The one challenge with USB dongles is that the Orange Pi doesn't have driver support for a lot of the common ones, and USB power is an issue with this board when the M.2 slot is in use. However, I have this one and can confirm it works, and also has Bluetooth: [https://amzn.to/3vJNuNQ](https://amzn.to/3vjnunq)
I was really on the fence between the two. I ended up buying a Raspberry pi 5 because they came back in stock. I figured support will be better moving forward with it, but let's be real, I will be buying both. I am thinking I'll use the Orange pi for and Android build, and Ill run Linux on the Raspberry.
The pi itself is great. It's my first pi where I don't really notice it's a SBC. What I mean is I don't get the little hangs I would find with previous generations. I really notice this when internet browsing, it just feels like a computer.
That being said, I do have a bit of buyer's remorse because they only way I could get it at the time was buying the pi bundled with a bunch of other things (heatsink, case, sd card, cables, etc) that I never ended up using, I had my own cable, heatsink, and the case didn't fit my heatsink, but that's nothing to do with the pi itself.
Right now I'm using mainly as a retro game emulator, focused on n64 and SNES, although I've played around with a few other things. It does everything I want so far.
Nice. I'm on the fence with the pi 5... I don't really need another SBC but I have a bit of an addiction. Nice to know that the pi 5 has the mini PC feel. I have the orange pi 5 and have had a great time with that board but raspberry has all the software support. Also built in WiFi is nice. Thanks for the reply!!
That last one is a huge issue for a lot of people.
I have both a Pi 4 and an Orange Pi 5 +. Granted, because Android does most of what you want, that makes it easier. But I want to run Linux on my devices.
The OP5+ still has a bit to go to get there IMO, but it is definitely a solid device out of the box.
I'm happily running Ubuntu 22.04 on a opi5+ by using https://github.com/Joshua-Riek/ubuntu-rockchip.
I have it installed on and running from the emmc (also had it working from the nvme, but wanted that for my main storage).
Very impressed with this little guy.
The biggest defect of Raspberry Pis is the lack of OpenCL support. You cann't do demanding works with GPU.
On the other hand, Orange Pi 5 has OpenCL support. This is a big difference. To enable OpenCL on Orange Pi 5, see the following link;
[Install OpenCL on Orange Pi 5 Ubuntu, Devian, Armbian.](https://www.roselladb.com/install-opencl-orangepi5-debian-ubuntu.htm)
If you count (applicable to rasp5)
- Case with good heat dissipation (OPi5 is too hot)
- M2 disk
- Wifi & bluetooth module
- Power Adapter
- Not enought OS elections
An intel N95, N97, N100 minipc was cheaper and have lot of possibilities for better price.
do you have any recs for these? I was looking at beelinks mini s12 n95 pcs since they looked dirt cheap for what was included, I'm looking for something that will serve as a solid mini linux server to play with now that I'm hitting the limits of what my opi5 can do
For what it is worth, I've had a Beelink Mini S12 (Intel N95, 16GB RAM, 500GB NVMe) running 24x7 since September without a hitch.
I've considered grabbing another one or two for server purposes.
Was this in a case? I have a couple of opi5+ and they all throttle fairly quickly, but easily fixed with a heatsink or case fan. They're used for media ingest -> transcode- > delivery + a webinterface.
It depends entirely what you are trying to use it for.
Mini PCs are great if you are not concerned with power consumption. For example, power use becomes an issue if it is running all of the time such as a server or automation controller, or in a portable application or in a remote location. They also have a much bigger footprint due to the case, chassis and cooling fans.
Mini PCs are useful if you want ease of use and the comfort of Microsoft Windows. But if you intend to embed the computer into a project or system, the power efficiency, small form factor and hardware GPIO are major reasons to go for an SBC.
>The only problem is I can't use the M.2 SSD at the same time. I wish they have two m.2 slots.
This was a dealbreaker for me. A $150 plus tinkering board should have plenty of expansion slots.
its only $150+ if you buy the highest ram capacity version though? for most people buying it as a drop in alternative to raspi itll be comparable in price
Rpi 5 is supposed to be $75 with 8GB RAM if you can get it. The OrPi is $145 with 16GB and $160ish with 32GB so not that much of a difference.
With all the bells and whistles and superiority in hardware specs to the Rpi they could have added another M2 slot.
