When comparing PINE A64 vs MinnowBoard Max, the Slant community recommends PINE A64 for most people. In the question“What are the best single-board computers?” PINE A64 is ranked 15th while MinnowBoard Max is ranked 29th. The most important reason people chose PINE A64 is:
The Pine64 has a HDMI port which offers 4K streaming capabilities and coupled with support for Kodi it can be transformed into a pretty powerful media streaming centre.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Can stream 4K video
The Pine64 has a HDMI port which offers 4K streaming capabilities and coupled with support for Kodi it can be transformed into a pretty powerful media streaming centre.
Pro Extremely powerful for its price
With a price of $15 it's one of the most powerful and fast single board computers on the market today, able to compete with products that are more than double its price.
Pro Optional and bespoke 7" Touchscreen and Analog Audio DAC
Range of accessories now available that expand core functionality without worrying [too much] about compatibility.
Pro Additional GPIOs (Euler bus)
A GPIO (general purpose input/output) port is included, which allows for more flexible use.
Pro Versatile hardware
The board already comes with a lot of things.
Pro Completely open source
MinnowBoard is a non-profit backed by Intel. meaning it gets advice for its architecture by Intel. But all hardware and software parts, including all drivers are completely free and open source.
Pro USB 3.0 available
The MinnowBoard Max has 2 USB ports, one of which is a USB 3.0.
Pro Great for hacking away
Other than releasing all drivers as open source, Intel has also made the schematics of the board available to download. This way, hackers can give it a try and build anything they want without restrictions.
Cons
Con Bad support
Con Finicky PSU support
It's very hard to find a PSU (power supply unit) that works with Pine64. While other single board computers (such as the ODROID, MK802IV, and MK808) work with virtually any 5V/2A PSUs, the power supply is a bit too sensitive (even when using a power strip with 8 USB ports with all SoCs running off the 1A or 2.4A connections).
Con No onboard Wi-Fi or Bluetooth
Not included by default, but an optional WiFi 802.11 b/g/n & Bluetooth module can be added.
Con Huge size
The A64 is 127mm x 79mm which is significantly larger than other single board computers on the market.
Con You can't use an adapter to DVI VGA
It only supports HDMI.
Con Multi-USB hub almost a necessity
Because it has only two USB ports, one of which to be used for charging, a multi-USB hub is needed to connect a keyboard and mouse which are the absolute minimal external devices to be able to use and configure the MinnowBoard.
Con No official OS images have the kernel with GPIO enabled
Although this is not the board's fault per-se, no official OS image has enabled support for GPIO. But if the kernel is compiled from source, it can be compiled with GPIO and PWM enabled.