Top Five New SBCs 2019

[@AlRoderick]

Early sbcs: learning about machines. New sbcs: machine learning.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Top comment! :) There should be a special "top comment" button for this!

[@pakitech3413]

@@ExplainingComputers you can always pin the comment

[@LimbaZero]

Also for AI/ML check Ultra96-V2 (latest version). I'm now thinking should I get that or wait next one if it's done with Versal. Sad that they only used little too small MPSoC. ZU4EG would have 16Gbps xcvr :)

[@samevan4057]

Sorry to be offtopic but does any of you know of a method to log back into an Instagram account? I was stupid forgot the password. I love any tricks you can offer me!

[@robertbennett8017]

@Sam Evan instablaster :)

[@62shalaka]

Perfection hasn't quite made an appearance in the SBC market. The boards you cover are all very good, having their own strengths, but also some weaknesses. It's just a matter of time until the weaknesses are eliminated and we'll all be very happy! Great video, appreciate your diligent efforts, Chris!

[@salehmg7650]

Nothing's like a cup of tea and Chris's gentle voice.

[@GregoryMcCarthy123]

I bought a Jetson Nano after seeing one of your reviews about it. I was not disappointed! I think it’s the perfect kit for applying AI models. Up until now, us nerds could just train models and watch tutorials, but it was always difficult to think of applications for them. The nano seems to bridge that gap by allowing to attach a camera and run most modern AI models for a ridiculously low price

[@ExplainingComputers]

Great to hear this. You express the case for the Jetson Nano as a learning tool so well.

[@luirick]

Very well done Chris! That's the way an intelligent influencer pushes the industry to move forward.

[@GVSolo]

Thank you again Mr B for another great video. I definitely wanted to see your latest SBC ranking. The way I see it is that at the end it comes down to what you need an SBC for. It is great that there are a selection in different models and capabilities to choose from depending on your project. Variety and freedom of choice is always good.

[@PS_Tube]

Jetson Nano being on top is no surprise at all. Considering the price, it's one of the best single board computer.

[@sethrd999]

Not really

[@christianworshipplaylist3924]

Display Port!

[@Verpal]

Sweet sweet CUDA core, I can eat a couple hundred CUDA core for breakfast.

[@nux3960]

@@Verpal I eat *CHIPS* for breakfast

[@headgames4945]

I eat *SoCs* for breakfast

[@A5HI]

Hello Chris. I love your straight and detailed explanations on computer topics. Wish that new generations of people get into this world.

[@0dyss3us51]

I love the list and also the commenting, I think there is not enough "demand" in the debate on what we wish to see going forward, so I welcome it.

[@crnlbwlawson]

Excellent video as always Chris. I'm sure many will argue about your choices here, but that's what great about life, we each get to choose which we think is best. I believe you have done an EXCELLENT job of showing all aspects of each board and have shared with us the good, bad and ulgy so that we may make an informed choice on what would fill our needs. Appreciate you, your channel, and the time you take each week to bring us GREAT content! Excellent year review of SBC's. Thank you!!! - Brian

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks Brian.

[@MrJch24]

Christopher its great to see so much passion from a person in the same youthful age bracket as myself. I bet we could both make a tech museum between us from the stuff we have collected over the years. I love your content heaps buddy. Keep up the good work.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks.

[@KevinGreggain]

Thank you very much for this. I grew up on a Vic 20 with the IEEE-488 bus and had lots of fun with it. I kind of fell out of my component tinkering, but after catching a few of your videos on the SBCs and hearing your meticulously detailed reviews, I have become enthused again to tinker. I turn 60 this year, so it's not like I'm going to create any T800's anytime soon, but I'm opting for the Nvidia SBC with the strong hopes the cuda cores become accessible more as the hardware/software advances. Sorry for rambling, but just a high five for a most informative channel, and thank you for your passion and attention to detail that so many reviews lack on these products.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks for this. I think that you will enjoy the NVIDIA Jetson Nano -- there is so much you can do with it if you are prepared to invest some time. :)

[@markconger8049]

One more tip about the Pi 4, get a short microHDMI to full size female HDMI cable and leave it attached. That way there’s no wear from repeat insertions to the micro.

[@PerMejdal]

Make sure the cable supports CEC if you need it.

[@peterfielden-weston7560]

I was surprised at your inclusion of the LattePanda Alpha. Its price is so much higher that the other entries on this list as to move it out of the scope of an SBC. The one board that I was pleased to see included, the Raspberry Pi 3A+. This is extremely important for education systems with tighter budgets, and I feel that it will impact far more young people than all of the others on your list.

[@CXensation]

Do we agree? Of course not! We all have our individual favorite because its our applications that governs how we place a SBC on a list. I have my personal favorite, but thats not interesting because you guys will have a different favorite because of different demands. And thats how it should be such that we together push the development of SBC in the direction of general purpose highest performance at lowest possible costs. Thanks for your lead Chris! 💚

[@twmbarlwmstar]

I'm always interested, different use cases mean there's rarely a 'right' answer- except currently there is no sane reason to buy any Intel i5 desktop CPU that is.

[@heckyes]

This channel is so good. The quality of the content is so high.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks.

