As versatile as the $35 Raspberry Pi is, it is just one of many single-board computers available to buy today.
The Raspberry Pi strikes a fine balance between performance, price and usability that is difficult to match, particularly since the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B added up to 4GB DDR 4 memory, a faster CPU and GPU, and support for USB 3.0 and dual 4K displays.
But new competitors to the Pi are released on a regular basis, some ramping up the price to add more PC-like features — such as support for fast SSD storage and Intel Core processors — while others trim specs to cut costs.
These boards are generally aimed at software developers, hardware hackers, and tech enthusiasts working on projects like home media servers. However, it’s worth pointing out that few boards are as accessible or offer the same breadth of stable software as the Raspberry Pi.
Here are the most interesting single-board computers revealed or released in recent months.
SEE: Inside the Raspberry Pi: The story of the $35 computer that changed the world (TechRepublic cover story PDF)
While it can’t hold a candle to the Pi 4, the $15 La Frite comes close to matching the $35 Raspberry Pi 3 B+ in some key respects, using the same underlying Arm-based CPU and even offering faster DDR4 memory.
On paper, the La Frite also promises comparable video playback performance to the Raspberry Pi 3 B+, can output to 1080p displays via HDMI 1.4, and offers two USB 2.0 ports.
As you’d expect there are various cutbacks compared to the Pi and other Raspberry Pi competitors. The board is missing the Raspberry Pi 3 B+’s Wi-Fi support, offers a slightly slower wired Ethernet connection, and has a slightly slower processor.
The board is available to buy here for $15.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)
One of the cheaper six-core single-board computer to be released, while also boasting relatively modern features like USB 3.0 and support for 4K displays.
But there’s a catch, the board costs $45 but it only comes with 1GB of memory, has slower Wi-Fi, and fewer Type-A USB ports than the 2GB Pi 4, which costs the same price.
If you can work within limitations of the memory, the board also supports reasonably fast data transfer via its USB 3.0 and Gigabit Ethernet ports, as well as offering one USB 2.0 Type-C port. Additionally, there’s potential for adding fast SSD storage via a PCIe x2 interface and 4K video out via HDMI 2.0.
In tests I found the NanoPi NEO4 outperformed the Pi 3 B+in benchmarks, but it once again seemed to be another low-cost board saddled with so-so software support, which often made it painful to use. With the release of the Pi 4, the NanoPi NEO4 is an even harder sell.
CPU
Model: Rockchip RK3399; Number of Cores: big.LITTLE, 64-bit Dual Core Cortex-A72 + Quad Core Cortex-A53; Frequency: Cortex-A72 (up to 2.0GHz), Cortex-A53 (up to 1.5GHz)
GPU
Mali-T864 GPU, supports OpenGL ES1.1/2.0/3.0/3.1, OpenVG1.1, OpenCL, DX11, and AFBC
VPU
4K VP9 and 4K 10bits H265/H264 60fps decoding, Dual VOP, etc.
Memory
DDR3 RAM 1GB DDR3-1866
Storage
eMMC: No Onboard eMMC, but has an eMMC socket
USB Host
USB 3.0*1: USB 3.0 Type-A ports; USB Type-C*1: Supports USB2.0 OTG and Power input; USB 2.0*2: USB 2.0 Host, one is Type-A, the other is 2.54mm header
WiFi
802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 combo module
Antenna Interface
Antenna*1: IPX Connector
Video input
One 4-Lane MIPI CSI, up to 13MPix/s; Video Output: HDMI*1: HDMI 2.0a, supports 4K@60Hz, HDCP 1.4/2
MicroSD Slot
MicroSD*1 for external storage up to 128GB
LED
Power LED (Red)*1; GPIO Controlled LED (Green)*1
PCB Dimension
8 Layer; 60*45mm
Power
DC 5V/3A
Available here for $50.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)
The NanoPi M4 may boast better specs than the Pi 4 in a few areas, but at $50 is still hard to recommend it over the $45 Raspberry Pi 4 with 2GB RAM.
