The best 5 Raspberry Pi alternatives

When it comes to single boards, the Raspberry Pi is of course the winner. This $ 35 (805,000VND) microcomputer attracts global enthusiasts, thanks to its ability to perform PC-based functions, but the price is much cheaper than commercial devices on the market. . Certainly, it is not the most powerful or the cheapest computer today, but its resounding success has led to the emergence of countless similar products.

Although the Raspberry Pi itself meets all the factors related to performance, price and usability, it still has the ability to incorporate many other boards. Finally, the market has witnessed the introduction of a series of new boards with PC-like features. Here are the best Raspberry Pi alternatives on the market today.

1. Asus Tinker Board

Asus Tinker Board brings most of the features of Raspberry Pi from external form to port locations. Coming from Asus - one of the largest computer manufacturers in the world - users can expect the features of this product to be top notch. The Tinker Board has the same position to align the details, size, features and 40-pin connector like the Raspberry Pi 3B model.

That means that the Tinker Board can work instead of any computer. In terms of features, the Tinker Board has an advantage over Raspberry Pi, thanks to its more powerful processor and huge RAM. It comes with a high-performance quad-core SoC ARM at 1.8GHz, faster than on RPi. Add Tinker Board to the powerful Mali T764 GPU and 2GB of RAM, what you get will be a computer with a perfect combination of speed and performance.

What's more, the Tinker Board supports 4K video, while the Raspberry Pi 3B model only supports 1080p video. Besides, Tinker Board provides 192k / 24 bit audio playback support while RPi supports 48k / 16 bit. Asus Tinker Board is almost $ 30 (690,000 VND) more expensive than RPi ($ 57.45 - 1,322,000 VND), but users will get more features and better speeds.

2. ODroid

The latest version of ODroid, XU4, made a strong hit, thanks to Samsung's 8-core CPU and fan cooling. Unlike Rasberry Pi, ODroid XU4 (priced at $ 89 / 2,047,000 VND) is more compact in size. Originally designed with open source Android builds, XU4 can run on different versions of Android, including Android 4.4 (KitKat), 5.0 (Lollipop) and 7.1 (Nougat).

ODroid XU4 can also run different versions of Linux, including Ubuntu 16.04. In terms of specifications, XU4 is proud of Samsung Exynos 5422 CPU (Cortex-A15 speed 2.0GHz and Cortex-A7 multi-core). Combined with Mali T-628 GPU and 2GB RAM, ODroid XU4 is also stronger and faster than Raspberry Pi. Moreover, the XU4 comes with USB 3.0 support and a Gigabit Ethernet interface that gives it lightning-fast data transfer speeds.

3. Banana Pi M64

Banana Pi M64 ($ 52 / 1,196,000VND) is a 64-bit version of Banana Pi improvements run on Android, Ubuntu and Debian, and a number of other operating systems. Banana Pi M64 has Mali 400 dual core GPU, 1.2GHz multi-core processor and 2GB RAM. In addition, it offers 8GB storage capacity, can be extended via microSD card.

Like Raspberry Pi, M64 has built-in WiFi and Bluetooth support. It also provides support for watching videos, up to 1080p. However, M64 outperformed RPi when stored due to an additional 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. On the downside, M64 has only two USB ports, while the Raspberry Pi 3 has up to 4 USB ports.

4. NanoPi NEO4

NanoPi NEO4 ($ 45 / 1,035,000 VND) is one of the cheapest 6-core single-unit computers on the market today. Boasting Rockchip RK3399 processor (Cortex A72 quad core 64 bit + Cortex A53 quad core) and Mali-T864 GPU, NanoPi NEO4 is also one of the most powerful computers available. It also comes with modern features like USB 3.0 support and support for watching 4K videos via HDMI 2.0. It also comes with modern features like USB 3.0 support and support for watching 4K videos via HDMI 2.0.

Although NEO4 outperformed the Raspberry Pi 3 in many ways, such as the ability to watch 4K video and the ability to handle it, it still has some limitations. For example, it has less type A USB ports, slower WiFi and 1GB RAM.

But if you're ready to accept the aforementioned restrictions, you'll get fast data transfer speeds thanks to USB 3.0 support and Gigabit Ethernet ports. There is also a Type-C USB 2.0 port as well as fast SSD storage technology.

5. Rock64

Single bo Rock64 computer ($ 35 / 805,000 VND) is a reliable Raspberry Pi alternative. It prides itself on modern, advanced features compared to its competitors. Unlike RPi only provides 1GB RAM, Rock64 has 4GB RAM, uses 64 bit ARM Cortex A53 processor. In addition to the powerful processor, Rock64 is capable of handling 4K video at 60fps. It also comes with an ideal 40-pin GPIO header for implementing DIY projects.

Although these are the top 5 Raspberry Pi alternatives on the market today, this list is not entirely complete. Other Raspberry Pi alternatives to try include Latte Panda, Arduino, CHIP, BeagleBoard X15 and Orange Pi.

Have you tried any Raspberry Pi alternatives? Do you have any experience on this issue? Share comments in the comment section below!

See more:

1. 10 operating systems you can run with Raspberry Pi
2. 10 great projects combining Raspberry Pi and Windows 10 IoT Core
3. 11 Raspberry Pi acceleration tricks