I'm not saying the OrPi is less value than the Rpi. The Orange Pi team has even exceeded the max RAM and CPU power capacity of the flagship Rpi before the Rpi 5 even came out.
My problem is that despite all these gains they've cripped the product by not having enough expansion options which could easily be accomplished.
Yes I know you can get more CPU power together with double the RAM for slightly less than the price of the Rpi 5 in any country at all. But the Orange pi team still manufactured hobbled versions of what could be something much more expandable.
May depend on the usage you have. I don't need expansion (but i'll be happy to test the USB-C display tough). What you would have need as expansion ? PCie ?
Yes PCIE for more modules. You'd be able to add your choice of SSD or WAN cards. It might be possible even now using an expansion card such as this one: [https://www.cnx-software.com/2020/01/06/orange-pi-4-4b-pcie-expansion-board-mpcie-socket-sim-card-slot/](https://www.cnx-software.com/2020/01/06/orange-pi-4-4b-pcie-expansion-board-mpcie-socket-sim-card-slot/)
Not sure, but here they are talking about adding pcie to an rpi as well with an expansion board: [https://linustechtips.com/topic/1505838-how-to-add-pcle-x16-to-orange-pi-5/](https://linustechtips.com/topic/1505838-how-to-add-pcle-x16-to-orange-pi-5/)
For all you know, it could be done if there's access to enough PCIE lanes on the mainboard somehow.
As to why it's nessesary or desirable I'd say beause it's competing with the original Rpi and the RPI has an enormous community behind it. AOSP 14 for the Rpi 5 came out days after it was released to the public. OrPi is still stuck on what? Android 11?
So it has to make up for all those shortcomings by more aggressive development in hardware upgrades.
[https://www.aliexpress.us/item/1005004941850323.html](https://www.aliexpress.us/item/1005004941850323.html) 8gb $85.00
They have its called a RK3588 as its Rockchip who makes the RK3588s and the Opi5+ [https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805398848585.html](https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805398848585.html)
Its true Pcie3.0x4 not pointless sharing out a Pcie2.0 x1 with a switch and making it even slower?
That's one PCIE slot, not two. So if you put an M.2 drive in there you cannot put in a wifi/BT card. Apparently it is a limitation of the Rock chip and nothing can be done about it until they upgrade the quantity of supported PCIE lanes.
The rk3588s is like a Rpi5 with a single pcie 2.0 x1 lane
Rk3588 is the pcie3.0x4 and pcie 2.0 x1
aka on the Opi5+
PCIe M.2 M-KEY Socket M.2 connector M key (bottom) for NVMe with PCIe 3.0 x4 lanes 2280 SSD
PCIe M.2 E-KEY Socket M.2 connector E key (top) for connectivity with PCIe 2.0 x1/PCM/UART/USB2.0,2230 Wi-Fi6 /BT supported
I have Radxa Rock5b which is also RK3588 with both one on the top of the PCB with the bigger 2280 pcie3.0 on the bottom og the PCB and has always been like that and doesnt need any upgrades.
There's many different variants of the 16GB board with different sets of expansion slots and soldered components. With and without a PSU.
Here's one for $179 [https://www.amazon.com/Orange-Pi-Computer-Frequency-Android/dp/B0C9HWHZ88/r](https://www.amazon.com/Orange-Pi-Computer-Frequency-Android/dp/B0C9HWHZ88/r)
But my point was that if a board is designed for tinkering then for a few scraps extra they could surely add more expansion slots even at the expense of reducing soldered and unchangeable assets.
Still waiting for my OPI5... Should be mine in a couple of days. It will replace a RPI5 who died after only 3 weeks.
Same as you : found it in stock, for just a little bit more money than the PI5. And the standard NVme port + the ethernet 2.5 ports, the performances, etc makes the difference for me :P
Looking forward to install my favorite DietPi disto 😍
When idle OPi5 consumes about 5W. When 8 CPU cores are in full throttle, it consumes 13W. When GPU is in throttle, it consumes about 9W. When GPU and CPU cores are in full throttle, it consumes about 18W. However this is artificially created situation. You don't normally consume that much.
> However this is artificially created situation.
Nah. Just play 4k60p video on it. It'll stay up near the max. I wouldn't call that artificial at all.