Notable features on the M4 include four USB 3.0 ports, a USB Type-C port, 2GB DDR3 memory, a six-core processor, support for 4K displays and hardware-accelerated 4K video playback, and 64 general-purpose input-output (GPIO) pins for hooking up hardware. It also includes an interface that supports two 13-megapixel cameras.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)
While the Pi supports a far wider range of open-source operating systems, the NanoPi M4 is listed as supporting Android 7.1, alongside Ubuntu 18.04 Desktop and Ubuntu Core.
It’s also worth noting that some users of recent NanoPi boards, including myself, have also encountered driver problems and system setup issues.
Model: Rockchip RK3399, six cores, 2GHz 64-bit dual-core Cortex-A72 and 1.5GHz quad-core Cortex-A53
Mali-T864, supports OpenGL ES1.1/2.0/3.0/3.1, OpenVG1.1, OpenCL, DX11, and AFBC
Supported codecs – 4K VP9 and 4K 10bits H265/H264 60fps decoding, Dual VOP
Dual-channel 4GB LPDDR3-1866 (for an additional $30) or dual-channel 2GB DDR3-1866
eMMC: no Onboard eMMC, but has a eMMC socketMicroSD
Slot: MicroSD for external storage up to 128GB
Gigabit Ethernet
WiFi: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo module, dual antenna interface
3.5mm dual-channel headphone jack, or HDMI
Microphone input interface
One or two four-Lane MIPI-CSI, dual ISP, up to 13MPix/s, supports simultaneous input of dual camera data
HDMI 2.0a, supports 4K@60Hz, HDCP 1.4/2.24-Lane MIPI-DSI*1
4 x USB 3.0 Type-A ports
USB Type-C: Supports USB2.0 OTG and power input
2 x USB Host, included in GPIO2 2.54mm pitch pin header
40-pin GPIO, 2.54mm pitch pin-header
3 x 3V/1.8V I2C, up to 1 x 3V UART, 1 x 3V SPI, 1 x SPDIF_TX, up to 8 x 3V GPIOs, 1.8V 8 channels I2S
24-pin GPIO, 2.54mm pitch pin-header
2 x independent native USB 2.0 Host interfaces, PCIe x2, PWM, PowerKey
Serial Debug Port: 2.54mm pitch four-pin-header, 3V level, 1500000bps
Power LED (Red), GPIO Controlled LED (Green)
RTC: Two-pin 1.27/1.25mm RTC battery input connector. Working Temperature: -20\u2103 to 70\u2103
DC 5V/3A
Orange Pi’s latest flagship board offers a few improvements over the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B for the price, such as more memory and double the number of USB 3.0 ports, but it’s a hard board to recommend.
The latest board in the Orange Pi family, the Orange Pi 3, packs a quad-core 1.8GHz CPU, 2GB DDR3 RAM, four USB 3.0 ports, support for 4K displays via HDMI 2.0a, Gigabit Ethernet, onboard mPCIe 2.0, and Bluetooth 5.0.
The makers of the Orange Pi 3 suggest their board has a similar range of uses to Raspberry Pi, from desktop computer to media center.
Android 7, Ubuntu, and Debian are listed as officially supported operating systems on the Orange Pi 3 and are available to download here.
However, it’s worth noting that in testing I found the board’s theoretical power to be difficult to tease out, with the software provided being so buggy that even basic features were hobbled and broken.
The Orange Pi 3 also lacks the expandability of the Raspberry Pi, as it only has a 26-pin header for hooking up the machine to other electronics.
