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Raspberry Pi 4 Alternatives: Five ARM Contenders

ExplainingComputers

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Low-cost ARM SBC review, including the Banana Pi M5, VIM1s, Odroid C4, Rock 3A, and the Orange Pi 5 4GB. All of these boards have their own, full ExplainingComputers review video as follows:

Banana Pi 5:
Banana Pi M5: ARM SBC with eMMC

VIM1s:
Khadas VIM1s: Android & Linux SBC

Odroid C4:
Odroid C4

Rock 3A:
Rock 3A: Dual M.2 ARM SBC with eMMC socket

Orange Pi 5:
Orange Pi 5: Excellent RK3588S Octa Core SBC

You can also find my interview with Eben Upton from December 2022 here:
Eben Upton Interview: Raspberry Pi Availab...

And the Rock 5B review that I refer to here:
Rock 5B: Powerful RK3588 SBC

Full specifications, software downloads and sales pages for the SBCs covered in this video are listed below. Please note that none of these are affiliate or sponsored links. But if you do want to support the channel, you can get some SBCs and accessories via the ExplainingComputers Amazon Storefront, from which I do earn a commission: https://www.amazon.com/shop/explainin...

Banana Pi M5:
https://www.banana-pi.org/web/index.p...
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/1101...
https://ameridroid.com/products/banan...
https://wiki.banana-pi.org/Banana_Pi_...

Khadas VIM1s:
https://www.khadas.com/vim1s
(Note that software can be downloaded and installed using the onboard OOWOW firmware -- so no website download pages are necessary).

Odroid C4:
https://www.odroid.co.uk/ODROID-C4
https://ameridroid.com/products/odroi...
https://wiki.odroid.com/odroid-c4/os_...

Rock 3A:
https://www.okdo.com/c/rock-shop/rock...
https://www.okdo.com/software-hub/

Orange Pi 5:
http://www.orangepi.org/html/hardWare...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10050...

More videos on SBCs and wider computing and related topics can be found at:
@explainingcomputers

You may also like my ExplainingTheFuture channel at: @explainingthefuture

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:54 Banana Pi M5
04:41 VIM1s
07:57 Odroid C4
11:28 Rock 3A
16:35 Orange Pi 5
19:23 Wrap

#RaspberryPi #BananaPiM4 #VIM1s #OdroidC4 #Rock3A #OrangePi5 #explainingcomputers

20 Comments

@Widgeon5113T 3 years ago

It would definitely be good to see a RPi Zero alternatives video. I would also be interested in a review of SBCs that might compare with what an RPi 5 might look like today if development hadn't stalled in recent years.

@patriot0971 3 years ago

I think community support is more important for a SBC platform than raw compute power. Most of my compute projects in this space can be performed by my original PI and PI2 . I am exited though that there are multiple options available.

@jimlynch9390 3 years ago

I just wonder why they continue to include GPUs on these boards but never seem to provide software to use them. Thanks for the great review as usual.

@El_Croc 3 years ago

Thanks for this follow-up. You'd think that the ARM foundation themselves would step in at this point to force/ensure availability of drivers and documentation for all chips that use their licences. Crazy situation that I'm sure I am not alone in being put-off taking the plunge with these boards and similarly poorly-supported ARM hardware.
A shame.

@Ieatcrumbs 3 years ago

Manufacturer chilling and watching video:
Chris pulls out their single-board computer first
Manufacturer begins shaking profusely

@dfs-comedy 3 years ago

"A bit like an SBC made by Apple..." Haha, I laughed out loud at that.

@TheDarkelvenangel 3 years ago

I still love Raspberry Pi I was lucky enough to get my last one before demand out stripped supply. One thing not touched on was community support behind these alternatives, Raspberry Pi has a strong community behind it. When choosing an alternative the availability of help is just as important as price in my mind. I think so of these alternatives are well worth a look. Something many comments say about price in regards to Raspberry Pi board if you get them from the authorized sellers you pay the best prices, third parties sell for more to line their own pockets.

@realharo 3 years ago (edited)

I recently got an Odroid C4, and was surprised how well and effortlessly Armbian works on it (much better than the official images). Hardware acceleration out of the box with the Panfrost driver, decent performance, no issues whatsoever. I have further plans for it as a Pi replacement, so will see how far the compatibility goes when it comes to some 3rd party hardware with its own drivers (I am able to make some adjustments if necessary).

@rutkowskir 3 years ago

Many of us today don't realize we are living in a SBC "Utopia" where just about all versions/models are compatible with each other. We can also load various flavors of Operating Systems and the hardware is cheap and the software if FREE!
Remember the days in the late 1970's and early 1980's, when nothing was compatible like Commodore, TRS-80, Apple, IBM, Sinclair, etc... and you had to pay for everything. Thanks Chris! -Rich

@alanthornton3530 3 years ago

Hardware acceleration still seems to be the issue with SBC's, maybe one day it'll get sorted out! I'm looking forward to the Reborn OS video. Thanks Chris for another interesting Sunday video :) :_stanley:

@richcurtin9540 3 years ago

Great video, thanks. It’s so good to see alternatives available and improving. The last 2 years has shown how important it is to have more than one option for makers, students, start ups and design engineers

@Praxibetel-Ix 3 years ago

Lots of good Raspberry Pi alternatives to choose from! It's quite a shame about the Rock 3A's software support though. Out of all the SBCs on this list, I quite like the Orange Pi 5 the most. Here's hoping for a Pi Zero alternatives video!

@techman2471 3 years ago

Thank you for the RasPi alternative update. It's good to know there is much progress with these SBCs to run Linux distros efficiently. Please do the Pi Zero alterantive video!

@FlagstaffslowTV 3 years ago

Thank you for making this video. I need to move on from Pi because I just can't find them and will not pay crazy Amazon mark-ups. There are many good alternatives, but they need larger communities to become anything like the Pi. It has to start somewhere.

@jsanpe35 3 years ago

A pi zero alternatives video is a really great idea! Looking forward to that

@DigitalProphet 3 years ago

Chris: "This is a bit like an SBC made by Apple."

Me (in my office, out loud): "Oooooooooo!"

@MichelMorinMontreal 3 years ago

"Patience is a virtue..." It is interesting to see the software evolution of some SBCs after a few months; some are thus positioning themselves as real alternatives to the beloved Raspberry Pi (sadly!). I would like to highlight your comment: "An SBC made by Apple"... Great and terribly appropriate! Excellent presentation!

@LeftoverBeefcake 3 years ago

This is excellent, since many people tend to just review items and never look at them again. It's important to see if things have improved since the initial review, since an item may look good initially, but the manufacturer might have failed to support/update the device or a community might not have adopted it.

@jls9225 3 years ago

Have a good rest of your weekend Christopher. Love your top 5s. As Always, Be Smart and Stay Safe.

@dougr.8653 3 years ago

Orange pi is really a good contender in the SBC market. Maybe I will give it a try for my next project. I am not a big fan of built-in Wi-Fi. I rather buy a dongle. Thanks for the video. A nice Sunday to all.