ElectronicsLinuxWindowsSingle Board ComputerTechnologyRaspberry Pi

What is the most powerful single board computer?

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Nov 17, 2018

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Here’s the Deal

4 Options Considered

What is the most powerful single board computer	Price	USB	Network Connectivity
-- Udoo x86 Ultra	$267.00	3 x USB 3.0	Gb Ethernet + Bluetooth Low Energy + M.2 Key E slot for optional Wireless modules
-- ODROID-XU4	$74	2 x USB 3.0	Gigabit Ethernet
-- Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+	$35	4x USB 2.0	Gigabit Ethernet over USB 2.0 (maximum throughput 300 Mbps), 2.4GHz and 5GHz IEEE 802.11.b/g/n/ac wireless LAN, Bluetooth 4.2, BLE
-- LattePanda 4G/64GB	$159	2 x USB 2.0 and 1 x USB 3.0	100Mbps Ethernet + Wi-Fi 802.11n 2.4G

Udoo x86 Ultra

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Top Pro

Capable of running as a day-to-day PC

With 8 GB of RAM and a 2.56 GHz quad-core Intel CPU, the Udoo x86 Ultra is capable of running most applications an average user would need on a daily basis without any particular problems. You can run an office suite, web browser, or an IDE the same way you would in a normal PC. It can also run some PC games such as DotA, League of Legends and Team Fortress 2 on 720p at 20-30 frames per second. See More

Top Con

Very expensive for an SBC

It’s very expensive though, at least as far as single-board computers go. It’s priced at $259. See More

Specs

USB:3 x USB 3.0

Network Connectivity:Gb Ethernet + Bluetooth Low Energy + M.2 Key E slot for optional Wireless modules

CPU:Intel Pentium N3710 2.56 Ghz quad-core

Top Pro

Good wired connectivity

For wired connectivity, the Udoo x86 stands out: It has three USB 3.0 ports, a SATA connector, M.2 slot, microSD slot, Ethernet, HDMI, two DisplayPort connectors, and even an IR RC5 interface. This is on par with what regular desktop computers require. See More

Top Con

4K only supports 24 FPS

Only supports HDMI 1.4 and DP 1.1a, so 4K is limited to 24 FPS. See More

Top Pro

Energy efficient

Even though it sports Quad Core x86 next-gen CPUs made by Intel, it's pretty energy efficient as the complete Udoo board consumes less than 11 watts of energy at any given time. See More

Top Con

Poor wireless connectivity

The Udoo x86 Ultra does not have Wi-Fi or Bluetooth out of the box. However, it has an M.2 slot where an officially supported antenna module can be mounted. This module provides 803.11n Wireless LAN and 5 GHz Bluetooth 4.2 at for $15. Unfortunately, attaching the antenna will occupy the M.2 slot which could have been used for an SSD instead. Edit: there is 2 M2 slots so you can mount SSD and Bluetooth. See More

Top Pro

Huge amounts of RAM

The Ultra version has 8GB of RAM, the Advanced version has 4GB and the basic version has 2GB (which is still more than most SBCs). See More

Top Con

Demanding games are virtually unplayable

Demanding games are technically supported, but have such a low framerate that they’re virtually unplayable. See More

Top Pro

X86-compatible

Very easy to run all operating systems. In terms of Linux or Android internal 32GB can be used as Read Only and additional SATA HDD/SSD/eMMC drive as /tmp and /home directories. See More

Top Con

The official documentation is lacking

The official documentation available at the official website is lacking. Apart from the hardware specification sheet, there’s generally not much information or project examples available for the Udoo x86 at the moment. The users will have a lot of tinkering and hacking to do if they want to achieve any positive results with their projects. See More

Top Pro

Can be used as a gaming emulator

Supports almost all retro gaming emulators available for PC so it can be used as a retro gaming emulator. It can also emulate newer consoles like the Playstation 2 and PSP. See More

Top Con

Small community

The Udoo x86 community is small as it’s just off from the Kickstarter. Not many people have their boards yet, but the fact that Udoo raised over $800,000 at Kickstarter sounds promising. The official forum seems fairly active with an average of 200 views and 5 replies per discussion. See More

Top Pro

Arduino compatible

The Udoo x86 comes with an embedded Arduino 101, with all upgrades enabled (including 6-axis accelerometer, gyroscope and Bluetooth). See More

