In Part 1 of the Pi-based Laptop, I have mentioned that I needed to look for an SBC that is more powerful than the Raspberry Pi 3B+ to power the laptop. Do refer back to that particular post to check out what I am looking for.
Since there are so many SBCs in the market now, I have decided to be very strict in my elimination process. As long as the SBC does not hit one of the core criterias that will affect performance, it will be dropped.
I will, however, make some leeway for criterias that should not affect the performance too much such as the WiFi not supporting 802.11ac.
After searching around (admittedly it got boring very quickly), I have narrowed down my search a little by including major boards that run on the RockChip RK3399 (hexa-core, 4-cores @ 1.5GHz, 2- cores @ 2.0GHz).
I have also included boards that seem powerful enough on paper. The budget I'm looking at? SG$180 for the SBC and its components (~US$140).
So here are the final contenders:
Since there are so many SBCs in the market now, I have decided to be very strict in my elimination process. As long as the SBC does not hit one of the core criterias that will affect performance, it will be dropped.
I will, however, make some leeway for criterias that should not affect the performance too much such as the WiFi not supporting 802.11ac.
After searching around (admittedly it got boring very quickly), I have narrowed down my search a little by including major boards that run on the RockChip RK3399 (hexa-core, 4-cores @ 1.5GHz, 2- cores @ 2.0GHz).
I have also included boards that seem powerful enough on paper. The budget I'm looking at? SG$180 for the SBC and its components (~US$140).
So here are the final contenders:
- Rock64
- RockPro64
- NanoPC T4
- NanoPi M4
- Orange Pi 3399
- Banana Pi M64 (1.2GHz 4-core, onboard eMMC, USB2.0 only)
- NanoPi K1 Plus/K2 (1.2GHz 8-core [K1+], onboard storage, USB2.0 only)
- NanoPC T3 (1GB RAM, onboard storage, USB2.0 only)
- NanoPC T3+ (onboard storage, USB2.0 only)
- NanoPi Fire3 (1GB RAM, MCU included [wasted power], onboard storage, 1 USB 2.0 only)
- Orange Pi Win Plus (1.2GHz 4-core, USB2.0 only)
- Orange Pi One Plus (1GB RAM, onboard storage, 1 USB 2.0 only)
- Orange Pi PC 2 (1GB RAM, USB 2.0 only)
- Pine A64+ (1.2GHz 4-core, USB2.0 only)
- Pine H64 (Experimental stage)
| Board | CPU | GPU | RAM | Storage Options | USB Ports | WiFi & Bluetooth | Ethernet | Video Out Ports | Dimensions, Weight | Power Consumption | Other notable Features | Price | Board |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock64 | 4-core A53 @ 1.5GHz | 2-core Mali 450 @ 600MHz | 4GB DDR3 @ 1600MHz | eMMC (up to 64GB), microSD (up to 256GB) | 1x3.0, 2x2.0 | WiFi b/g/n, BT 4.0 (dongle) | Gigabit | HDMI 4K @ 60Hz, AV Jack | 80mm x 56mm, 40g | 5V 3A, 15W | N/A | US$44.95 | Rock64 |
| RockPro64 | 2-core A72 @ 2.0GHz, 4-core A53 @ 1.5GHz | 4-core Mali T864 @ 650MHz | 4GB LPDDR4 | eMMC (up to 64GB), microSD (up to 256GB) | 1x3.0, 2x2.0, 1xType-C | WiFi a/b/g/n/ac (module add-on), TB4.1 (dongle) | Gigabit | HDMI 4K @ 60Hz | 133mm x 80mm | 12V 3A, 36W or 12V 5A, 60W | 2xUSB2.0 pin out, open-ended PCIe x4 slot | US$79.95 (excluding add-ons) | RockPro64 |
| NanoPC T4 | 2-core A72 @ 2.0GHz, 4-core A53 @ 1.5GHz | 4-core Mali T864 @ 650MHz | 4GB LPDDR3 @ 1866MHz | Onboard eMMC (16GB), microSD, m.2 with NVMe | 1x3.0, 2x2.0, 1xType-C | WiFi a/b/g/n/ac, BT4.1 | Gigabit | HDMI 4K @ 60Hz | 100mm x 64mm, 64g | 12V 2A, 24W | Dual Camera | US$105 | NanoPC T4 |
| NanoPi M4 | 2-core A72 @ 2.0GHz, 4-core A53 @ 1.5GHz | 4-core Mali T864 @ 650MHz | 4GB LPDDR3 | eMMC Slot (up to 64GB), microSD | 4x3.0, 1xType-C | WiFi a/b/g/n/ac, BT4.1 | Gigabit | HDMI 4K @ 60Hz | 85mm x 56mm, 47g | 5V 3A, 15W | PCIe x2 and USB 2.0 pinout, Dual camera, CPU on bottom | US$95 | NanoPi M4 |
| Orange Pi RK3399 | 2-core A72 @ 2.0GHz, 4-core A53 @ 1.5GHz | 4-core Mali T860 @ 650MHz | 2GB DDR3 | onboard eMMC (16GB), microSD, mini PCIe slot, mSATA | 4x2.0, 1xType-C 3.0 | WiFi a/b/g/n/ac, BLE4.1 | Gigabit | HDMI 4K @ 60Hz, 2 x MIPI LCD 2K @ 60Hz, eDP | 99mm x 129mm, 99g | 12V 2A, 24W or 5V 2A, 10W | HDMI In, 2 CSI, Gyroscope, onboard Microphone, Light sensor, compass, LTE SIM | US$109 | Orange Pi RK3399 |
Which one?
Well, honestly I couldn't decide between some of them. So I dug a little deeper... Here are some of my findings- The Rock 64 and RockPro 64 require a lot of add-ons to be purchased to provide a full experience, such as WiFi module, BT dongle, and more.
- Orange Pis are sort of a hit or miss. The reviews on AliExpress all express different views. Some say that the product is awesome; some say that the product was DOA; some others saying that the product died shortly after receiving them.
So that leaves me with both NanoPi boards (if I don't want to take my chances with the Rocks and Orange Pis). Between those two boards, I am favouring the NanoPi M4 over the NanoPC T4. Not only because it is US$10 cheaper, it also packs a lot of features that the T4 already has.
- Physically, the M4 is smaller in size and lighter in weight. This means that it would be easier to work with the M4.
- With the processor on the bottom of the M4 board, this saves me the trouble of having to find a way to dissipate heat from within. I could just apply thermal compound and have it in contact with aluminium pieces to cool it.
- While the Orange Pi RK3399 can run at 10W, the M4's 15W is not too bad in itself.
- The M4 has PCIe pinouts, which gives me more freedom to decide where the peripheral will be placed within the chassis.
- All USB ports, though I am unsure about the Type C, on the M4 are all USB3.0
- The eMMC slot means that I can switch out the eMMC when it dies and not needing to replace the board.
And this is why I have decided to use the NanoPi M4 as the core computer for my Pi-based laptop project.
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