[@sugargliderdude]

i love this channel, its so nerdy :D

[@b0bfried463]

1:00 Rock Pi 4B 2:43 Raspberry Pi 3A+ 3:55 RaspberryPi 4B 6:23 LattePanda Alpha 8:33 Jetson Nano

[@send2gl]

Interesting comparisons and reasoning. No-one could disgree because it is personal opinions. I've only experienced the Pi devices, have eleven of them (Sad I know), every model B type except the 4B, each previous model bought for a purpose, I have two Zeros working on ADS-B aircraft plotting, two connected to TVs, one as a media and web server, another running VPN and yet another running Pi-Hole. The Pi restricts itself slightly via the pricing structure but is remaining faithful to its initial purpose so for that I applaud it.

[@jazzochannel]

I really like your consistent and professional presentation style. It is not sexy, the pauses between sentences are too long for my personal taste, but your videos are done in one go - no copy/paste editing. That is great! The intro sound is tacky, but it fits the subject(s). You are great! The topics you cover are great!

[@jazzochannel]

And wearing a clean black shirt? You're a pro, man!

[@jonjohnson2844]

Love these videos it's made like what people thought 2019 would be like in the 80's

[@s4ndwichMakeR]

Nexus 6 replicants?

[@MACTEP_CHOB]

@@s4ndwichMakeR lolwut

[@markj.9177]

Reminds me of the Computer Chronicles I used to watch on PBS when I was a kid.

[@mcshaggyswildadventures3952]

Thank you for helping me understand computing for 5 years, since I was 10. Thanks to you and many other great resources, I am knowledgeable about, can use well, and can enjoy computers.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Great to hear.

[@a2902793]

Before watching the video, I was skeptical about the orders of the list, yet the explanation was very persuasive with some additional perspectives that are seen few on other youtubers’ lists. Very nice work👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@NewAgeDIY]

A good round up of SBC's. I'm a fan of the Raspberry Pi. Chris. Mostly due to the available specialised software available along with the base community support. Although I am using one of my Pi's in my shop as a access point. I also use my Alpha as a family computer. You made some valuable points in this lineup and a nice trip down memory lane!

[@phildodd9942]

Hey! Great news! You were included on Google News today as something to watch in their tech section! Well done!!!

[@ExplainingComputers]

Wow! I had not seen this. Thanks for letting me know.

[@twmbarlwmstar]

@@ExplainingComputers It's just crazy how its snowballed isn't it. If someone had said to me you'd have half a million subscribers, even two years ago, I would have said they were daft. But look where you are now, no reason to think you won't have a million in another 12 months. And I feel, as I'm sure everyone does, made up for you because you did it your way not dancing to the Google algorithm with crash bang wollops and speaking at 100 words a minute.

[@ExplainingComputers]

@@twmbarlwmstar Thanks Jason. I was told many times -- in the comments here and elsewhere -- that the channel would never go much beyond 200K subs unless I "conformed" to the correct KZbin style and promotion methods. And I've' had thousands of comments that my videos are stuck in the 1950s/60s/70s/80s/90s or even 00s. Most commonly the 70s or 80s. But I always smile that they cannot agree which decade!

[@ethandoyle8812]

@@ExplainingComputers I'm new-ish to the channel but I can already say that I really like your style of videos. You give us the information without the extra fluff. It's a nice change compared to a lot of the other channels.

[@AlexKidd4Fun]

ExplainingComputers Hog wash! I love the style of your videos. Do it the way you want and they can go on with doing it someone else’s way and being miserable doing it! 😊

[@jimowen3764]

Thank you for reviewing these new single board computers!

[@extremelydave]

Excellent video yet again Chris. And you just go on being controversial..... that's how we change the same old standbys, eh? Onward and upward............minus a bit a money, but what's money FOR if not to get something we WANT.....

[@LuisEMartinez89]

I agree with Jetson Nano, I think is one of the best sbc considering all the power and the potential it has, and its hardware features! Thank you so much for sharing!

[@augurseer]

Morning Chris. Another Grand Sunday. Another Grand video.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Greetings Kirk. :)

[@MrDavidBFoster]

_"In the future, we'll be buying boards like this for a few tens of dollars..."_ That's actually what I dislike MOST about technology.. No sooner do I spend my last dollar on the "Newest and Coolest", than I see someone selling something twice as powerful, at half the size, for a fifth the price.

[@NewAgeDIY]

David Foster /. I agree but it's always going to happen with technology. Just look at cars, same problem. I always try to buy anything tech based with the understanding that soon it will cost less! It's part of life I guess, we don't have to like it, it's just there!

[@timoschannel1363]

@@DejanTesic even though I love ThinkPads, I don't think people who are in the market for a LattePanda would want an old ThinkPad. Old ThinkPads are bulky and and don't have good performance per watt. In addition, the LattePanda has newer technological features, such as 2 M2 SSD slots, AC wireless, USB C, and even an integrated Arduino.

[@extremelydave]

We could always buy the cheapo same old thing and never get anything better..... or spend a few more dollars and get good stuff knowing we are pushing the manufactures to bring out even better stuff to suck up our money.......

[@MrDavidBFoster]

@@NewAgeDIY Meanwhile, the third world mountains of discarded tech-trash continue to grow. It's part of life I guess.. Oh well, at least the toys are getting smaller (well, maybe not the cars).

