ASUS Tinker board - Raspberry Pi Killer - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: boffin
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2017, 05:14:40 am
content: Looks like ASUS have got into the gameQuad Core ARM Cortex A17 @1.8GHz2GB RAMGB EthernetBuilt-in WiFi4k videosame board layout as the Pi 3, including IO headershttps://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/01/asus-tinker-board-price-specs-release-date/https://www.cnet.com/products/asus-tinker-board/preview/$70

author: TheSteve
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2017, 05:59:47 am
content: Won't kill anything, it's double the price of a pi.

author: boffin
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2017, 06:06:08 am
content: Quote from: TheSteve on January 26, 2017, 05:59:47 amI disagreetwice the ramtwice the performance4k videoonboard WiFi.Just the Wifi makes it a better package for a lot of things, vs hanging a dongle out the side

author: TheSteve
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2017, 06:08:19 am
content: The current raspberry pi (the pi III) has wifi and Bluetooth integrated.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2017, 06:10:56 am
content: Quote from: boffin on January 26, 2017, 06:06:08 amThen twice the cost and you may start looking for cheap x86 solution as well. EDIT: and yes, RPi3 has wifi.

author: boffin
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2017, 06:21:45 am
content: Quote from: TheSteve on January 26, 2017, 06:08:19 am/facepalmHad really stopped thinking about Pis due to the lack of WiFi back in the RPi2 days. But I still think it has its place

author: bitwelder
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2017, 06:23:06 am
content: Quote from: boffin on January 26, 2017, 06:06:08 amWell, if someone doesn't need twice the RAM or the performance, then s/he won't be ready to pay twice the price.Especially if with RasPi 3 one can benefit from the huge hw/sw ecosystem that has developed around it.

author: JacquesBBB
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2017, 07:20:39 am
content: It will not kill the Rpi, but it is a very serious competitor for the Beaglebone Black which is selling at the same price.

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2017, 08:05:07 am
content: Doubt it'll kill the Pi but bring it on, competition stimulates development so with a bit of luck we all win.There's a couple of advantages to the tinker board, gigabit ethernet, 4K, more RAM, possibility of using external WiFi antennae but the CPU, 32 bit instructions only and the pipe from the GbE PHY, is it fast enough to make it any more than a nice number?

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2017, 08:12:33 am
content: It will fail or succeed depending on the SW community adopting it and supporting it.Lets see what happens, I think it is good that there is more choice, esp. that this has its own PHY for ethernet is what I find important and think the pi is lacking with its crippled USB ethernet solution.

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2017, 08:45:41 am
content: Quote from: Kjelt on January 26, 2017, 08:12:33 amThat's kind of what I was hinting at, the Pi is an excellent little board but the USB peripheral interconnect lets it down badly. The other nice thing about the Tinker Board is the 24 bit audio.As always, software and ecosystem will determine its success.I wish it all the luck in the world, these brilliant little boards are the home compuiter revolution of the 2000s and the more the merrier

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2017, 10:28:36 am
content: Quote from: CJay on January 26, 2017, 08:45:41 amMwah I would rather call it an IoTdevice enabler, these boards make it possible for almost anybody to create their own internet connected device at home.A lot of them are used as htpc , media player, mame player and that sort of stuff, but due to their low power and processing capabilities, they are in essence great to control and measure domotica stuff.

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2017, 12:27:28 pm
content: Its not a Pi killer unless it breaks the single host USB 2.0 port <=> networking and off-board mass storage bottleneck*or offers a *VERY* competitive price:performance ratio . . . .* The RK3288 datasheet can be found(4.8Mb). It looks like it has on-chip Ethernet and 2 host capable USB2.0 interfaces so hopefully ASUS haven't cheap-skated it with an all in one USB hub and Ethernet chip.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2017, 12:34:23 pm
content: Quote from: boffin on January 26, 2017, 06:06:08 amirrelevantirrelevantirrelevantrPi3 has it also.There are dongles, which hang out 2-3mm from the USB port, hence irrelevant.

