Linux and ARM/other prots-exotics, GPU problems and how to make friends with sensors?

Question

linux

There are several interesting projects on the Internet on the topic of running Linux on various ARM processors (the most noticeable and significant in this are Armbian, PostmarketOS and Arch ARM). All this is very good and interesting, there are proof photos, problems (many, not the point). But there are no particular reviews: they write, they say, it works and this is the end of the matter. There are a few questions:
1) Owners of Linux devices on processor models below, respond and leave at least a brief summary of performance and general convenience of working with impressions and whether it can be used at all at the level of a stationary PC (also notice the processor itself in the review, please) . If there are links to any resources with similar information, I will be most grateful if you leave them here.
Processors:
Allwinner :A10, A20/23 , A33 ,A50 , A63/64, H2+/H3 , H5/H6
Amlogic : S805 , S905X/W, S912, S922
Rockchip : 2926/28, 3066, 3126 3188, 3228, 3288, 3399, 3566 /68
Qualcomm : SD410
Nvidia : Tegra 2, 3, 4/i, K1
Unisoc/Spreadtrum : SC7731/E
Not ARM, but also interesting:
Intel : Atoms from Silverthorne to SoFIA
DM&P : Xcore86
Special mentions: Rk2918, H8 /A83t, A133/A100 ,A31s, OMAP 3630-4430, SC9863 (exotic GPUs for Linux)
Generally speaking, other processors are also interesting, but they are not so accessible/working/cheap.
2) The question that follows from the first: is it possible to "tear out" GPU support from Android to Linux in any way? Of particular interest are:
PowerVR : SGX530/533, SGX540, GE8100, GE8300/8320/8322
Mali : 400MP , 450MP, T820/T860, G31, G52, G71
3) Do you use any sensors in your DIY projects on ARM? If you use, which ones? What sensors are the most important for you in work and life?
4) If these boards do not support an adequate number of drivers, but there is mini-PCIe, what is the use of it? The network is usually already built into such solutions, and discrete video for "arms" is still a dream. How can you even use this connector in such PCs?
I would be grateful for every bit of information you provide.
Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Despite the fact that mass cheap ARM single-board computers are already 10 years old, they have just begun to approach the title of a single-board computer : modern ARM processors have become quite productive, the boot has become more or less unified (UEFI + SBBR / DeviceTree), all major SoCs 'and began to be supported in the mainline Linux kernel, but most importantly: there were more or less working open video drivers for X11/Wayland - Panfrost/
Lima Generation Amlogic SoC: ODROID-N2+, Khadas VIM3. They have fast cores, fast RAM, fast graphics. Panfrost works well on them (Gnome 40 works fast and without artifacts), there are ready-made distributions with support for.
Full-fledged (stable / supported) hardware video decoding (H.264/H.265/VP9) under Linux is not available from any manufacturer: IP video decoders are developed primarily for Android (OpenMAX). Some software supports some SoCs / boards with platform-specific code officially (for example, mpv and Raspberry Pi), in some places there are patched video players and / or multimedia frameworks (ffmpeg / gstreamer), in some places there are even patched browsers (rk3399 ), but in the vast majority of cases, do not rely on hardware video decoding in browsers.
The processor, however, is sufficient for 1080p in most cases.

Is there any way to "rip" GPU support from Android to Linux?

Yes, there is even a Hybris project for this , but it is so niche and iron-specific that it is not integrated into desktop distributions.
In general, the latest and penultimate generations of Amlogic and Rockchip can be used for desktop tasks.
TL;DR: ODROID-N2+ (the most productive) or Raspberry Pi 400 (the most famous and massive)