[@Waifu4Life]

The double edge sword of being an early adopter my friend.

[@johncnorris]

Thank you for a thorough and very intersting video! SBC options are a little overwhelming at times and you make the process of evaluating the hardware a lot clearer.

[@jontallman3878]

The mini video ports on the PI4 are a bit fiddly!

[@John.0z]

Not to sound too OCD, but they are micro-HDMI. But yes, they are both too fiddly, and I fear not wonderfully robust. Perhaps using mini-HDMI would have been a better compromise if two ports were chosen? I wonder if the Raspberry Pi Foundation are as responsive as that Rockpi M.2 board maker?

[@Corei14]

Mini displayport in at least one would have worked. at least you have one that will always work.

[@smartroadbiker]

I wish they had the full HDMI port and had the other as a header that an adaptor board could be connected to (a bit like the DSI/CSI connectors)

[@NewAgeDIY]

I made a port extender / adapter hope to try it out soon

[@peterfielden-weston7560]

Use a micro HDMI to full size HDMI adapter. No more plugging / unplugging.

[@srtcsb]

Especially considering the half - hearted SBC attempts (I'm looking at you Orange Pi, Nvidia...? ), I think your list is quite sound. As mentioned, each of these SBC's has at least one OS that works well with the hardware instead of throwing the device out there and letting the (nonexistent) 'community' figure out how to make it functional. It's been a good year for SBC's and I hope 2020 is even better. Thanks for another great video Chris.

[@williamjames9466]

An interesting and we'll argued choice, securely linked to a predicted future of computing. Thought provoking and stimulating - thank you

[@sihledotcom]

To be honest I expected a 500K special this week :) like a special compilation of unseen footage or another tour of some sort. Haha, happy to see a new video regardless! keep it up!

[@ExplainingComputers]

I did a "500K Subscribers!" thanks video last Monday. :)

[@sihledotcom]

I saw it. lol, even commented on it. But was talking more of a full-feature video like a Q&A perhaps. Lol :)

[@sihledotcom]

Speaking of Q&A, I remember you did a "Future Questions Show" over on your other channel. Any chance that it may return? or perhaps have a Explaining Computers version of it one day?

[@ExplainingComputers]

@@sihledotcom A good idea. I am currently pondering various ideas to expand the content on this channel.

[@ExplainingComputers]

@@sihledotcom Ah, I see. :) I may do something a bit like that in December, when I pass the 4 years of weekly shows milestone.

[@horseradishpower9947]

Waiting for the advertising to clear, so I can watch this latest installment. Can't wait to see it!

[@michaelkolassa]

While I disagree with the ordering, you made very valid points as to why you ordered things the way that you did. Thanks for the video!

[@willgilliam9053]

Hey Chris, great list. I agree those are the top 5. Id switch Lattepanda Alpha with the pi4. Not any SBC's will give you 4GB of ram for under $60 American

[@viktorsundberg3101]

Love your show man! I have been into computer science and programming my whole life and this is good education/entertainment

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks.

[@howardwilliams2587]

I would have found a way to work in the Udoo Bolt V8 in place of one of the Raspberry Pi's. Yes it's expensive, but so is the LattePanda Alpha (which can work as a Hackintosh), but the Udoo Bolt is a great SBC with the Microchip ATmega32U4 for Arduino development. Great list and thanks for your insights.

[@ledsalesoz]

The Bolt was a nightmare for many backers (I was one, but got a refund eventually, glad I did). The kickstarter comment section is full of people who have had Bolts turn up DOA or not working after an hour or two, all sorts of problems with BSODs etc, it seems quality control has been very poor, which is a shame as it had a lot of potential. Many people seem to have received incorrect orders as well, particularly with the wrong (not enough) RAM compared to what they paid for. Let's hope Udoo fix the problems soon. But, even if they do, it's way too expensive, it was borderline with the KS discounts, but retail pricing is too high.

[@UDOO]

Ciao @@ledsalesoz , glad to see you here. Hope everything is fine with you. About the issues you mentioned: some users are experiencing issues with the fan: we had an issue with a defective batch, and we're replacing all of them as we're speaking. Additionally, someone at the factory has brought a box of 4GB RAM modules instead of the correct 16GB RAM assigned for that day. We're also replacing that! In your case specifically the BOLT was late, you didn't wish to wait anymore and we provided a refund. I wouldn't call that a nightmare :). I love that you're still following the campaign closely, but please also consider the response we're giving to the issues. Luckily the pre-orders are going better than expected, it seems that many people don't agree with your opinion of the price tag ;) Eva

[@haziqsembilanlima]

@@ledsalesoz I'm not really surprised if backers had a lot of problems with that. Even Ryzen Mobile owners (same FP5 platform as Ryzen Embedded) had lots of problem with it. As a Ryzen Mobile user, it is actually the best to let the CPU (or specifically the SMU) to manage everything for you. Attempting to change some stuff just makes it go haywire (at times my CPU won't boost at all). Still, it's sad that AMD doesn't even allows flexibity to tune stuff in the BIOS. I had to read Bolt's BIOS guide to know what menu did what and some settings may cause the board to lock up.

[@thecaptain2281]

@ExplainingComputers Chris, your list is solid, can't disagree on any one point.

