CHIP vs ODROID-XU4
When comparing CHIP vs ODROID-XU4, the Slant community recommends ODROID-XU4 for most people. In the question“What are the best low-cost hardware solutions for a home server (cloud, media center, personal website)?” ODROID-XU4 is ranked 2nd while CHIP is ranked 6th. The most important reason people chose ODROID-XU4 is:
Much faster than 10/100 as it contains a gigabit ethernet port.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Great performance for price
With 1 GHz ARMv7 CPU, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage CHIP is capable of running LibreOffice suite of applications for office work, Audacity digital audio workstation for audio editing, CAD for drawing diagrams and playing a wide array of games.
Pro The basics (wifi, BLE, charging) are already integrated
No more having to separately buy and plug in wifi dongles, usb keyboards, etc.
Pro Open Source schematics
Pro Ready to be used out of the box
CHIP comes pre-installed with a variety of applications.
Pro Can be made portable
You can use a Lithium Polymer battery to power the device and it has charging circuitry for charging the battery.
Pro Teaches programming
VHIP bundles Scratch programming language that's designed specifically to teach the basics of programming.
Pro Fast ethernet
Much faster than 10/100 as it contains a gigabit ethernet port.
Pro Great performance
The performance runs laps around competitors in terms of raw power with its impressive specs and octa-core processing.
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.
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.
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.
Pro Supports eMMC 5.0 storage
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.
Pro Fast processor and good memory capacity
It is very good for emulation.
Pro Fast processor and good memory capacity
Very good for emulation
Pro Practically very usable general purpose computer experience
Practically very usable general purpose computer experience with much lower power consumption when eMMC 5.0 storage is used for booting.
Pro Includes power adapter
Many single-board computers require you to purchase a power adapter separately.
Cons
Con Not available anymore
Con Young community
The first CHIP computers shipped December 23rd, and while there's lots of traction it will take some time for a bustling community to develop around the devices.
Con SD card corrupts
SD card corrupts easily with the XU4, use emmc for more stability but even then it is not that reliable. Also need to reimage the memory every so often.
Con No Audio CODEC
To get Audio out of the XU4 you need to use an HDMI device that has built-in speakers. A USB pdif will work, too.
Con Expensive
It’s expensive for a SBC, for ~$20 more you can get a faster x86 PC barebone.
Con No SATA port
Con Requires a separate power supply (no power via USB OTG)
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.
Con SD card corrupts
SD card corrupts easily with the XU4, you can use emmc for more stability but even then it is not that reliable. You will also need to reimage the memory every so often.