Single-board computers are a great tool both for DIY projects and for solving corporate tasks. Manufacturers continue to release new models, and we talk about the advantages and disadvantages of these devices. Below is a selection of new models that can be useful to everyone. Let’s go!

Orange Pi 3B with M.2 slot

The Orange Pi 3B single-board PC, which is equipped with an M.2 slot, went on sale. The slot is designed to install an SSD M.2 2242. This, in turn, allows you to increase the performance of the system.

The single-board computer also received a Rockchip RK3566 processor. Graphics – Arm Mali-G52 2EE NPU. The manufacturer announced the possibility of simultaneously connecting two 4K monitors with a frequency of up to 60 Hz.

The amount of RAM, depending on the configuration, is 2, 4 or 8 GB, eMMC storage – 16, 32, 64, 128 or 256 GB. The traditional MicroSD is also in place. HDMI 2.0, eDP 1.3 or dual-band MIPI DSI, Ethernet, USB, CSI and Raspberry Pi GPIO are also available.

List of ports and connectors:

• 1 x HDMI.
• 1 x Gigabit Ethernet.
• 1 x USB 3.0 Type-A.
• 3 x USB 2.0 Type-A.
• 1 x USB Type-C (for 5V/3A power supply).
• 3.5 mm audio.
• 1 x microSD.
• 1 x eDP interface.
• 40-pin GPIO header.
• MIPI-DSI interface.
• MIPI-CSI interface.

The size of the board is very small – 85 x 56 mm, with a weight of 49 g. The manufacturer announced support for Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, Android 11, OpenHarmony and of course the image of Orange Pi OS.

The price of a single-payer is from $39 and higher, depending on the configuration.

UP 7000

Another competitor of Malinka. This device is so similar to one of the Raspberry Foundation devices that it can be confused with a “raspberry”. But in fact it is a device developed by an independent team

In addition, if the “raspberries” are based on ARM chips, this device received an Intel Alder Lake-N processor. Accordingly, the range of supported operating systems of the single-payer is very wide. As for the characteristics, the device supports up to 8 GB of LPDDR5 memory and 64 GB of main memory. Processor models can be different:

• Intel Processor N97
• Intel Processor N100
• Intel Processor N50

And here is the list of ports and connectors:

• 1 x HDMI 1.4b
• 1 x Gigabit Ethernet (Realtek RTL8111H CG)
• 3 x USB 3.2 Type-A
• DC power input (12V/5A)

Unfortunately, the developer does not say anything about memory card support, so you can only count on connecting devices to USB ports. But you can’t forget about the 10-pin connector with support for two USB 2.0 connectors.

Supports Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

The cost of the device is about $249.

Banana Pi BPI-R3 Mini

A small device positioned by the manufacturer as a network device. Of course, it can be used in other industries, but there are other fees for this. And in
Banana Pi BPI-R3 Mini has two 2.5 GbE Ethernet ports, two M.2 connectors, plus WiFi 6E support. And, by the way, there is no video stream – the developers did not foresee it.

So the device can be used as a firewall, repeater, gateway, etc. But if you need a device for developing a desktop PC, even a low-power one, then this device is not the best option. Its cost is about $79.

Features:

• MediaTek MT7986 (Filogic 830) processor. 4 x ARM Cortex-A53 CPU cores @ 2 GHz.
• 2GB DDR4 RAM.
• 8GB eMMC internal memory.
• 1 x USB 2.0 Type-C port.
• 2 x 2.5 GbE Ethernet.
• MT7976C using WiFi 6.
• M.2 B-Key socket (M.2 2230 with PCIe NVMe SSD support)
• M.2 M-Key socket (M.2 3052 USB 3.0 connector with 5G NR module support).
• DC connector.
• UART for debugging.
• Nano SIM slot.

In general, a profile device for solving certain tasks.

BeagleV-Ahead

The BeagleBoard company has released a new single board that is compatible with all the manufacturer’s accessories. But there is one difference between this single-payer and other models of the company. The main thing is the architecture of the processor. Instead of ARM, they decided to choose RISC-V. However, there is a second difference – the relatively high price, $149.

Here is the list of ports and connectors:

• 1 x Gigabit Ethernet (Realtek TRL8211F-VD-CG).
• 1 x micro-USB 3.0.
• 1 x microSD.
• 1 x micro HDMI port.
• 2 x CSI connectors.
• 1 x DSI connector.
• mikroBUS Shuttle (UART/I2C/SPI/ADC/PWM/GPIO).
• 92-pin Beaglebone Cape headers (P8 and P9).

Details about the device can be obtained from the manufacturer’s documentation, here is the link.

Sipeed Lichee Pi 4A

And another RISC-V single board, which, according to the manufacturer, shows better results than Raspberry Pi 4. But, of course, due to the different configuration, it will not be particularly correct to compare the two devices. Well, the price of the device is about $119.

The processor is Alibaba T-Head TH1520. It is a 12nm processor with Xuantie C910, C906 and E902 cores. Among the available options are other models:

• 8GB RAM + 8GB eMMC for $119.
• 8GB RAM + 32GB eMMC for $135.
• 16GB RAM + 128GB eMMC for $179.

We also indicate the list of ports and connectors:

• 2 x Gigabit Ethernet ports (with PoE).
• 4 x USB 3.0 Type-A ports (5 Gbps).
• 1 x HDMI 2.0 (4K/60fps support).
• 1 x 3.5mm audio.
• 1 x 20-pin connector.
• 1 x USB 2.0 Type-C (charging only).
• 1 x microSD.
• 1 x 5V/2A DC.

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