Odroid C4

[bluesmanuk]

A new SBC based on the S905X3.

https://forum.odroid.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=38555

[bluesmanuk]

A few vids too

[trebor]

More from CNXsoft;
https://www.cnx-software.com/2020/04/23/50-odroid-c4-raspberry-pi-4-competitor-combines-amlogic-s905x3-soc-with-4gb-ram/

ODROID-C4 Raspberry Pi 4 Competitor Combines Amlogic S905X3 SoC with 4GB RAM


Hardkernel has just launched an update to its ODROID-C2 board, with ODROID-C4 SBC equipped with a 2.0 GHz Amlogic S905X3 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor combined with up to 4GB RAM, four USB 3.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 2.0 video output, and the usual 40-pin I/O header.

That makes it a worthy competitor to Raspberry Pi 4 with 4GB RAM, especially since it supports Ubuntu 20.04, CoreELEC, Android 9, and LineageOS operating systems,

ODROID-C4 specifications:

• SoC – Amlogic S905X3 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ 2.0GHz with Arm Mali-G31MP2 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.0 and OpenCL 2.0
• System Memory – 4GB DDR4
• Storage
  • 1x eMMC connector (8/16/32/64GB modules available)
  • 1x Micro SD slot with support for DS/HS mode up to UHS-I SDR104
• Video & Output – HDMI 2.0 port up to 4K@60Hz with HDR, CEC, EDID
• Audio – Digital audio via HDMI, optional SPDIF optical output, audio expansion header (See below)
• Video
  • UHD 4K H.265 75fps 10-bit video decoder & low latency 1080p H.265/H.264 60fps encoder
  • Support multi-video decoder up to 4Kx2K@60fps+1x1080P@60fps
  • HDR support
• Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet port via Realtek RTL8211F; optional WiFi with USB dongle
• USB – 4x USB 3.0 host ports, 1x USB 2.0 OTG port for host or device mode (not for power input)
• Expansion
  • 40-pin I/O header with up to 25x GPIO, 6x PWM, 2x ADC (12-bit, 1.8V max), 2x I2C, 1x SPI, 1x UART, and 5V, 3.3V, 1.8V, GND power signals.
  • 7-pin audio expansion header with I2C S/PDIF output, 5V DC
  • Note all I/Os are 3.3V, except ADC @ 1.8V max
• Debugging – Debug serial console (UART)
• Misc – IR receiver, system LEDs for power (Red) and kernel status (Blue)
• Power Supply – 5.5V to 17V via 5.5/2.1mm DC jack; DC 12V/2A power adaptor is recommended
• Power consumption – Idle: ~1.8W; CPU stress: ~3.64W with Performance governor; power off: ~0.14W
• Dimensions – 85 x 56mm
• Weight – 59 grams with heatsink

Click to Enlarge
You’ll find documentation in the Wiki.

Compared to ODROID-C2, the new ODROID-C4 is significantly more efficient, while delivering a 40% boost to multi-core CPU performance, and 50% higher DRAM bandwidth which may be especially useful for graphics and video playback, or other applications moving lots of data.

The Cortex-A55 core used in Amlogic S905X3 is supposed to be a power-efficient processor that’s not quite as powerful as the Cortex-A72 core found in Raspberry Pi 4. But this is mostly compensated by a higher default CPU frequency (1.5 GHz vs 2.0 GHz) as shown in some benchmarks shared by Hardkernel in the announcement post. Click to Enlarge
Both boards have about the same performance with the real-life 7-zip benchmark, but we can see a much higher RAM bandwidth for ODROID-C4. I assume they added a heatsink to the Raspberry Pi 4 board or that would not be a fair comparison since it tends to overheat under load. It should also be noted Raspberry Pi 4 can be overclocked to 2.0+ GHz with proper cooling, which in that case would be quite faster than ODROID-C4 in most workloads. Click to Enlarge
One exemption being applications making heavy use of crypto functions, since Broadcom BCM2711 processor found in Raspberry Pi 4 does not come with Armv8 crypto extension, and for example, ODROID-C4 is around 7 times faster with SHA256 8KB hash. ODROID-C4 consumes quite a lot less power as well.

Besides benchmarks and power consumption, the boards also differ in terms of features. For example, Raspberry Pi 4 offers dual HDMI output and built-in WiFi and Bluetooth, while ODROID-C4 comes with a single HDMI port, and WiFi/Bt is optional via a USB dongle. On the other hand, ODROID-C4 comes with four USB 3.0 ports, and offers support for eMMC flash module, while RPi 4 features 2x USB 3.0 + 2x USB 2.0 ports, and does not offer an eMMC option.