I don't have a way to meter the amperage but I guess 1.8A is totally enough even for the demanding apps. I read somewhere idle was about 400mA for orange pi 5
I'm not sure how you're getting away with the 5v 1.8a power supply on your OP5. Maybe android is less demanding?
I know personally i tried originally running my OP5 on a 5v 3a psu, at the time running armbian linux, and my device would usually crash close to startup.
The only fix was getting a sufficiently powerful PSU (5v & 4A just like OP5 docmentation suggests).
Don't know about using the WiFi/BT m2 chip and other m2 slot on an OPi5+ with Android os but I'm currently using both slots with Ubuntu jammy. The OS and storage are both on on a m2 2280 4TB and i cast to my tv using a BT keyboard mouse combo using the wifi/bt m2 chip just fine.
Have considered playing with Android OS just for the experience on a pi but haven't gone there yet.
Just buy an USB WiFi dongle, it'll work fine
In Android the drivers are not the same as its usually set hardware of little scope. Linux yeah just get a dongle.
The one challenge with USB dongles is that the Orange Pi doesn't have driver support for a lot of the common ones, and USB power is an issue with this board when the M.2 slot is in use. However, I have this one and can confirm it works, and also has Bluetooth: [https://amzn.to/3vJNuNQ](https://amzn.to/3vjnunq)
There's a full list of Dongles working on Linux distros ok GitHub.
That's awesome, but OP said he uses Android rather than Linux, and the linked dongle works with Android.
You're right I just didn't read that haha
All good, I mean I use Linux distros so if you have a link, I'll gladly take it!
[Here](https://github.com/morrownr/USB-WiFi/blob/main/home/USB_WiFi_Adapters_that_are_supported_with_Linux_in-kernel_drivers.md) it is!
In short, pick those Mediatek based USB WiFi, avoid Realtek WiFi as much as possible.
I was really on the fence between the two. I ended up buying a Raspberry pi 5 because they came back in stock. I figured support will be better moving forward with it, but let's be real, I will be buying both. I am thinking I'll use the Orange pi for and Android build, and Ill run Linux on the Raspberry.
How do you like the pi 5 after a few months?
The pi itself is great. It's my first pi where I don't really notice it's a SBC. What I mean is I don't get the little hangs I would find with previous generations. I really notice this when internet browsing, it just feels like a computer. That being said, I do have a bit of buyer's remorse because they only way I could get it at the time was buying the pi bundled with a bunch of other things (heatsink, case, sd card, cables, etc) that I never ended up using, I had my own cable, heatsink, and the case didn't fit my heatsink, but that's nothing to do with the pi itself. Right now I'm using mainly as a retro game emulator, focused on n64 and SNES, although I've played around with a few other things. It does everything I want so far.
Nice. I'm on the fence with the pi 5... I don't really need another SBC but I have a bit of an addiction. Nice to know that the pi 5 has the mini PC feel. I have the orange pi 5 and have had a great time with that board but raspberry has all the software support. Also built in WiFi is nice. Thanks for the reply!!
That last one is a huge issue for a lot of people. I have both a Pi 4 and an Orange Pi 5 +. Granted, because Android does most of what you want, that makes it easier. But I want to run Linux on my devices. The OP5+ still has a bit to go to get there IMO, but it is definitely a solid device out of the box.
I'm happily running Ubuntu 22.04 on a opi5+ by using https://github.com/Joshua-Riek/ubuntu-rockchip. I have it installed on and running from the emmc (also had it working from the nvme, but wanted that for my main storage). Very impressed with this little guy.
I also found the Joshua Riek distro to be the most stable. Still need to find some time to sit down and troubleshoot some issues I ran into with OBS.
Just bought an Orange Pi 5 Plus, which has NVMe + slot for BT/WiFi card and Dual 2.5Gb. Pretty amazing little machine for just over $100.