[@FailsafeFPV]

You can get vertical mounted full size hdmi connectors, so they take up less board space.

[@UpcycleElectronics]

Yes, but they require manual labor during assembly. I don't think anyone makes a surface mount vertical version. If they do exist I wouldn't use them. I imagine that thing ripping off prematurely in the hands of teenagers everywhere. Vertical connectors put a lot of mechanical leverage on a very small footprint. Also, "takes up less space" is a relative concept. Boards like the Rπ are not just 2 layer designs. The π is at least a 4 layer board. A through hole connector has around 0.5 to 0.3 times it's area taken up by the through hole pins. On a 4 layer board that space is 4 times as large making the connector a pain for routing. These connections also force other traces to go much further if they need to go around all the traces from the connector. As far as layout and design, a surface mount version of a connector with lots of connections is virtually priceless IMO, but I don't do more than 2 layer hobbyist type prototypes...yet. -Jake

[@twmbarlwmstar]

You can get adaptors, and if they did people would be upset about the increase in height. Cooling is easier if you are flat and thin after all (hence a lot of servers).

[@bruwin]

I honestly don't see what would have been wrong with stacked HDMI connectors or a stacked HDMI/displayport connector like the Jetson Nano has. It would have taken a bit more vertical, but it wouldn't have been any higher than the USB ports

[@UpcycleElectronics]

@@bruwin Well, looking at Mouser (bc I already was when you commented...), they don't even stock a double type HDMI. While you'd be crazy to use an American distribution network for this kind of mass production product, it is reflective of the market as a whole. An oddball product like a dual HDMI connector is going to have supply chain issues unless your, let's say, a giant company like invidia that makes a living off of flashy plastic covers and weird connectors. Normally, a non-standard connector costs a fortune to use in a design. Mouser lists a stacked HDMI for $4.33, DigiKey has one for $4.13 in quantities of 1k. Mouser's cheapest standard HDMI micro is $0.307 in 2k2 reals. DigiKey showed $0.209 in 1k quantities. If you went to Shenzhen to buy a half million of some odd dual stacked connector, who knows, you might get them for $1 each,.. once. You'll never get them at that price again, and a year from now no one will even acknowledge the connector exists if you need more. Alternatively, double the number of units with an industry standard connector and the only question is your skills with floating point math, cause we're going to be splitting pennies.

[@twmbarlwmstar]

@@UpcycleElectronics really valid point. Probably a year ago I got speaking with someone that was involved in actually building a SBC for industry/enterprise. Out of my comfort zone but mainly the real problems all resolved around the cost/long term availability of various connectors. Like even USB C was a massive consideration. I would have said the actual PCB design and the supporting software for the project but apparently that was relatively easy. They wouldn't tell me if the SBC WAS based on something though (like aPi 0) which was a bit irritating. Still it was an enlightening conversation with lots of interesting stuff on doing business in China a nd like I say the cost/availability of connectors.

[@clarkd1955]

Last Xmas I bought an American made computer about as big as a Latte Panda called an Azulle Byte 3. Quad core 1.1 GH Intel CPU, 4G ram, 32G flash on board, no fan needed, case, power supply, HDMI and monitor plug, wifi, bluetooth, 1G ethernet, M.2 slot for SSD, Sata plug, 3xUSB3, USB2 and Window’s 10 Pro for $240.00 USD. Totally finished like an Apple TV box, power supply included. No extra cooling fan needed, no buying a case separately and Window’s 10 Pro.

[@ninline2000]

I love my pi4 more every day. It's awesome. Software support is catching up to it fast.

[@jeffpynnonen3445]

The Raspberry Pi 4 is great! Buy the complete Raspberry Pi 4 desktop kit, and use a 4K TV, you can set up a complete computer in minutes. I am a fan of lhe 43" Toshiba Fire TV, on sale in US for $199! (Best Buy)

[@ninline2000]

@@jeffpynnonen3445 I bought a 1080p 48" TV in 2010. I literally can't tell 720 from 1080 unless I sit 5 feet or closer to it. 4k would be a waste. When this one dies though I may consider one.

[@Swaggerlot]

A fair comparison of a range of SBCs without flogging any preferred choice.

[@FinlayDaG33k]

I love the LattePanda but it's price is just a big no-go...

[@layton3503]

I can't see it for that price either, you could get a proper computer. For makers or battery operated systems, this just does not seem right to me...

[@FinlayDaG33k]

@@layton3503 > you could get a proper computer. have fun putting a "proper computer" in your car, a board a small boat or carry it around in your bag wherever you go (where a laptop would already be too big)... I managed to get a LattePanda Alpha for free (only had to re-solder an SMD) and it sits perfectly in my backpack for collecting loads of data from loads of sensors (where the Raspberry Pi would be too weak).

[@layton3503]

@@FinlayDaG33k What??? you did not shell out $500.00 for one? Thanks for making my point.

[@FinlayDaG33k]

@@layton3503 No, this one would have ended on the e-waste pile if I didn't spot the dead capacitor, so the only cost was the effort I had to put into soldering on a new one. I think that the LattePanda *does* have it's perks when you need something fairly beefy but your application can't fit something like a mini-itx machine (like the data collection thing I carry with me). If you have the space, then something else would be better, else, you should definitely have a look at the LattePanda Alpha. The UDOO Bolt also exists but it carries the same price tag (although you do get more performance out of it). This, of course, does imply that your application can run using x86_64 and is not locked into ARM.