Top Con

It's possible you'll run into problems that haven't been discussed yet

Even through the community is growing, the product is not considered mainstream. When purchasing this SBC, you should be aware that some tinkering will be required. Prolific users will also most likely run into some sort of problem that might not have yet been discussed on official resources. See More

Top Pro

Set-up is easy and straightforward

It’s absolutely straightforward to set up. The installation guides for all supported operating systems are provided in written and video form. See More

Top Pro

Helpful guides and community

Has good guides available online and the community is quite helpful, even if a bit small. See More

Top Pro

spped networn in thermoplastics DVS Pro Decent graphics Intel HD graphics 405 up to 700 MHz with 16 execution units.

Intel HD graphics 405 up to 700 MHz with 16 execution units. See More

Top Pro

Best storage capabilities

In terms of storage the Udoo x86 is a clear winner. Out of the box it comes with 32GB eMMC (embedded MultiMediaCard, basically a built-in SSD). Then it’s fully up to the user to upgrade the storage as they see fit. If you need fast (but expensive) storage—an SSD is the best option. A microSD card can also be used as a storage option. See More

Top Pro

Decent GPIO suppoort

The Udoo x86 Ultra comes with 28 GPIO ports in total which may seem small, but considering the fact that it has an Arduino 101 embedded inside, it’s actually a decent amount. The Arduino board has built-in functionality for what some of the pins would be used (like a six-axis accelerometer and gyroscope) and adds 12 additional GPIO pins. Several key communication protocols are also supported: two IIC, two UART, LPC and SDIO. See More

ODROID-XU4

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Top Pro

Great performance

The performance runs laps around competitors in terms of raw power with its impressive specs and octa-core processing. See More

Top Con

Expensive

It’s expensive for a SBC, for ~$20 more you can get a faster x86 PC barebone. See More

Specs

USB:2 x USB 3.0

Network Connectivity:Gigabit Ethernet

RAM:2Gbyte LPDDR3 RAM PoP stacked

CPU:Samsung Exynos5422 Cortex™-A15 2Ghz and Cortex™-A7 Octa core CPUs

Top Pro

Includes cooling system

Includes fan and heatsink combo standard. Fan spins when CPU is load is high. Other single-board computers require a seperate purchase where fan runs constantly, has improper power supply, or requires complex setup for proper funtion. See More

Top Con

Unstable USB support

Top Pro

Includes a power button

Some single-board computers have no power button, requiring the power supply to be unplugged or customization to add a button. See More

Top Con

No SATA port

Top Pro

Includes power adapter

Many single-board computers require you to purchase a power adapter separately. See More

Top Con

Does not natively support most accessories and sensors on the market

The ODROID GPIO pins operate at 1.8V which means that it cannot support most accessories and sensors on the market which operate at 3.3V or 5V. But this can be fixed for the XU4 with the XU4 Shifter Shield which adapts them for voltages used in the market. It comes at an extra cost of $18 though. See More

Top Pro

Supports eMMC 5.0 storage

Top Con

No Audio CODEC

To get Audio out of the XU4 you need to use an HDMI device that has built-in speakers. See More

Top Pro

USB 3.0 ports

The ODROID-XU4 has two USB 3.0 ports. Making it one of the few single board computers to have them. See More

Top Pro

Great OS support

ODROID supports and can run a full desktop version of Ubuntu. Other than that it can run Android, of which there are some excellent ports for ODROID-XU4. See More

Top Pro

Fast ethernet

Much faster than 10/100 as it contains a gigabit ethernet port. See More

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+

Top Pro

Faster CPU than the original Pi 3 Model B

Thanks to a new thermal management plate (heat spreader), as well as better voltage regulation, the CPU gained a nice little 200 MHz bump in clock speed over the Pi 3 Model B. Applications on the Pi 3 B+ are a little faster and snappier than their predecessor. See More

Top Con

Bluetooth is very unstable - never fails to fail

Many times after successfully pairing devices it just stops working. One speaker worked for about 5minutes then stopped. Since then it will pair but will not connect. Yes the speakers work in Windows and with a Samsung Galaxy S8. Its seems to have more to do with the Raspbian OS, since using a BlueTooth dongle with it gives the same results. See More

Specs

Network Connectivity:Gigabit Ethernet over USB 2.0 (maximum throughput 300 Mbps), 2.4GHz and 5GHz IEEE 802.11.b/g/n/ac wireless LAN, Bluetooth 4.2, BLE

