Xavier NX, it comes as no surprise that NVIDIA would phase-out the AGX Xavier 8GB from their line up.

In response, anyone currently using or designing projects for the AGX Xavier 8GB will need to plan a new revision or re-think their designs.

What options are available to AGX Xavier 8GB users?

Transition to Jetson Xavier NX

NVIDIA is promoting that anyone currently utilizing the AGX Xavier 8GB module transition to the new Xavier NX. The AI performance and GPU capabilities between the modules are almost identical, with the added benefit of the Xavier NX coming in at a lower price-point. The main differences between the two modules is storage and the vastly different size of the modules. While good in theory, this size difference will require a slew of other product changes to compensate for the module change. New carrier boards, thermal solutions, and general product layout will require alterations with this module swap. With carrier boards and thermal solutions readily available for this module, this change could give your team the opportunity to trim overall size and weight of your product. Tip: the Xavier NX does not come equipped with an integrated thermal transfer plate like the AGX Xavier 8GB did. You’ll need to plan thermal solutions accordingly.

Upgrading to Jetson AGX Xavier

The other available option is to simply replace the AGX Xavier 8GB with the higher performing Jetson AGX Xavier. There are a lot of similarities between the two modules including storage and physical module dimensions. This allows most projects to simply swap out the old module with the new without having to do radical product re-design. The main benefit of this option is that the AGX Xavier offers significantly more computing power than its 8GB counterpart; allowing your program processing and capabilities room to expand. This added computing power comes at a cost – literally: the AGX Xavier is almost $300USD more per module than the AGX Xavier 8GB. That said, the cost savings of not having to do any product redesign could make this increase more tolerable. Just don’t forget to take cooling into consideration – the AGX Xavier can output more heat than the 8GB module. Running the module at a lower power mode to cap power consumption will limit the modules heat output, making your module change process seamless.

Which option is right for your project? Let’s compare each module.

For a complete list of the all module specification comparison, click here.

About the Author

Rob Callaghan is the Director of Technical Services at Connect Tech Inc. He has over 11 years of experience as a lead designer and project manager on numerous high-speed digital design and embedded products developed by Connect Tech. Rob received an Honors Bachelor of Engineering in Systems and Computing Engineering from the University of Guelph in Canada. He is an IEEE member, and a Licensed Professional Engineer.