It has been a while since I've done hardware reviews. Hopefully, some of you may recall the article 'Rock Pi 4 and Android TV'.
Since the Rock Pi 4, by Radxa, there have been a few newer boards. In this article, I will cover the Rock 5T board.
Specifications
There is a lot of hardware on this board. This is a major update to the Rock Pi 4.
Let's look at some of the hardware specs in the Rockchip RK3588:
There are other hardware specs, but these are the main ones that you should know. Let's look over these a bit.
CPU
The CPU is ARM v8. The Cortex-A76 CPU is an improvement over the Cortex A-75. Keep in mind that the Rock Pi 4 used a Cortex-A72 CPU. These CPUs have a higher energy efficiency.
NOTE: At the time of this article being written, the Cortex-A78 (ARM v8) was made, but there are higher models, such as the Cortex-X series, Cortex-A720 and Cortex-A520. These CPUs are based on ARMv9.
The Cortex-A76 also uses DynamIQ technology. This ability allows multiple CPUs to work together more efficiently for better processing. The A76 works best with the Cortex-A55. There is a higher performance level over older Cortex chips, with the ability of sustained performance.
GPU
The GPU has four cores and uses the Valhall architecture.
You should notice the resolutions and codecs that are built in to the GPU.
You should note that if you missed it above, there is a standard HDMI input that supports up to 4Kp60. Yes, you read that right; there is an HDMI input for use as a capture device.
NPU
The Neural Processing Unit (NPU) is used to speed up Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning systems.
These chips are used to handle voice help, image/video processing and other AI programs.
The NPU can handle 6 Trillion Operations Per Second (TOPS).
Storage
Under the SBC is where the MicroSD card slot is located as well as two slots for M.2 M Key 2280 chips.
The NVMe will be much faster than the MicroSD card and eMMC. So, for loading an OS, you will prefer an M.2 chip over the others, if you desire speed.
Networking
There are two Ethernet ports support network speeds from 10MB/s to 2.5 GB/ s. There is also an onboard Wi-Fi port. It supports Wi-Fi 6.
The Realtek 8852BE chip also supports Bluetooth 5.2.
USB
The USB ports are two that support USB 2.0 Type-A, two that support 3.1 Gen 1 Host Type-A and one 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C OTG.
Keep in mind that you can use the Type-C port as a video port or as a USB OTG port. The On-the-Go (OTG) allows a device to act as a Host or Peripheral. For example, you can connect to a USB-C drive to use the drive as a peripheral and copy data to or from it. You can use the C port to connect to a computer, and the Rock 5T will then be a peripheral to the computer that acts as a Host.
NOTE: The USB-C port is not used to power the Rock 5T. The port is OTG and not Power Delivery (PD).
Linux
Now that we have the specs out of the way, we can install an Operating System (OS) on it. Looking at 'https://docs.radxa.com/en/rock5/rock5t/download'. You can download the official OS, Debian Bookworm (12) with KDE. The link is to GitHub, and the version is a Build 2. If you go to GitHub, at ‘https://github.com/radxa-build/rock-5t/release’ you can get Build 2 or Build 3. When I tried Build 3, I found that when I did an update, it failed, but remained bootable.
For now, you only need to choose one, and we can get the system set up to install to an NVMe. The NVMe I used is a PNY 1 TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 x4. Be sure to connect the NVMe on the bottom of the Rock 5T board.
So, download one image from GitHub and use Balena Etcher to burn the image to an SD card. It is best to use a 32 GB SD card or larger. We will need the space to download images for the Armbian builds.
Once the image is on the SD card, place it in the SD card slot. Hook up the keyboard, mouse and HDMI. If you use it, plug in the Ethernet cord as well, or use Wi-Fi. Make sure you use a 12V plug with 3A and a plug size of 5.5mmX2.5mm (5525). If the amps are lower, you may not have the power to support the NVMe.
After the system boots, there should be two accounts to choose from on the screen; either is fine to use:
Here, there will be a menu. Use the UP and DOWN arrows to move to the menu you want and press Enter to access it. Use the Escape key at any time to go back one menu.
The main menu is:
Now, you can press the Escape key a few times to get back to a terminal prompt.
Open the web browser and go to the site ‘https://www.armbian.com/radxa-rock-5t/’. Here, you can choose an image that you desire to load onto the NVMe. Make sure you get Armbian images for the Rock 5T and not other boards. Download the image, which would save by default in the ‘Downloads’ folder.
