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Banana Pi BPI-M2 ZERO vs IceWhale ZimaBoard 2

Researched, not hands-on tested.How we review ›

all judged against single-board computers at a similar price

The IceWhale ZimaBoard 2 scores 6.3/10 overall, ahead of the Banana Pi BPI-M2 ZERO at 4.6/10.

The IceWhale ZimaBoard 2 leads on performance, storage and I/O and networking.

They score the same on software support and value.

The biggest difference is storage, where the IceWhale ZimaBoard 2 scores 7/10 to the Banana Pi BPI-M2 ZERO's 3/10.

Banana Pi BPI-M2 ZERO

Banana Pi BPI-M2 ZERO

4.6/10verdict: skip

The Banana Pi BPI-M2 ZERO is for people who want a small, wireless board for light, single-purpose jobs. It suits builders who already have Raspberry Pi Zero cases or GPIO accessories to reuse. It is a poor fit for anyone who needs wired networking, fast storage or a lot of memory.

Typically about £23.93 in the UK when we researched itCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)

Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details

ZimaBoard 2

IceWhale ZimaBoard 2

6.3/10verdict: good, not the best

The ZimaBoard 2 is for homelabbers who want a compact x86 board for a small NAS or Docker host. It offers an Intel N150, dual 2.5GbE and two SATA ports, with 8GB or 16GB of soldered RAM. It suits people who value low power draw and quiet running over upgradeability.

Typically about £288.89 in the UK when we researched itCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)

Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details

Scores, criterion by criterion

CriterionWeightBanana Pi BPI-M2 ZEROIceWhale ZimaBoard 2
Software support30%5/105/10
Performance25%5/107/10
Storage15%3/107/10
I/O and networking15%4/108/10
Value15%5/105/10
Overall4.6/106.3/10

Specifications

SpecBanana Pi BPI-M2 ZEROIceWhale ZimaBoard 2
Processor (SoC)Allwinner H3 quad-core Cortex-A7Intel N150 (4 cores, 4 threads, up to 3.6GHz)
Memory512 MB DDR3, shared with GPU8GB (832) or 16GB (1664) LPDDR5 4800 MHz, soldered and not upgradable
Storage optionsmicroSD (TF) card up to 64 GB; no onboard flash32GB (832) or 64GB (1664) onboard eMMC; two SATA 6Gbps ports
NetworkingOnboard Wi-Fi 802.11n via AP6212/K016 (SDIO); no onboard EthernetDual 2.5GbE
GPIO40-pin header, pin-compatible with Raspberry Pi 3not listed
Video outputsMini HDMI 1.4, 1080p30 output; decodes 1080p60 H.264, encodes 1080p30 H.264One Mini DisplayPort 1.4, up to 4K at 60Hz
Power inputMicro USB, 5V/2A12V DC barrel input, 60W adapter

Strengths and weaknesses

Banana Pi BPI-M2 ZERO

  • + Pin-compatible 40-pin GPIO header, matching Raspberry Pi 3
  • + Onboard 802.11n Wi-Fi
  • + Owners report Raspberry Pi Zero cases and accessories fit
  • − No onboard Ethernet; wired networking only via GPIO
  • − 512 MB of RAM, shared with the GPU
  • − microSD only, with a single USB 2.0 OTG port

Skip it if:

  • Anyone who needs onboard wired Ethernet or gigabit networking
  • Buyers wanting NVMe, M.2 or storage beyond a 64 GB microSD card
  • Homelabbers planning several containers or VMs on more than 512 MB of RAM
Read the full Banana Pi BPI-M2 ZERO review ›

IceWhale ZimaBoard 2

  • + Dual 2.5GbE with about 275 to 280 MB/s reported real-world
  • + Low idle power draw, and silent without the fan
  • + Two SATA 6Gbps ports plus a PCIe 3.0 x2 lane
  • − RAM and eMMC are soldered and cannot be upgraded
  • − Throttling and 90s C package temperatures in passive tests
  • − UK buyers can only pay in US dollars on Zima's store

Skip it if:

  • Buyers who want to upgrade RAM or onboard storage later
  • Anyone planning sustained heavy load with passive cooling
  • Projects that need a Raspberry Pi-style GPIO header
Read the full IceWhale ZimaBoard 2 review ›

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