H6 Quad-core 64-bit 1.8GHZ ARM Cortex-A53
High-performance multi-core GPU Mali T720
OpenGL ES3.1/3.0/2.0/1.1
Microsoft DirectX 11 FL9_3
ASTC (Adaptive Scalable Texture Compression)
Floating point operation greater than 70 GFLOPS
Four Types:
1GB LPDDR3 (shared with GPU)+EMMC (Default Empty)
2GB LPDDR3 (shared with GPU)+EMMC (Default Empty)
1GB LPDDR3 (shared with GPU)+8GB EMMC Flash
2GB LPDDR3 (shared with GPU)+8GB EMMC Flash
AP6256, IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, BT5.0
10/100M/1000M, ethernet RJ45
Mic
HDMI 2.0a and 3.5 mm AV Jack
HDMI 2.0a and CVBS
H265/HEVC Main/Main10 profile@Level5.2 High-tier; 4K@60fps, up to 6Kx4K@30fps
H264/AVC BP/MP/HP@level5.1, MVC, 4K@30fps
VP9, Profile 0/2, 4K@30fps
AVS+/AVS JIZHUN profile@level 6.0, 1080P@60fps
Supports RC mode
Supports x1 Gen2 (5.0Gbps) lane
Complies with PCI Express Base 2.0 Specification
DC input, MicroUSB (OTG)
PMU
AXP805
1*USB 2.0 Host, 1*USB OTG 2.0
4*USB 3.0 Host
26-pin
GPIO (1×3) pin
UART, ground
Power LED, Status LED, and USB 3.0 LED
Yes
Android 7.0, Ubuntu, Debian
The Orange Pi 3 is available to buy here for $35, with a 1GB version also available for $30. The boards are also available with 1GB RAM / 8GB eMMC Flash storage for $35 and 2GB RAM / 8GB eMMC Flash storage for $40.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)
The Rock Pi 4 promises a decent balance between price and power. The Rock Pi 4 starts at $39, making it the cheapest single-board computer based on the powerful Rockchip RK3399 system-on-a-chip.
The processor is capable for the price, with a dual-core 2.0GHz Arm Cortex-A72 paired with a quad-core 1.5GHz Arm Cortex-A53, smooth 4K playback is possible with the right media player courtesy of the HDMI 2.0 port and Mali-T864 GPU, fast SSD storage is also an option, via an M.2 interface supporting up to a 2TB NVMe SSD, and the ability to add up to 128GB eMMC storage to the board. The memory is relatively fast — 64-bit, dual-channel 3,200Mb/s LPDDR4 — and ranges from 1GB ($39) to 4GB ($75).
Portwise, there are four USB Type-A ports — one USB 3.0 host, one USB 3.0 OTG, and two USB 2.0 hosts. There’s also a 40-pin expansion header for connecting to other electronics, though this isn’t 100% GPIO compatible with the header on the Raspberry Pi. The $39 Model A lacks wireless connectivity, while the $49 Model B offers 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0.
The board supports more Linux distributions than some Raspberry Pi rivals, including: Android, Android TV, Debian, Ubuntu Server, Armbian 5.67, and retro-games OS Recalbox.
In testing the $75 Rock Pi 4 Model B, TechRepublic found the board comprehensively outperformed the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ and the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, but that both the Android and Debian images suffered from some instability and jankiness. The Rock Pi 4 Model B also came with a heatsink, so board wouldn’t fit into most Raspberry Pi cases.
64-bit hexa core processor dual core 1.8GHz Cortex-A72 with quad 1.4GHz Cortex-A53
Mali T860MP4 supports OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.0/3.1/3.2, Vulkan 1.0, Open CL 1.1 1.2, DX11
64-bit dual channel LPDDR4@3200Mb/s between 1GB and 4GB
Optional industrial compatible high performance eMMC module, 8/16/32/64/128GB available. uSD slot supports up to 128G uSD card. M.2 connector supports up to 2T M.2 NVME SSD
HDMI 2.0 up to 4k@60
Audio 3.5mm jack with mic, HD codec that supports up to 24-bit/96kHz audio
USB 3.0 OTG x1, USB 3.0 HOST x1, USB 2.0 HOST x2
Gigabit Ethernet with PoE support (requires additional HAT), 802.11 ac Wi-Fi & Bluetooth 5.0 (Model B only)
MIPI DSI 2 lanes via FPC connector, HDMI and MIPI DSI can work at the same time, support mirror mode or extend mode, Camera MIPI CSI MIPI CSI 2 lanes via FPC connector, support up to 800MP camera
1 x UART, 2 x SPI bus, 2 x I2C bus, 1 x PCM/I2S, 1 x SPDIF, 1 x PWM, 1 x ADC, 6 x GPIO, 2 x 5V DC power in, 2 x 3.3V power pin
85mm x 54mm
RTC battery connector for time backup (optional)
Supports USB Type-C PD 2.0, 9V/2A, 12V/2A, 15V/2A, 20V/2A power supplies. Qualcomm Quick Charge, supports QC3.0/2.0 adapter, 9V/2A, 12V/1.5A
The Rock Pi Model A costs $39 with 1GB, $49 with 2GB, and $65 with 4GB. The Model B, which adds wireless 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0, sells for $49 for 1GB, $59 for 2GB, and $75 for 4GB.
