OrangePi 5 Ultra Review: An ARM64 SBC Powerhouse
6 hours ago
- #ARM64
- #SBC
- #Rockchip
- The OrangePi 5 Ultra is a high-performance ARM64 SBC featuring the Rockchip RK3588 processor with 8 cores (4 Cortex-A76 and 4 Cortex-A55).
- It includes LPDDR5 RAM options (4GB, 8GB, 16GB), multiple storage options (eMMC, NVMe SSD via M.2 slot), and 2.5G Ethernet.
- The board supports various operating systems including Ubuntu, Debian, and Android 13, but lacks recent distro images like Ubuntu 24.04.
- GPU support is currently limited, with no OpenGL support and only basic Vulkan 1.2 compatibility, affecting applications like Blender.
- Performance benchmarks show the OrangePi 5 Ultra outperforming the Raspberry Pi 5 in multi-core tasks by about 30%.
- The board is suitable for both desktop and server use, with low power consumption (3W-5W idle, ~10W under load) and good thermal management.
- AI/LLM performance is decent for smaller models, with potential for improvement if Vulkan drivers become available.
- Software availability is robust for ARM64, with good support for Flatpak and Docker, making it versatile for various applications.
- Priced competitively at around $130-$220 depending on configuration, it offers good value for its performance and features.
- Main drawbacks include lack of GPU support, incomplete mainline kernel support, and absence of recent distro images.