[@Promilus1984]

@@FinlayDaG33k well for that price you still can get decent PC/104 embedded PC board or mini itx boards which packs nice power as well. Yes, both are bigger but both might work quite well. "for collecting loads of data from loads of sensors" I find it hard to believe. Visual data - ok, that one I might understand (although I find it hard to believe you need plenty of cameras). Other sensors ... those use usually SPI, I2C, 1 wire, I2S or sync/async parallel (4-8-16bit) and there's no reason why faster CPU cores would be better while following the same peripherals principles. I suspect you meant processing and not collecting.

[@MedusaZenovka]

I am planning on building a display-keyboard-laptop hybrid thingy using an SBC powerhouse behind it. You analysis really makes Nvidia SBCs in general much more attractive to me. Thanks. :)

[@jackpatteeuw9244]

Well, we are closing out 2019, I believe that the RPi4 is the best "general purpose" SBC (Jetson Nano is a "special purpose" SBC). This has everything to do with the Broadcom BCM2711 with quad-core Cortex-A72. Coupled with DDR4-2400 (up to 4G) of RAM, USB 3 and better 1G network and WiFi and Bluetooth, it is a awesome combination I am still surprised that no other IC design house has "challenged" Broadcom with a competitive design. I can't wait for RPi5 (Wish List : more PCIe lanes, SDe, LPDDR4x or LPDDR5, full USB-PD). It might be time for the Raspberry Pi Foundation to consider a $5-$10 price increase for the base model.

[@ExplainingComputers]

The Pi 4 would have been higher on the list with its latest firmware! :)

[@jackpatteeuw9244]

@@ExplainingComputers Excellent point !

[@perrymcclusky4695]

I have to agree with your list and your reasoning. The Raspberry Pi 3A+ was a surprise showing up on the list. It’s nice you can surprise me and I can agree with your unsuspected entry. Actually only two boards on your list that were competing in the same general market. That shows just how diverse the SBC market is. Although I’d like to have all the boards on your list, I’ve only parted with my ‘hard earned’ money on the Raspberry Pi 4. Looking forward to your next video!

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks Perry. My next two SBC videos are both Pi 4 based -- one setting up as a NAS, the other looking at five distros (now that more are becoming available).

[@perrymcclusky4695]

ExplainingComputers Thank you for the view of things to come! 👍

[@NomadicSage]

Completely agree with you Chris, except Latte Panda. But I can see how it could be useful to someone. And yes Jetson Nano would also be number 1 on my list too. Jetson Nano is a SBC that I see myself buying other than by Raspberry Pi 3B+, even Pi 4 wouldn't be high on my list. Pi4 is a good board but it's not something that really excite me that much.

[@twmbarlwmstar]

You can get a Latte PAnda with a Cherry Trail in it for something between $80 to $150. Now I wouldn't buy a Cherry trail based anything after the Atomic Pi, but you could. Ignoring the dire CPU (which is still more powerful than a Pi4) you still get a lot of I/O and the 86_64 benefits. Thing is for the same price I could get a 'mini-PC' from China, that will have the same CPU but come with storage, power brick a case.

[@NomadicSage]

@@twmbarlwmstar Latte Panda doesn't strike me as anything exciting, it just seems like there are better option for any of the latte panda board.

[@blhbsit1251]

Thanks, as usual one of the best channels on the tube.

[@darovi]

Have you seen the Rock Pi X? It's very promising, I bet we'll see it on the next year's list.

[@ExplainingComputers]

I agree. It looks very promising indeed.

[@sethrd999]

No just no, X86 is too litle too late unfortunately, Arm and RiscV is the future of this game for sure.

[@another3997]

@@sethrd999 Surely it depends on what you need to do? The x86 architecture isn't going away and, like ARM, it keeps getting faster and better. ARM is great for energy efficiency, but for heavy duty processing, x86 is a better platform.

[@nurglerider781]

@@sethrd999 I personally can't wait for RISC-V. It's been slow going so far though.

[@sethrd999]

@@nurglerider781 Arm in the beginning was slow also, I think this one is a true revolution. I recently have gotten a maixduino ( RiscV ) with K210 Kendrite KPU's and have gotten yolo3 working with Cnn's and Dnn's for object detection. This thing is up and running in minutes with microPython and C++ ( Arduino or FreeRTOS ), sub $20 for the board a camera and LCD display ftw, its a nifty bit of kit from China ( Sipeed guys ). And now with Alibaba in the game ( edgy.app/alibaba-unveils-processor-thats-based-on-risc-v-architecture?pfrom=tech&fp=a8 ), the game is pretty much on.

[@nls3081]

LOVE your videos, but especially the series about SBC's.

[@tristan6509]

Isn't the Jetson nano technically a double board computer?

[@ExplainingComputers]

It could be considered that way! :) But technically (and certainly according to NVIDIA) the smaller SoM board is an SBC (as it contains the CPU, GPU, RAM, and even the micro SD slot), with the carrier board being basically a break-out board for all of the connectivity.

[@NexXxus86]

the chip is also a slightly underspecced version of the Tegra X1 that the Switch and Nvidia Shield uses.

