[Hardware] Rock Pi 4 Model C: NVMe and eMMC in a Raspberry Pi Layout

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It looks like a Raspberry Pi but this board has something more to offer.

 

 

Originally announced in October 2019, Rock Pi 4 Model C from Radxa has been unavailable for purchase until now. CNX Software have keenly spotted that the Rock Pi 4 Model C is now available from $59. Rock Pi 4 Model C is a design hybrid, measuring 3.3 x 2.1 inch (85 x  54 mm) this board shares layout cues from the Raspberry Pi 3 and 4 but it has a little more to it than a Raspberry Pi.

 

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Rock Pi 4C Specifications
SoC – Rockchip RK3399 big.LITTLE hexa-core processor with
CPU: 2x Arm Cortex-A72 @ up to 1.8 GHz, 4x Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.4 GHz
GPU: Mali-T864 with support OpenGL ES1.1/2.0/3.0/3.1/3.2, Vulkan 1.0, OpenVG1.1, OpenCL 1.1/1.2, DX11, and AFBC
VPU with 4K VP9 and 4K 10-bit H265/H264 decoding
64-bit 4GB LPDDR4 @ 3200 Mbps (single chip)
eMMC module socket up to 128GB
Micro SD card slot up to 2TB
4-lane M.2 NVMe SSD socket (expansion board required)
Micro HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz
Mini DP 1.2 up to 2560 x 1440 @ 60 Hz
Audio – Via HDMI and 3.5mm audio jack
Camera – MIPI-CSI2 connector for camera up to 8MP
Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet with PoE support (add on required), dual-band 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.0 with on-board antenna
USB – 1x USB 3.0 host port, 1x USB 3.0 OTG port, 2x USB 2.0 host ports
Expansion – 40-pin I/O header with 1x UART, 2x SPI bus, 2x I2C bus,  1x PCM/I2S, 1x SPDIF, 1x PWM, 1x ADC, 6x GPIO, and power signals (5V, 3.3V, and GND)
Misc – RTC with connector for backup battery
Power Supply – Via USB-C port supporting USB PD 2.0 (9V/2A, 12V/2A, 15V/2A, or 20V/2A) and Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0/.0 (9V/2A, 12V/1.5A)

 

 

The Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor features a dual core Arm Cortex A72 1.8GHz, the same A72 CPU as found in the Raspberry Pi 4, but the Raspberry Pi has a quad core CPU running at 1.5GHz, so with less cores but more speed will there be much difference in performance? We will need to get a hold of a unit for test! 

There are dual display outputs, micro HDMI and mini DisplayPort providing 4K @ 60Hz and 2560 x 1440 @ 60Hz respectively. Connectivity comes in the form of four USB ports, two USB 3.0, two USB2.0 and Gigabit Ethernet, so Raspberry Pi 4 connections, in a Raspberry Pi 3 layout. Wireless connectivity is  802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 via an on-board antenna, but there is an external antenna connection. A 40 pin GPIO is present, providing access to UART, SPI, I2C, PCM /I2S, SPDIF, PWM and an Analog to Digital Converter, something not found on the Raspberry Pi GPIO.