ODROID-C4 should have similar performance to Khadas VIM3L SBC which comes with Amlogic S905D3 processor, but is offered at a higher price ($70+) due to extra built-in features such on-chip NPU, STM8 control MCU, built-in WiFI and Bluetooth, eMMC flash soldered on the board and so on.

https://www.cnx-software.com/2020/04/23/50-odroid-c4-raspberry-pi-4-competitor-combines-amlogic-s905x3-soc-with-4gb-ram/

[trebor]

And if you like to compare Pi with Amlogic:
Raspberry Pi 4 vs ODROID-C4 Features Comparison

Yesterday, Hardkernel launched ODROID-C4 Amlogic S905X3 SBC as an update to ODROID-C2 SBC launched in 2016. We’ve seen the board can compete with Raspberry Pi 4 4GB board thanks to benchmarks released by Hardkernel, but since those boards are so versatile, meaning they can be used in a variety of applications, it’s impossible to benchmark all use cases.

One way to find out which board might be right for your application without going through benchmarks is to look at a list of features for each, and that’s exactly what we’ve done in this post. ODROID-C4 (left) vs Raspberry Pi 4 (Right)
Let’s get straight to the Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB RAM) vs ODROID-C4 comparison table.

Features/Specs	Raspberry Pi 4B (4GB)	ODROID-C4
Release date	24th June 2019	23rd April 2020
SoC	Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 @ 1.5 GHz (overclockable to 2.0+ GHz) with NEON, FPU	Amlogic S905X3 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ 2.0 GHz with NEON, FPU, Armv8 Crypto extensions
GPU	VideoCore VI with OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.0, Vulkan 1.x,	Mali-G31MP GPU with OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.0, Vulkan 1.0 and OpenCL 2.0
Video Decode	H.265 4Kp60, H.264 1080p60	H.265 4Kp60, VP9 4Kp60, H.264 4Kp30
Video Encode	H.264 1080p30	H.265/H.264 1080p60
Memory	4GB LPDDR4	4GB DDR4
Storage	microSD card	microSD card + eMMC module connector
Video & Audio Output	2x micro HDMI ports up to 4Kp60 with CEC, HDR (later) 3.5mm AV port (composite + audio) MIPI DSI connector	1x HDMI 2.0a port up to 4Kp60 with CEC, HDR (now) Audio header with I2C & S/PDIF
Camera	MIPI CSI connector	N/A – USB camera only
Ethernet	Gigabit Ethernet
WiFi	Dual-band 802.11 b/g/n/ac	N/A, USB dongle only
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.0 + BLE	N/A, USB dongle only
USB	2x USB 3.0 + 2x USB 2.0	4x USB 3.0
Expansion	40-pin GPIO header
Power Supply	5V via USB type-C up to 3A 5V via GPIO header up to 3A Power over Ethernet via PoE HAT	5.5V to 17V via 5.5/2.1mm DC jack
Power Consumption with minimal OS	Idle: 2.10 Watts (Source) CPU stress: 4.36 Watts (Source)	Idle: 1.89 Watts CPU Stress: 3.11 Watts
Cooling	N/A, 3rd-party heatsink or fan recommended	Ships with heatsink
Dimensions	85×56 mm
Official OS(es)	Raspbian Buster (Debian 10 based)	Ubuntu 20.04 Android 9.0 Pie
Support	Documentation & Forums	Wiki & Forums
Price	$55	$50+

As you can see from the table above each board has its strengths and weaknesses. For example, if you need to connect two displays to the board, Raspberry Pi 4 is the obvious choice, but for the best multimedia experience with 4K HDR you may want to use ODROID-C4 with Android 9.0 Pie, although it’s also working with CoreELEC on C4.

Note that price comparisons are always challenging because the final price depends on taxes and shipping as well as whether you already own some of the accessories (power adapter, MicroSD card, WiFi dongle…).

The features may also evolve over time as software support improves (e.g. HDR), and it’s possible some hardware features do not work perfectly depending on the selected operating system. Both boards have active communities, and good software support including Linux mainline (WiP), although the Raspberry Pi community is much larger.

Source:

https://www.cnx-software.com/2020/04/24/raspberry-pi-4-vs-odroid-c4-features-comparison/

[trebor]

From my experience so far the Pi has a lot of things going for it and a strong base with Zillions of things you can do so far.
Amlogic I feel is a little behind in this area but like all things give it more time and it may be a good thing.

Just a matter of peeps getting on board and doing more with it....

[RiCkLaR_atvX]

One thing people should note is the C4 will have a full 64-Bit Android UI, no thanks to Amlogic, but Hardkernel did do all the hard work themselves to build a 64bit Android SDK for their devices.

Pi4 users can't run a stable android OS and device has been released for a almost a year now.

[mitchell4you]

hmm.. sweet little machine

The S905X4 is a new chip that is the evolution of the Amlogic S905X3 with which it is compatible pin by pin

My brain says....let's wait for the revision of this board ( s905x4 with AV1 and android 64bit support )
or pehaps...there might be a new mibox coming...with s905x4 (how knows..can't wait to see what the further brings)

Cheers
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