Asus launches a compact PC model like Raspberry Pi, using ARM CPU

ASUS understands that and is launching a mini PC model inspired by the Raspberry Pi, although not really a mass-market consumer product.

Accordingly, ASUS has officially introduced Tinker Board 3N, an ARM-based single-board computer model. Although not as small as the Raspberry Pi, the Tinker Board 3N still has an impressive size and supports many options and ports. The device comes with a quad-core Rockchip RK3568 CPU, up to 8GB of RAM, and 64GB of eMMC storage — users also have the option to purchase a memoryless version if desired.

Asus launches a compact PC model like Raspberry Pi, using ARM CPU Picture 1

Despite being an ARM board, the Tinker Board 3N is surprisingly expandable, with two m.2 slots with support for Wi-Fi and SSD modules, as well as a memory card slot. microSD. It's quite infamous for the RAM to be soldered to the board, but that's basically normal because upgradeability isn't really a big priority for these types of devices, and it's even harder to do with single board ARM architecture.

Tinker Board 3N is about 100mm x 100mm in size. It's a bit smaller than a Mini ITX motherboard, measuring 170mm x 170mm and doesn't really fit any ATX size standards. As mentioned, the Raspberry Pi is still smaller and therefore more flexible for some use cases. In return, you wouldn't expect a wide variety of I/O options on the Pi. Remember that the Tinker Board 3N includes an HDMI port, one USB-C port, and two Ethernet ports.

In terms of software, ASUS says users will be able to upgrade to Android 12 and Debian 11 on this board. In addition, other popular Linux distributions are also installable.

Lesley Montoya

Update 11 August 2023