Rock 5 SBC features octa-core RK3588, 16GB RAM, and triple displays

Rock 5 SBC features octa-core RK3588, 16GB RAM, and triple displays

Jan 10, 2022 — by Eric Brown

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Radxa has opened pre-orders for a “Rock 5 Model B” SBC with the octa-core Cortex-A76/-A55 Rockchip RK3588 with 4GB ($79) to 16GB ($139) RAM plus 2.5GbE, 4x USB, HDMI-in, 2x M.2, and triple displays with 2x HDMI 2.1 and Type-C/DP.

Radxa has unveiled the first board built around Rockchip’s powerful RK3588. The open-spec, Pico-ITX sized Rock 5 Model B (Rock 5B) SBC has opened for pre-orders, with $50 discounts available over the standard 4GB LPDDR4x ($129), 8GB ($149), and 16GB ($189) prices via a coupon program at Ameridroid and Allnet China, resulting in $79, $99, or $139 prices. Shipments are expected in Q2 2022.

Rock 5 Model B, front and back
(click images to enlarge)

We first heard about the 8nm-fabricated Rockchip RK3588 back in April 2019. The RK3588 has 4x up to 2.4GHz Cortex-A76 and 4x up to 1.8GHz -A55 cores configured using Arm’s DynamIQ. There is also a powerful Mali G610MC4 GPU and a 6-TOPS NPU (up from 3-TOPs on the RK3399Pro and RK1808). The SoC supports 8K, 10-bit video decode and 8K encode. The RK3588 delivers about 3x time faster performance than the RK3399 using Geekbench 4 CPU benchmarks and even faster GPU performance.

We found about the Rock 5, which was announced on Radxa’s forum, at CNXSoft. Considering that the SBC marketplace has been ravaged by chips shortages and marked by much higher prices, Radxa’s discount prices are surprisingly low for such high RAM counts. Even the standard prices seem reasonable.

By comparison, the RK3399 based Rock Pi 4A+ and B+ sell for $49 to $99. Radxa has also recently begun selling its Rock 3 Model A with a quad -A55 RK3568, starting at $35.

Rock 5 Model B and pseudo block diagram
(click images to enlarge)

We will skip the Rock 5 spec list for now since there are a few omissions and no wiki yet. The Rock 5 Model B runs Linux 5.10 and Debian Buster on the RK3588. In addition to the 4GB to 16GB LPDDR4x, there is an empty eMMC socket and a microSD slot plus an M.2 2280 socket with PCIe 3.0 x4 support for an NVMe SSD at up to 2,000 MB/s.

The Rock 5B supplies a 2.5GbE port with PoE support. Additional networking is available via an M.2 E-key slot, which supports wireless modules with Wi-Fi 6E, an 802.11ax variant that adds a third 6GHz band based on 1200MHz of new spectrum. The wireless option will also provide Bluetooth 5.2.

Like the RK3399, the RK3588 excels at media features, providing triple independent and 8K displays instead of dual displays and 4K. The SBC offers 2x HDMI 2.1 output ports at up to 8Kp60 and a USB 3.0 Type-port with alternative mode DisplayPort for up to 8Kp30, all with HDR support. You also get a micro-HDMI input at up to 4Kp60 and 2x MIPI-CSI connectors.

The 100 x 72mm board is further equipped with 2x USB 3.0 and 2x USB 2.0 ports plus a 40-pin header. There also appears to be a power jack on the front panel and a micro-USB debug port on the back. Other details including temperature support, have yet to be posted. We assume this will be another community backed board with open specifications like other Radxa SBCs.

Further information

The Rock 5 Model B is available on pre-order for a $5 coupon that you can redeem when the board officially launches in Q2 2022 for a $50 discount. The standard prices of $129 (4GB), $149 (8GB), and $189 (16GB) are thereby reduced to $79, $99, or $139. The coupons, which can be refunded at any time, are available at Ameridroid and Allnet China. Radxa’s announcement is here.