[@twmbarlwmstar]

I gave this some thought and I would say the answer is no, the 260 pin so-dimm arrangement of the Nano Module just acts as a break-out for the interfaces AKA I/O ( video, audio, USB, networking and so on). Looking at it anyone buying a Nano will buy the Nano and the daughter board, it seems likely that Nvidia are selling this, as the Jetson Nano Developer Kit, at a loss as it is cheaper than buying the Nano module alone and they seem to only sell that in a minimum order quantity of 1000. Again, I say the Nano is cheap. Looking at the daughter board (and please double check what I claim, I am getting very unreliable as I have stage 4 cancer and have to use morphine, making me error prone) all it does is add I/O like Gigabit Ethernet, 4 × USB 3.0 sockets, HDMI and DisplayPort ports, an MIPI-CSI camera socket, micro SD Card slot, Power-over-Ethernet (PoE), plus quite a bit more. You also get GPIO, I2C, I2S, SPI, PWM, and UART via a 40-pin GPIO header block- and that GIPO header block looks a lot like a Raspberry Pi header block to me. In isolation it does nothing. You could theoretically build your own daughter board, and that is evident as Nvidia will sell you 1000 compute modules if that is the sort of path you might take. So, a developer will use their own bespoke daughter board that fits their design brief. On a wider point, we need to compare this to a Raspberry Pi developers kit as that is what we get from Nvidia for about £100- I realise you have made no statement on value/ cost but others have. It also seems to add things like PoE which the Raspberry development kit lacks and would add at least £20 currently.

[@twmbarlwmstar]

@@NexXxus86 What you call cut down most would call based on, adding functionality for machine learning frameworks like TensorFlow, PyTorch, MxNet, Keras, and Caffe. Which your Nvidia Shield will lack. It isn’t cut down in the 86_64 sense of silicon binning where say a CPU is identical to its more powerful neighbour in the product stack but it has had functionality artificially cut (which is pretty much how AMD work, along with the X chips being binned based on performance metrics). Certainly, the Nano isn’t just a cut down version of the £1000 plus Nvidia AGX Xavier board which tops the range, it has the same functionality but is just less powerful. Also consider that if you buy a Nano can do what the Shield can, while the Shield can’t do what the Nano can. IN that sense which chip is ‘cut down’? Consider the Intel Core Duo range, Intel have been hawking that for years, and in sometimes quite arbitrary ways. It’s normal to adapt a CPU architecture because to start from scratch would be punitively expensive and unproductive. Intel will have got over a decade out of Core Duo, with one notable revision back in (IIRC) 2015).

[@ExplainingComputers]

@@twmbarlwmstar You are absolutely correct -- the daughter board just breaks out the connectors from the edge of the Jetson Nano SoM to connectors a typical consumer/maker can use. Sorry to hear about your illness. I hope things go as well as they can for you. My best wishes.

[@mrcrisplinuxuser4180]

A new video! One of the few youtubers that a watch every video that comes out

[@VeryUsMumblings]

I would have thought the raspberry pi4 would have been higher, but I have to agree about the HDMI ports. I have bought two or three different adapters and some of them don't work so well.

[@twmbarlwmstar]

It doesn't beat the Latte Panda or Nano, unless you were judging on cost but that isn't a good way to judge 'best'. I'm sure a lot more Pi4 will be sold than Latte Pandas though.

[@nunyobiznez875]

@VeryUs Mumblings The RasPi has great software support, but both models here, including the 4B, actually have the weakest hardware on this list, by quite a lot. That's not to say that they aren't good, just that the other boards here have more powerful hardware and more features.

[@anonymouse2041]

Totally agree with your list. I just wish there would be an ARM based SBC capable of competing with the LattePanda in terms of computational power and the best candidate for this, right now, seems to be a more general purpose Jetson SBC. Let’s see what happen next...

[@wallflips]

When I heard Jetson Nano for the first time and then heard it's made by NVidia I instantly well full body goose bumps when realizing that it's gonna be an nvidia gpu there!

[@bartniaux8630]

Thank you Chris for another great video. You're spot on with your Rpi 4 valuations and like to add my disappointment for the missing ssd boot capability, 64bit Raspian OS and USB 3 issues on my 4GB boards. I did manage to update to the 64bit kernel and use an SSD disk with the SD card as my boot media. It definitely improved performance.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Agreed -- the really annoying thing (well, one of them) is that we had USB boot out of the box with the Pi 3B+. I know we will get it with the 4B in time. But it really should have been there at launch.

[@reggiep75]

I think the list is in a good order and I agree on the Latte Panda Alpha position. It is expensive but the amount of projects and applications of it mean it can be used perfectly in smaller specific job cases were the power is needed but an SBC form might be required be needed and something like a desktop/laptop is just 'power sucking bulk'. The Jetson Nano at 1 is a good choice - beefy, powerful and it's use cases are in the same field as the Latte Panda Alpha but so much cheaper! Cyberdyne Systems agree that the future of computing is AI too ;-)

[@CarlesMateu]

The Latta Panda should not make it to the list, there alternatives (besides the Atomic PI of uncertain future) that are way cheaper: Udoo x86 (shop.udoo.org/other/udoo-x86-ii-ultra.html ), for instance. Similar form factor, integrated arduino, x86 processor, etc. For less more than half the price.