Once the download is done, go back to the terminal, and you should be in your home directory. The example command I give will assume you are using the ‘Radxa’ user account. If you are using the ‘Rock’ account, then change the name as needed in the command:
Also, you will need to change the filename if you download a different file. Start typing the command in the terminal and press the TAB key to auto-complete the name.
After the copy has finished, perform a reboot or shutdown. If you reboot, then remove the SD card when the light remains green and stops blinking blue. The system should continue the restart and boot from the NVMe.
During the startup, the system should ask you:
Conclusion
The little Single Board Computer (SBC) is definitely more powerful than those I’ve seen in the past. The ARM chips have increased in power and ability.
With the Rock 5T having multiple Ethernet ports, you can use it as a Pi-Hole, or a router to sit between your Internet Gateway and Local Area Network (LAN). With the multiple HDMI ports, as well as an input port, you can use it to capture video from another computer or device.
Since the Rock Pi 4, by Radxa, there have been a few newer boards. In this article, I will cover the Rock 5T board.
Specifications
There is a lot of hardware on this board. This is a major update to the Rock Pi 4.
Let's look at some of the hardware specs in the Rockchip RK3588:
- CPU
- Cortex-A76 at 2.4 GHz (4 cores)
- Cortex-A55 at 1.8 GHz (4 cores)
- GPU
- Mali G610MP4
- Support for:
- OpenGLES 1.1/2.0/3.2
- OpenCL 1.1/1/2/2.2
- Vulkan 1.1 and 1.2
- Video
- Ports
- Two HDMI
- One DP (Type C)
- One MIPI DSI
- Resolution
- 3x 4K@60FPS + 1x 1080P@60FPS
- 1x 8K@60FPS + 1x 4K@60FPS + 1x 1080P@60FPS
- 1x standard HDMI input port with up to 4Kp60 display input support
- Hardware Codecs (built-in)
- H.265/H.264/AV1/AVS2 Hardware Decoding Up to 8K@60fps
- H.265/H.264 Hardware code up to 8K@30fps
- Ports
- NPU
- Data Types: INT4/INT8/INT16/FP16/BF16 and TF32 acceleration
- Theoretical 6TOPs
- RAM
- 4/8/16/24/32 64-bit LPDDR5
- Storage
- On-board eMMC module: 0/32/64/128/256 GB
- Slot for MicroSD card
- M.2
- The M.2 M Key connector allows two dual-channel PCIe 3.0 interfaces for M.2 2280
- M.2 B Key connector, which provides USB signals and supports 4G modules (SIM card can be used)
- Networking
- 10/100/1000/2500M Ethernet
- On-board WiFi Realtek 8852BE that support Wi-Fi 6
- USB
- 2x USB 2 port
- 2x USB 3 HOST port
- 1x USB-C port
There are other hardware specs, but these are the main ones that you should know. Let's look over these a bit.
CPU
The CPU is ARM v8. The Cortex-A76 CPU is an improvement over the Cortex A-75. Keep in mind that the Rock Pi 4 used a Cortex-A72 CPU. These CPUs have a higher energy efficiency.
NOTE: At the time of this article being written, the Cortex-A78 (ARM v8) was made, but there are higher models, such as the Cortex-X series, Cortex-A720 and Cortex-A520. These CPUs are based on ARMv9.
The Cortex-A76 also uses DynamIQ technology. This ability allows multiple CPUs to work together more efficiently for better processing. The A76 works best with the Cortex-A55. There is a higher performance level over older Cortex chips, with the ability of sustained performance.
GPU
The GPU has four cores and uses the Valhall architecture.
You should notice the resolutions and codecs that are built in to the GPU.
You should note that if you missed it above, there is a standard HDMI input that supports up to 4Kp60. Yes, you read that right; there is an HDMI input for use as a capture device.
NPU
The Neural Processing Unit (NPU) is used to speed up Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning systems.
These chips are used to handle voice help, image/video processing and other AI programs.
The NPU can handle 6 Trillion Operations Per Second (TOPS).
Storage
Under the SBC is where the MicroSD card slot is located as well as two slots for M.2 M Key 2280 chips.
The NVMe will be much faster than the MicroSD card and eMMC. So, for loading an OS, you will prefer an M.2 chip over the others, if you desire speed.