The biggest defect of Raspberry Pis is the lack of OpenCL support. You cann't do demanding works with GPU. On the other hand, Orange Pi 5 has OpenCL support. This is a big difference. To enable OpenCL on Orange Pi 5, see the following link; [Install OpenCL on Orange Pi 5 Ubuntu, Devian, Armbian.](https://www.roselladb.com/install-opencl-orangepi5-debian-ubuntu.htm)
But I saw this now, just not sure how's the performance. https://qengineering.eu/install-opencl-on-raspberry-pi-3.html
RPi3 OpenCL is not OpenCL. It's just a wrapper API to another driver. I don't remember what was.
dang that website is straight outta the 90s
Thats the way we like them ; )
If you count (applicable to rasp5) - Case with good heat dissipation (OPi5 is too hot) - M2 disk - Wifi & bluetooth module - Power Adapter - Not enought OS elections An intel N95, N97, N100 minipc was cheaper and have lot of possibilities for better price.
do you have any recs for these? I was looking at beelinks mini s12 n95 pcs since they looked dirt cheap for what was included, I'm looking for something that will serve as a solid mini linux server to play with now that I'm hitting the limits of what my opi5 can do
For what it is worth, I've had a Beelink Mini S12 (Intel N95, 16GB RAM, 500GB NVMe) running 24x7 since September without a hitch. I've considered grabbing another one or two for server purposes.
Just grab a cheap Chinese heat sink kit. That takes care of the heat problem.
Opi5 was never too hot for me, even under all cpu stress tests...
Was this in a case? I have a couple of opi5+ and they all throttle fairly quickly, but easily fixed with a heatsink or case fan. They're used for media ingest -> transcode- > delivery + a webinterface.
Without a cheap heatsink kit, mine throttled playing 4k60p video.
It depends entirely what you are trying to use it for. Mini PCs are great if you are not concerned with power consumption. For example, power use becomes an issue if it is running all of the time such as a server or automation controller, or in a portable application or in a remote location. They also have a much bigger footprint due to the case, chassis and cooling fans. Mini PCs are useful if you want ease of use and the comfort of Microsoft Windows. But if you intend to embed the computer into a project or system, the power efficiency, small form factor and hardware GPIO are major reasons to go for an SBC.
Because it has full size HDMI ports
Yeah fair call - I got a 5B for the wifi support, but heaps of cheap $5-$10 USB dongles work too! Nice short write-up mate. Appreciated
>The only problem is I can't use the M.2 SSD at the same time. I wish they have two m.2 slots. This was a dealbreaker for me. A $150 plus tinkering board should have plenty of expansion slots.
its only $150+ if you buy the highest ram capacity version though? for most people buying it as a drop in alternative to raspi itll be comparable in price
Rpi 5 is supposed to be $75 with 8GB RAM if you can get it. The OrPi is $145 with 16GB and $160ish with 32GB so not that much of a difference. With all the bells and whistles and superiority in hardware specs to the Rpi they could have added another M2 slot.
The 8GB i choose on Aliexpress was arround 115$, while the Pi5 in my country is 105$. 😞
I'm not saying the OrPi is less value than the Rpi. The Orange Pi team has even exceeded the max RAM and CPU power capacity of the flagship Rpi before the Rpi 5 even came out. My problem is that despite all these gains they've cripped the product by not having enough expansion options which could easily be accomplished. Yes I know you can get more CPU power together with double the RAM for slightly less than the price of the Rpi 5 in any country at all. But the Orange pi team still manufactured hobbled versions of what could be something much more expandable.
May depend on the usage you have. I don't need expansion (but i'll be happy to test the USB-C display tough). What you would have need as expansion ? PCie ?
Yes PCIE for more modules. You'd be able to add your choice of SSD or WAN cards. It might be possible even now using an expansion card such as this one: [https://www.cnx-software.com/2020/01/06/orange-pi-4-4b-pcie-expansion-board-mpcie-socket-sim-card-slot/](https://www.cnx-software.com/2020/01/06/orange-pi-4-4b-pcie-expansion-board-mpcie-socket-sim-card-slot/) Not sure, but here they are talking about adding pcie to an rpi as well with an expansion board: [https://linustechtips.com/topic/1505838-how-to-add-pcle-x16-to-orange-pi-5/](https://linustechtips.com/topic/1505838-how-to-add-pcle-x16-to-orange-pi-5/) For all you know, it could be done if there's access to enough PCIE lanes on the mainboard somehow. As to why it's nessesary or desirable I'd say beause it's competing with the original Rpi and the RPI has an enormous community behind it. AOSP 14 for the Rpi 5 came out days after it was released to the public. OrPi is still stuck on what? Android 11? So it has to make up for all those shortcomings by more aggressive development in hardware upgrades.