[@GizmoFromPizmo]

Another great video. Thank you. I appreciate the enthusiastic "RIGHT" preceding the review of the Latte Panda!

[@KuntalGhosh]

i was expecting udoo bolt v8 on the top of the list! for 429$ it is a very powerful sbc and u can build a similarly specced pc for nearly the same price! it has a ryzen quad core cpu!

[@amritpandey5801]

Bus it can't be run on 5V supply and it is not a low power SBC which is a very important feature for any SBC

[@KuntalGhosh]

@@amritpandey5801 it is the fastest sbc ! it can't efficient like a raspberry pi with probably 4 to 5 times more power than a raspberry! the onboard graphics(when set to maximum possible tdp) on udoo bolt is on par with gt1030 ... & it can actually run on usb type c but u will need a power supply that can deliver 60w usb pd spec .... thats 30v 2amps.... u can get few battery banks with this feature ....

[@sbrazenor2]

Considering the size of that unit, it's more of a NUC competitor. It also has RAM slots, which most SBCs don't need since the RAM is onboard.

[@KuntalGhosh]

@@sbrazenor2 it has much more customization options than a nuc and nuc is smaller than udoo bolt.. there is also a bultin arduino mega chip.

[@nightshadelenar]

@@KuntalGhosh Ryzen 3 2200U i am gessing? on battery (using Windows 10 1803) the GPU is on par with the GT730, when at idle it sips power - 3 to 7 watts as it occasionally uses 1 GPU core for the occasional display refresh. when plugged in (and you have a 50 watt capable cooler or better!) it steps up-to 45 watts, which is 20 watts more than the standard 25 watt TDP (Thermal Designed Power), but is on par with an R5 240 AMD GPU at that power. the games used were Rocket League and World of Warcraft at 1366x768 and 1600x900, as well as 1920x1080 though you will need some more cooling for 1080p gaming. when at full blast one of the 2 cores (SMT disabled, 2 of the 4 with SMT enabled) will be clocking away at 4.9 to 5.3GHz under 65°C. for the testing in my Acer Aspire 3 i have 8GB (2x4GB) of LPDDR4 2400MHz SoDIMM memory installed, which is a good balance for $$ and performance. the Vega 3 GPU takes 1GB of system memory for it's self, so it isn't usable by the system, after that you will have 6.9GB usable by your OS. the battery lasts me about an hour and a half (1.5hrs) when in wow, and about two hours on Rocket League, albeit i had a controller plugged in.

[@s.m.4995]

I saw SBC used today while looking at microcontrollers and couldn't remember what it meant. The minute I saw this video on your channel, I heard you say "single board computer" in my head.

[@scott8940]

I would like to see the raspberry pi org come out with a few customized configured raspberry pi servers. For example a new pi to be used just for an Apache web server and another pi just to be used as an SQL server, and a pi just for an email server etc. That way they can get rid of the stuff that is not needed for a NAS or Web server or Databse server like audio, dual hdmi ports and add more memory and stuff that is needed for each type of customized server without impacting costs very much. I see this as a market need currently. BTW I enjoy your videos !

[@MarcusPHagen]

The Raspberry Pi Compute Modules are a possible answer to this need. Currently the Pi 3+ module is still available from some suppliers, although it looks as if many are clearing their stock, perhaps anticipating the arrival of one or more versions of the Pi 4B as a module. The modules have been designed for industrial use, & are plugged into a SODIMM slot. This has allowed for a variety of uses, including clustering & implementation of more GPIO pins. All signals are available via the connector, with no onboard HDMI, USB, GPIO, etc. I hope to see the release of the 4B version by 2021. That would make for a great server cluster board.

[@C-MAGs]

I thought you were, ummm, 'extra' fair, on the Pi4. I like the Latte Panda Alpha too and despite the price, it deserves to be there imo. Your #1 is exactly that - YOURS! As it should be. Your channel, for one thing and I tune in BECAUSE I want to hear your hands on opinions. So, I'm all good with your list. :) Thanks for sharing!

[@ExplainingComputers]

I did record more about the Pi 4 and its "early days" software, but it started to sound like it should not be in the list at all. And I do like the board.

[@C-MAGs]

@@ExplainingComputers I just felt a little let down about the 'essential' required cooling on 4. It meant that everywhere that I currently have Pi3's, I couldn't just upgrade as each case and enclosure I had would be useless on the 4. I DOOOO love the board upgrades though. Just need new enclosures now too. Hehe. That's all. :)

[@ForestDhammaTalks]

Do you have any video explaining how to build a cheap NAS? maybe with a SBC??? Would be really nice

[@ExplainingComputers]

I do! :) This Sunday (Oct 10 2019) I will be posting a Raspberry Pi 4 NAS video. I've also done previous NAS videos, eg using a Rock64: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYWQdnqEoZ6VkKM or an Odroid HC1 or HC2, which are SBCs specifically built for the job: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d6Wrq5uqoN18mZo

[@zxkim8136]

The Jetson nano is a very capable SBC and a reasonable pricetag too ....great review Chris🤗🤗🤗Kim🤗🤗🤗

[@CommodoreFan64]

I guess I'm a bit bias in saying the Raspberry Pi 4B should be higher up, because I have little love for Nvidia with the way they have treated the Linux community over the years, but I get why you put the Jetson Nano up there.

