Radxa ROCK 5B+

The RK3588's eight cores split into four performance cores running at 2.2 to 2.4GHz and four efficiency cores handling background tasks at lower speeds, a genuine big.LITTLE architecture that balances peak performance against power draw more intelligently than a simple quad-core design.

Up to 32GB of RAM is available, and the rear-mounted M.2 M-key NVMe slot is a genuinely thoughtful inclusion current reviewers specifically praise, giving real SSD-speed storage without an external adapter or USB enclosure.

2.5GbE networking alongside a standard Gigabit port, USB 3.2 Gen 1 on the front, HDMI input (described as wild and useful, since few SBCs accept HDMI as an input rather than only output), and proper Power over Ethernet support through the official HAT combine into a genuinely well-rounded connectivity package for both desktop and server use cases.

This board includes a 6 TOPS NPU that works for specific use cases like Frigate network video recorder object detection, though current guidance is candid that the broader AI software story on this NPU is rough compared to NVIDIA's Jetson line; buyers specifically wanting AI capability should treat this as a bonus feature rather than the primary reason to buy.

Against the Orange Pi 5 Plus, covered elsewhere on this site, both share the same RK3588 processor, but this ROCK 5B+ is specifically praised for its more thoughtful design, particularly the rear M.2 NVMe slot and HDMI input the Orange Pi doesn't match. Against the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Super, also covered elsewhere on this site, that board is the right choice specifically for AI work this board's NPU handles only partially.