The Rock Pi 4 is available from various authorized resellers and you can get more information here.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)
The Pine H64 Model B is again a hard sell compared to the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, due to the Pi offering largely better specs at a lower price.
The H64 sports up to 3GB memory, is capable of 4K video playback on paper, has USB 3.0, HDMI 2.0, and Gigabit Ethernet. However, it has fewer USB ports overall than the Raspberry Pi 3 or 4.
The board succeeds last year’s Pine H64 Model A, with the main improvement being support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Thanks to the possibility of hooking up storage, Wi-Fi cards, or USB 3.1 to the board’s mini-PCIe interface, the Pine H64 could be used as network-attached storage or as a server, on top of the usual use case of a software and hardware development board.
Unlike the Raspberry Pi, only a couple of operating systems, Armbian and Android 7.0, are officially supported by the single-board computer.
Allwinner H6
Quad-core, Arm Cortex A53-based processor
Dual-core Mali-T720 MP2
2/3GB LPDDR3
eMMC flash module, micro SD card (bootable), 128 Mbit SPI flash
HDMI 2.0a output
3.5mm stereo earphone/mic plug
Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
2 x USB 2.0 host, 1 x USB 3.0 host
2 x 20 Raspberry Pi 2-compatible GPIO header, mini-PCIe connector, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module header, SDIO 3.0 and UART
IR receiver
The board is available with The board is available with 2GB for $38.95 and 3GB for $48.95.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)
The $79 Odroid-N2 improves on the $55 Raspberry Pi 4 Model B in some respects, offering a faster CPU that is able to switch between four high-power and two low-power cores as needed.
It also doubles the number of USB 3.0 ports and includes up to 128GB of eMMC Flash storage. But it also falls short of the Pi 4 in some significant areas, lacking the Pi 4’s support for dual displays and built-in Wi-Fi — which makes it hard to recommend when it costs more than $20 more.
Operating system-wise, it supports Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and Android 9.0 Pie, although these are works in progress, with some features still being developed.
Form Factor
Dimensions: 90mm x 90mm x 17mm
Heatsink Dimensions: 100mm x 91mm x 24mm
Weight: 190g including heatsink
Processor
CPU: Amlogic S922X Processor (12nm) Quad-core Cortex-A73(1.8Ghz) and Dual-core Cortex-A53(1.9Ghz). ARMv8-A architecture with Neon and Crypto extensions
GPU: Mali-G52 GPU with 6 x Execution Engines (846Mhz)
Memory
2GB or 4GB DDR4 with 32-bit bus width
Data rate: 2640 MT/s (PC4-21333 grade) 1.2 Volt low power design
Storage
1 x eMMC connector (8G, 16G, 32G, 64G and 128G are available)
1 x microSD slot (DS/HS modes up to UHS-I SDR104)
Networking
1 x GbE LAN ports (RJ45, supports 10/100/1000 Mbps) – Realtek RTL8211F (Ethernet transceiver) – LED indicators (Green: 100mbps, Amber: 1000mbps connection)
Optional WiFi USB adapters
Video
1 x HDMI 2.1 (up to 4K@60Hz with HDR, CEC, EDID)
1 x Composite video (3.5mm jack)
Audio
1 x Stereo Audio line-out (3.5mm jack)
1 x HDMI digital output
1 x Optional SPDIF optical output
External I/O
4 x USB 3.0 Host ports (shares one single root hub)
1 x USB 2.0 OTG port for Host or Device mode. (No power input)
1 x Debug serial console (UART)
1 x Peripheral Expansion Header (40-pin, 2.54mm pitch) –
2 x DC 5V, 2 x DC 3.3V, 1 x DC 1.8V, 8 x GND – 1 x SPI – 1 x UART – 2 x I2C – 25 x GPIO (Max) – 2 x ADC input (10bit, 1.8V Max) – All 3.3V I/O signal level except for ADC input at max 1.8Volt.