Networking
There are two Ethernet ports support network speeds from 10MB/s to 2.5 GB/ s. There is also an onboard Wi-Fi port. It supports Wi-Fi 6.
The Realtek 8852BE chip also supports Bluetooth 5.2.
USB
The USB ports are two that support USB 2.0 Type-A, two that support 3.1 Gen 1 Host Type-A and one 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C OTG.
Keep in mind that you can use the Type-C port as a video port or as a USB OTG port. The On-the-Go (OTG) allows a device to act as a Host or Peripheral. For example, you can connect to a USB-C drive to use the drive as a peripheral and copy data to or from it. You can use the C port to connect to a computer, and the Rock 5T will then be a peripheral to the computer that acts as a Host.
NOTE: The USB-C port is not used to power the Rock 5T. The port is OTG and not Power Delivery (PD).
Linux
Now that we have the specs out of the way, we can install an Operating System (OS) on it. Looking at 'https://docs.radxa.com/en/rock5/rock5t/download'. You can download the official OS, Debian Bookworm (12) with KDE. The link is to GitHub, and the version is a Build 2. If you go to GitHub, at ‘https://github.com/radxa-build/rock-5t/release’ you can get Build 2 or Build 3. When I tried Build 3, I found that when I did an update, it failed, but remained bootable.
For now, you only need to choose one, and we can get the system set up to install to an NVMe. The NVMe I used is a PNY 1 TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 x4. Be sure to connect the NVMe on the bottom of the Rock 5T board.
So, download one image from GitHub and use Balena Etcher to burn the image to an SD card. It is best to use a 32 GB SD card or larger. We will need the space to download images for the Armbian builds.
Once the image is on the SD card, place it in the SD card slot. Hook up the keyboard, mouse and HDMI. If you use it, plug in the Ethernet cord as well, or use Wi-Fi. Make sure you use a 12V plug with 3A and a plug size of 5.5mmX2.5mm (5525). If the amps are lower, you may not have the power to support the NVMe.
After the system boots, there should be two accounts to choose from on the screen; either is fine to use:
- user: Radxapassword: radxa
- user: Rockpassword: rock
Code:
sudo rsetupHere, there will be a menu. Use the UP and DOWN arrows to move to the menu you want and press Enter to access it. Use the Escape key at any time to go back one menu.
The main menu is:
- System
- Hardware
- Overlays
- Connectivity
- User Settings
- Localization
- Common Tasks
- About
- Update Bootloader
- Update SPI Bootloader
- Update eMMC Boot Partition
- Erase SPI Bootloader
- Erase eMMC Boot Partition
Now, you can press the Escape key a few times to get back to a terminal prompt.
Open the web browser and go to the site ‘https://www.armbian.com/radxa-rock-5t/’. Here, you can choose an image that you desire to load onto the NVMe. Make sure you get Armbian images for the Rock 5T and not other boards. Download the image, which would save by default in the ‘Downloads’ folder.
Once the download is done, go back to the terminal, and you should be in your home directory. The example command I give will assume you are using the ‘Radxa’ user account. If you are using the ‘Rock’ account, then change the name as needed in the command:
Code:
sudo xzcat /home/radxa/Downloads/Armbian_25.5.1_Rock-5t_noble_vendor_6.1.115_kde-neon_desktop.img.xz | sudo dd of=/dev/nvme0n1 bs=1M status=progressAlso, you will need to change the filename if you download a different file. Start typing the command in the terminal and press the TAB key to auto-complete the name.
After the copy has finished, perform a reboot or shutdown. If you reboot, then remove the SD card when the light remains green and stops blinking blue. The system should continue the restart and boot from the NVMe.
During the startup, the system should ask you:
- Set ROOT password
- choose your shell (BASH or ZSH)
- Enter your Username
- Type the password and verify it for the user account
- Your real name
- The Timezone should be detected, but you can change it
- Set the locale based on Timezone
Conclusion
The little Single Board Computer (SBC) is definitely more powerful than those I’ve seen in the past. The ARM chips have increased in power and ability.
With the Rock 5T having multiple Ethernet ports, you can use it as a Pi-Hole, or a router to sit between your Internet Gateway and Local Area Network (LAN). With the multiple HDMI ports, as well as an input port, you can use it to capture video from another computer or device.
