Researched, not hands-on tested.How we review ›
all judged against single-board computers at a similar priceThe Orange Pi 5 Plus scores 7.4/10 overall, ahead of the Radxa ROCK 5C at 6.5/10.
The Orange Pi 5 Plus leads on storage and I/O and networking.
They score the same on software support, performance and value.
The biggest difference is storage, where the Orange Pi 5 Plus scores 9/10 to the Radxa ROCK 5C's 5/10.
The Orange Pi 5 Plus suits homelabbers who want an RK3588 board for a NAS, router or multi-display project. It gives them dual 2.5GbE and an NVMe slot on one board. It asks for more patience with software than a Raspberry Pi does.
Check price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details
The ROCK 5C is for homelabbers and developers who want a lot of CPU and RAM in a small board. It suits people who are happy to follow Radxa's own Debian and Android images or the third-party systems listed for it. It is a weaker fit if you want native M.2 storage.
Check price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details
| Criterion | Weight | Orange Pi 5 Plus | Radxa ROCK 5C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software support | 30% | 5/10 | 5/10 |
| Performance | 25% | 9/10 | 9/10 |
| Storage | 15% | 9/10 | 5/10 |
| I/O and networking | 15% | 8/10 | 6/10 |
| Value | 15% | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Overall | 7.4/10 | 6.5/10 |
| Spec | Orange Pi 5 Plus | Radxa ROCK 5C |
|---|---|---|
| Processor (SoC) | Rockchip RK3588 (8nm), four Cortex-A76 cores up to 2.4GHz and four Cortex-A55 cores up to 1.8GHz, Mali-G610 MP4 GPU, 6 TOPS NPU | Rockchip RK3588S2 |
| Memory | 4GB, 8GB, 16GB or 32GB (optional configurations) | 4GB, 8GB, 16GB or 32GB; V1.1 uses LPDDR4X, V2.1 uses LPDDR5 |
| Storage options | QSPI NOR flash 16MB/32MB, microSD slot, eMMC module socket (16GB to 256GB modules), M.2 M-key PCIe 3.0 x4 slot | 1x eMMC connector, 1x microSD card slot, no SPI flash; no native M.2 slot; PCIe 2.1 1-lane via FPC connector |
| Networking | Two 2.5G Ethernet ports; Wi-Fi/Bluetooth only via M.2 E-key module (not on board) | Gigabit Ethernet (PoE via optional HAT), WiFi 6, BT 5.4 with external antenna connector |
| GPIO | 40-pin expansion header (Raspberry Pi compatible) with GPIO, I2C, UART, SPI, CAN and PWM | 40-pin header, Raspberry Pi-style layout, 3.3V logic, up to 27 GPIO |
| Video outputs | Two HDMI outputs, one HDMI input, HDMI 2.1 8K output, Type-C DP1.4A, MIPI DSI | 1x HDMI 2.1 up to 8K, 1x MIPI DSI up to 2K |
| Power input | USB-C power input, recommended 5V/4A supply; no USB PD negotiation | 5V via USB Type-C; at least 10W recommended, 25W with full USB and PCIe load |
Skip it if:
Skip it if:
Compare all single-board computers · Best single-board computers