Other features
On board RTC(Real Time Clock), IC to keep date and time
8MiB SPI Flash for future BIOS implementation
IR receiver for remote controller
Built with a large passive heatsink System
LEDS Indicators: – Red (PWR) – Solid light when DC power is connected – Blue (ALIVE) – Flashing like heartbeat while Kernel is running.
Active Cooling Fan Connector (5V 2-pin) – Optional 60x60mm Active Cooling Fan – Connector (2-pin, 1.25mm pitch)
Power
1 x DC jack : outer (negative) diameter 5.5mm, inner(positive) diameter 2.1mm
DC 7.5V ~ 20V (up to 25W) – DC 12V/2A power adaptor is recommended
Power consumption: – IDLE : \u2243 1.9W (Performance governor) – CPU Stress : \u2243 5.5W – Power-off : \u2243 0.2W
The board is available to buy here for $79.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)
The Pyboard D-series‘ ace-in-the-hole is its efficiency, with the board running MicroPython, a version of the Python 3.4 programming language customized to run on low-power microcontrollers with as little as 16KB of RAM.
Performance is further bolstered by not running a Linux-based OS, with MicroPython instead running bare-metal on the Pyboard, described by the board’s makers as “like having a Python operating system”.
However, while the Pyboard D-series may have trimmed performance overheads, the hardware is modest, offering a 216MHz CPU and ~256KB RAM, as part of the Pyboard D-series’ STM32F722 microcontroller.
The downside of the new board is its price, which at \u00a343.80 (~$58), is considerably more than the $10 Raspberry Pi Zero W and $25 PocketBeagle.
Despite this cost difference and the Pyboard’s CPU’s relatively low clock speed, there’s debate over whether the optimizations on the Pyboard mean it’s capable of running embedded applications more rapidly than the 1GHz CPU found on the Pi Zero.
Where to buy the Python D-series?
The board is available for board is available for \u00a343.80, for \u00a358 with an additional high-speed USB interface and for $69 with a different model of microcontroller.
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)
The $99 Jetson Nano Developer Kit is a board tailored for running machine-learning models and using them to carry out computer vision.
Nvidia has shown the board being used to highlight people and cars captured by CCTV streams, running real-time object detection on eight 1080p30 streams simultaneously, using a ResNet-based model running at full resolution and handling a throughput of 500 megapixels per second.
The tiny board packs an Arm-based CPU and Nvidia GPU, based on the 2014 Maxwell architecture, which together deliver 472 GFLOPs of compute performance and consume as little as five watts.
Nvidia has released a series of benchmarks showing the Jetson Nano outperforming competitors when running various computer vision models. The results show the Jetson Nano beating the $35 Raspberry Pi 3 (no mention of the model), the Pi 3 with a $90 Intel Neural Compute Stick 2, and the newly released Google Coral board that uses the Edge TPU (Tensor Processing Unit).
SEE: Raspberry Pi: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)
However, it’s not all good news for the Nano. A third-party Pi 4 benchmark measuring how it ran trained TensorFlow Lite image-recognition models showed it outperforming the Nvidia Jetson Nano board, despite the gulf in price between the two boards.
CPU
64-bit Quad-core ARM A57 @ 1.43GHz
GPU
128-core NVIDIA Maxwell @ 921MHz
Memory
4GB 64-bit LPDDR4 @ 1600MHz | 25.6 GB/s
Video Encoder*
4Kp30 | (4x) 1080p30 | (2x) 1080p60
Video Decoder*
4Kp60 | (2x) 4Kp30 | (8x) 1080p30 | (4x) 1080p60
USB
4x USB 3.0 A (Host) | USB 2.0 Micro B (Device)
Camera
MIPI CSI-2 x2 (15-position Flex Connector)
Display
HDMI | DisplayPort
Networking
Gigabit Ethernet (RJ45)
Storage
MicroSD card (16GB UHS-1 recommended minimum)
Other I/O
(3x) I2C | (2x) SPI | UART | I2S | GPIOs
M.2 Key-E with PCIe x1
Nick Heath is a computer science student and was formerly a journalist at TechRepublic and ZDNet.