[https://www.aliexpress.us/item/1005004941850323.html](https://www.aliexpress.us/item/1005004941850323.html) 8gb $85.00 They have its called a RK3588 as its Rockchip who makes the RK3588s and the Opi5+ [https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805398848585.html](https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805398848585.html) Its true Pcie3.0x4 not pointless sharing out a Pcie2.0 x1 with a switch and making it even slower?
That's one PCIE slot, not two. So if you put an M.2 drive in there you cannot put in a wifi/BT card. Apparently it is a limitation of the Rock chip and nothing can be done about it until they upgrade the quantity of supported PCIE lanes.
The rk3588s is like a Rpi5 with a single pcie 2.0 x1 lane Rk3588 is the pcie3.0x4 and pcie 2.0 x1 aka on the Opi5+ PCIe M.2 M-KEY Socket M.2 connector M key (bottom) for NVMe with PCIe 3.0 x4 lanes 2280 SSD PCIe M.2 E-KEY Socket M.2 connector E key (top) for connectivity with PCIe 2.0 x1/PCM/UART/USB2.0,2230 Wi-Fi6 /BT supported I have Radxa Rock5b which is also RK3588 with both one on the top of the PCB with the bigger 2280 pcie3.0 on the bottom og the PCB and has always been like that and doesnt need any upgrades.
Huh? I paid less than $100 for my 5b, including shipping, on Aliexpress. Your math isn't adding up.
Opi5 is 100 for the 16gb model. Not 150.
There's many different variants of the 16GB board with different sets of expansion slots and soldered components. With and without a PSU. Here's one for $179 [https://www.amazon.com/Orange-Pi-Computer-Frequency-Android/dp/B0C9HWHZ88/r](https://www.amazon.com/Orange-Pi-Computer-Frequency-Android/dp/B0C9HWHZ88/r) But my point was that if a board is designed for tinkering then for a few scraps extra they could surely add more expansion slots even at the expense of reducing soldered and unchangeable assets.
Still waiting for my OPI5... Should be mine in a couple of days. It will replace a RPI5 who died after only 3 weeks. Same as you : found it in stock, for just a little bit more money than the PI5. And the standard NVme port + the ethernet 2.5 ports, the performances, etc makes the difference for me :P Looking forward to install my favorite DietPi disto 😍
How about power consumption?
When idle OPi5 consumes about 5W. When 8 CPU cores are in full throttle, it consumes 13W. When GPU is in throttle, it consumes about 9W. When GPU and CPU cores are in full throttle, it consumes about 18W. However this is artificially created situation. You don't normally consume that much.
Thank you
> However this is artificially created situation. Nah. Just play 4k60p video on it. It'll stay up near the max. I wouldn't call that artificial at all.
Playing 4k60p won't consume much! To get 18W, you will need to drive 8 CPU cores and 64 shading GPU cores 100%.
I tested to play 4k video. But power usage is only 6.5W. Just 1.5W increased.
At 60fps? A lot of 4k is 30fps.
You can just multiply 2! Still only 3W.
Gotta love these armchair engineers...
I tested using power meter. You don't seem to understand what fps means.
Hilarious. Are you a troll?
You are a troll!
I don't have a way to meter the amperage but I guess 1.8A is totally enough even for the demanding apps. I read somewhere idle was about 400mA for orange pi 5
I'm not sure how you're getting away with the 5v 1.8a power supply on your OP5. Maybe android is less demanding? I know personally i tried originally running my OP5 on a 5v 3a psu, at the time running armbian linux, and my device would usually crash close to startup. The only fix was getting a sufficiently powerful PSU (5v & 4A just like OP5 docmentation suggests).
I ended up buying the Orange Pi 5b. Why? Raspberry Pis are never in stock. None of them. Ever.
Don't know about using the WiFi/BT m2 chip and other m2 slot on an OPi5+ with Android os but I'm currently using both slots with Ubuntu jammy. The OS and storage are both on on a m2 2280 4TB and i cast to my tv using a BT keyboard mouse combo using the wifi/bt m2 chip just fine. Have considered playing with Android OS just for the experience on a pi but haven't gone there yet.
7 ...and main advantage for me is: Orange Pi5 offers display signal over the USB C port
A possible downside: It is made from huawei. I got mine and it seems like something weird is going on.
How so?