Also: Raspberry Pi: Where to find the latest model and its alternatives A name that’s been coming up a lot lately is the Radxa Rock 5 Model B. Could this be a replacement for the Raspberry Pi? Maybe.
Rock 5 Model B tech specs
SoC: Rockchip RK3588Processor: Arm DynamIQ (Quad Cortex – A76 @ 2.2/2.4GHz, Quad Cortex – A55 @ 1.8GHz)GPU: Arm Mali G610MC4 GPUMemory: 8GB 64bit LPDDR4 RAMPower requirements: USB Type‑C PD Version 2.0 with 9V/2A, 12V/2A, 15V/2A, and 20V/2A5V Power applied to the GPIO PIN 2 & 4.HDMI:Dual HDMI ports supporting displays up to 8Kp60 resolution and 4Kp60Micro-HDMI input port supporting up to 4Kp60 resolutionUSB:2x USB2 HOST ports1x USB3 HOST port1x USB3 OTG/HOST portExpansion: 1x 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port (supports PoE with add‑on PoE HAT)1x M.2 M Key with PCIe 3.0 four‑lane support1x M.2 E Key with PCIe 2.1 one‑lane, SATA, SDIO, UART support1x eMMC module connector for eMMC 5.1 support1x Camera port (4‑lane MIPI CSI)1x Display port (4‑lane MIPI DSI)Storage: Micro SD/eMMCUARTS: 2x UARTOn/Off Power Button: YesSoftware: Full implementation of the Arm architecture v8 instructions setDebian/Ubuntu Linux supportAndroid 12 supportTemperature:Operation temperature: 0~50 ℃ (32 F to 122 F)Storage temperature: -20~80 ℃ (-4 F to 176 F)
A quick scan through the tech specs will show you that this board packs quite a punch. Octa-core processor, dual HDMI with one port supporting up to 8K, a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port, two M.2 slots, an eMMC module connector, and broad software support. That’s a lot of power, justifying the roughly $170 price tag (which, if you think is high, I’ve seen Raspberry Pis selling for more than that). Also: The best Raspberry Pi alternatives Ypu can also fit an NVMe SSD to the M.2 slot on the back. Here I’m fitting a 512GB Lexar NM620 NVMe SSD, a drive that’s perfect for this sort of application thanks to the fact it offers great performance at a fantastic price of under $50. But the eagle-eyed among you may have spotted an omission. Something that we kinda take for granted these days. Spotted it yet? No built-in Wi-Fi or Bluetooth support. For that, you need a Radxa M.2 E Key wireless module that adds Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 support. The module costs about $12 and fits into one of the M.2 slots, which is pretty straightforward. What might not be so straightforward for some people is hooking up the tiny connectors for the antennas. I’ve carried out some preliminary performance testing on this board, and the results show that this has a lot more power under the hood than the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, but I’ve yet to establish if this translates into something that’s noticeable in the real world. My assumption at this point is that this board is better suited to heavier, more processor-intensive workloads, and that for low-intensity workloads the eight-core processor and 8GB of RAM are wasted. There’s no doubt that the Rock 5 Model B is a great board, but I’m not sure that it’s a replacement for the Raspberry Pi 4. Some aspects of it – the octa-core processor, 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, and M.2 slot – feel like features that should be in the Raspberry Pi 5, but the lack of onboard Wi-Fi and Bluetooth is puzzling. Also: What Raspberry Pi’s new $12 tool can do All the cons aside, this is a solid board that offers a ton of cool, high-end features coming in at under $200. The Rock 5 Model B is definitely worth keeping an eye on. Think of it less as a replacement for the Raspberry Pi 4, and more a Raspberry Pi 5 you can own today.