Power source:5V/2.5A DC power input

GPIO:Extended 40-pin GPIO header

Top Pro

World-class support and software

What really sets the Raspberry Pi apart from the competition, and makes it leagues apart from every other SBC out there, it the software and support you get from every corner of the ecosystem regarding anything you want to make, build or do with the Pi. The most up-to-date kernels, the widest supported bundles, hats for every occasion, step-by-step instructions, and if you're trying something and get stuck, chances are high someone else has got stuck at the same spot, got past it, and left detailed instructions on how to get past it so nobody ever gets stuck there again. That is the best feature of the Raspberry Pi. See More

Top Con

USB and Ethernet bandwidth shared

For cloud servers (OwnCloud, NextCloud, FTP, Media Hosting, etc...) it will take a dip on the transfer performance (when using ethernet combined with a USB Storage device) as the same controller handles the USB and Ethernet interfaces. Better performance than its predecessor, but something to keep in mind. See More

Top Pro

Great community and developer support

The various addons boards means this is the board to go with for starters into development. Without much knowledge you can get a project up and running in a short amount of time. See More

Top Pro

Faster networking capabilities

Because of the Gigabit ethernet (although still sharing the USB 2.0 bus which limits its speed ceiling), it goes up to 3x faster than the original Pi 3 Model B. The new wireless chip supports 802.111ac, which also increases its throughput to 3x as well. Bluetooth 4.2 LE is much more stable, and it's just a nice little upgrade. See More

LattePanda 4G/64GB

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Top Pro

Integrated WiFi and Bluetooth

WiFi and Bluetooth are integrated on the board so your USBs are available for other peripherals. See More

Top Con

Only Windows 10 is officially supported

While it may work with other OSes such as Linux or Android, it has no official images for these operating systems and may have compatibility issues. See More

Specs

USB:2 x USB 2.0 and 1 x USB 3.0

Network Connectivity:100Mbps Ethernet + Wi-Fi 802.11n 2.4G

RAM:4 GB DDRL3L

CPU:Intel Cherry Trail Z8350 Quad Core 1.44GHz Boost 1.92GHz

Top Pro

Can function as a day-to-day PC

Lattepanda comes with a full Windows 10 installation. While by no means a powerhouse it can easily deal with daily tasks such as checking email, editing documents and browsing the web. See More

Top Con

Throttles due to poor heatsinks

This thing throttles down to 400 MHz due to poor cooling thus making it useless without some knowledge of computer building and modification. See More

Top Pro

USB 3.0 available

Lattepanda has a USB 3.0 port available. See More

Top Con

No support for HDMI-CEC

When you connect it to a TV or projector it sometimes requires extra manual settings on the output device, such as for viewing 3D. Also, you can not control the player on this board with your TV or projector remote via HDMI-CEC. See More

Top Pro

Arduino-compatible

The Lattepanda has a Arduino-compatible coprocessor for any projects which involve an Arduino. See More

Top Pro

HDMI plus LCD and touch ports

On the LattePanda you have the choice of the HDMI output for a normal style monitor screen or you can buy the little 7" LCD and if you wish, the touch-screen option which means you free up the HDMI feed for other tasks such as playing a movie file etc. This also gives you the option of not having to plug in a USB keyboard because the LattePanda will default to providing a touch-screen keyboard style interface via the combination touch-screen and LCD. See More

Top Pro

Tablet mode enabled (by code)

With the Atom Cherrytail, you could attach the board to a touchscreen to create an ultimate Surface Pro experience (except for the fact that it doesn't have a camera). See More

Top Pro

Can fit most Raspberry Pi cases

Since it's almost the same size a the Raspberry Pi 3, it can fit inside most of the cases built for the Pi. See More

Top Pro

Faster than most other single-board computers

The 64-bit Intel Atom system-on-a-chip used in the LattePanda board offers greater processing power in comparison to ARM-based single-board computers. See More

Top Pro

Full Windows 10

Comes pre-installed with a full edition of Windows 10, including powerful tools such as Visual Studio, NodeJS, Java, Processing, and more. See More

Top Pro

System installed on internal flash

System is installed on eMMC rather than an SD card like other SBCs. This means no extra physical components are required in order to get the computer to boot. See More

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