author: suicidaleggroll
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2017, 04:08:30 pm
content: These kinds of boards are made or broken by their support. The RPi ecosystem is fantastic, Rockchip...not so much. We'll see if ASUS can/will properly step up to the plate, or if they're just going to sluff them off on users and hope the community will test/fix the no doubt numerous holes and bugs in the software for them, like most other "Raspberry Pi Killer" manufacturers do.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2017, 12:25:33 am
content: I could see it having uses, but for what I'm doing with my Raspberry Pi the higher cost is a deal breaker. I don't need a lot of power, what I do need is a low cost machine with low power consumption.Also as mentioned already, the software support is very important, more so than the cost or the horsepower even.

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2017, 11:54:05 am
content: Quote from: james_s on January 27, 2017, 12:25:33 amDoes the pi support automatic low power modes, so not sleep but for instance running on 20MHz instead of the high frequency?

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2017, 04:49:21 pm
content: Quote from: Kjelt on January 27, 2017, 11:54:05 amI don't know, it only draws something like 2.5-3 Watts at full power so I never had any reason to try to reduce the power consumption. My alarm clock draws more than that.

author: a_beaglebone
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 29, 2017, 09:21:21 am
content: Quote from: Ian.M on January 26, 2017, 12:27:28 pmThe same is shown in this diagram as well,http://www.rk3288.com/images/schema.pngIt has a separate interface for USB 2.

author: a_beaglebone
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 29, 2017, 09:26:02 am
content: I think ODROID-XU4 is a better option than this, but it does not come with built in wireless.

author: slicendice
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2017, 10:24:51 am
content: The Tinker Board is a great device. It won't however KILL anything. It is more of an alternative.If one needs twice the CPU, Memory, Networking etc... performance gain compared to the R-Pi then this board is an excellent choice. As far as I know this board is fully R-Pi and Arduino compatible. You can even stick it into an original R-Pi case. The software/OS is/are however not as mature as R-Pi. Asus has been working hard on fixing bugs. For serius Python developers on IoT devices, this board is a great alternative. But there are even more powerful IoT boards out there, that are more than twice the price of the Tinker Board.In the end it is all about your own requirements. For some an Arduino or a single ATMega chip is enough, for others R-Pi 1/2/3, and for some the Tinker Board and the better performing devices gives that small advantage some tinkerers need.I believe that the most enthusiastic IoT fanatics own them all. :-)

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2017, 11:35:47 am
content: Quote from: CJay on January 26, 2017, 08:05:07 am32 bit instructions only?Hands up all those who have ever run a 64 bit instruction on a Pi 3...There is still a year and a half later no 64 bit Raspbian, no 64 bit Debian. There have been some individual hacks, and SUSE put up their hand in January, but how many people have used that?As opposed to the Odroid C2 which came out about the same time as the Pi 3, only $5 more, a lot faster, twice the RAM, much faster SD interface (and eMMC), gig ethernet .. and a 64 bit OS from day one. No WIFI though.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2017, 03:16:41 am
content: At least it's not Broadcom. RK3288 documentation looks to be quite available.

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2017, 08:09:56 am
content: I prefer to think of all these boards as alternatives, there's the usual tribalism around Beaglebone Black, Pi, Orange Pi, Banana Pi, Arduino etc.etc. and they all have a place, the main thing Pi has is an incredible community and the manufacturers are very active too.I once got lectured about how Pi wasn't good enough because they were being bought and used as media players and that it was sad but to me that's an amazing advantage, because those people who know nothing about Linux, programming etc. have contributed to a huge maker community and helped pay for further development, it's also sparked a huge number of clones, alternatives, all sorts. I've spoken to all sorts of people who are tinkering with Pi and Linux because of Pi and other boards.If the popular, cheap boards encourage people to hack (classical use of the word) hardware, software etc. then it's all good as far as I'm concerned.