[@ninline2000]

The nano has potential that nvidia will never let it recognize.

[@twmbarlwmstar]

@@ninline2000 What do you mean? It's a development board, they sell them in the thousands. They are at the forefront of ML, up there with the big boys and already have parts in cars and so on. I watched a video where there £1000 version (forget name just now) could read an analyse 70 (automobile) number plates a second. Pretty damn incredible. Then, to make a point, they disabled the GPU element and just ran on the compute/CPU and it dropped to something like 3 per second. The point was the strength they can bring because of their GPU experience, or rather parallel computing experience. Who else is there to compete? Intel are working on it, AMD don't appear to, and anyway the big issue has been power with GPU, they ask for a lot pf it, AMD still can't cool its gaming cards and doesn't have the ML IP that Nvidia has anyway or really the resources/direction- they are focussed elsewhere (and I'm glad they are as they have really shaken things up). The Nano seems to be them reaching out, since it has to being sold at a near loss- just compare it to a Pi4 and explain how Nvidia can put so much in their package that Raspberry can't? If you just want the Nano they actually charge you more, and you have to buy a thousand. Buy the development kit and it is cheaper and you get daughter board which is clearly targeted at the community not enterprise/developers. They would use the more powerful SKUs further up the product stack anyway, and use their own I/O breakout boards. If it is just because they won't give their IP away then I think you need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

[@DonCrowder]

Looks like it's time for you "Top 5 SBCs of 2020". I'm looking forward to seeing that one.

[@ExplainingComputers]

You are are right -- this video is planned for 25th October. :)

[@himselfe]

The reason I wouldn't even put the Jetson on the list is because Nvidia have a terrible commitment to open source, and love to obsolete things when it suits them.

[@esra_erimez]

Yet again, another wonderful and informative video from ExplainingComputers. Thank you.

[@sidthetech_USA]

Hey Chris, I been wondering why is the Raspberry Pi 4B only at number 3 on your list of top 5 SBC for the past 5 months? Oh: 4:29

[@The_Robert.Fletcher]

This reminds me of early days when we had the IBM PC/AT 386, 486, etc. Whether you bought a genuine IBM or a "Compatible" they were basically the same. Gradually we started to be able to tailor a PC to meet individual needs and budget. So it is with the SBC, first, we just had the Pi now we have a growing range that we can select for our personal needs. I look forward to what is around the corner.

[@twmbarlwmstar]

I don’t remember it like that at all. You had a load of different things that got plugged in, it wasn’t a guarantee you’d have a sound card for example, or that if you did it would work with the software. Graphics the same, networking the same. Yo'd either spec what you needed, and they would add cards to ISA slots, or you'd do it yourself. Today everything is increasingly either on board or soldered to the board and there’s little customisation possible. The most popular computer is said to be the smartphone, how customisable is that? I can’t even change the battery on mine. Laptops, certainly ultrabooks, the same. How customisable is a Chromebook?

[@angelthekind1595]

What you thinks about the up sqared SBC? Also amazing video bro great content!

[@ExplainingComputers]

I've yet to look at that board.

[@angelthekind1595]

ExplainingComputers sure! And if you make a video of new boards I will see it with pleasure!! Thanks again for all your knowledge sharing

[@sbc_soc_tinkerer]

Nice job Chris! Courageous move adding in the LattePanda. It IS a single board computer albeit in a Premier League. You did state your criteria quite clearly and I like your choices. I do not have a RockPi but would like to get one to test it out. The RPi 3A+ is a nice little standout as well. Nice departure from the mundane that RPi seems to stick to. I do wish the RPi foundation would stretch a bit more. They have great support and colud lead the way in innovation but for whatever reason choose not to. Innovation moves things forward and the LattePanda does that quite admirably adding all those nice features including Intel chip and on board Arduino support. The NVIDIA Jetson Nano on top too. Nice. Whether anyone likes it or not AI and ML are here to stay. Again sir, great job as always!!

[@kyeongsushin3145]

I am not a big fan of the Nvidia Jetson SBC boards, due to the poor mainline kernel support and somewhat buggy desktop experiences. But then, I guess it is indeed a good choice for machine learning purposes.

[@sagittariuswoman7278]

Hey Chris. Just saw this. So late. Awesome playlist. Favorite is number #1

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks for watching.

[@markconger8049]

I commend you for not putting the R Pi 4 at the top. Clearly, clearly the board was released too early and before the software was complete as is evidenced in many ways including the release of Raspbian Buster AHEAD of Debian’s release of Buster which is a first. Still don’t know why they released it so soon. I have read little bits here and there that a revised Pi 4 is coming and will fix the USB-C debacle. Maybe they’ll change the micro HDMI somehow.

[@liefacts3000]

Barnet indeed. Love these videos.

[@donporter8432]

Hello again from Thailand Chris

[@ExplainingComputers]

Greetings Don. How Sundays come around.

[@donporter8432]

@@ExplainingComputers Not fast enough Chris!

[@geoffreyjohnstone5465]

Awesome video covering something from those with deep pockets to those on a tight budget. Whilst I wouldnt buy a LattePanda Alpha I wholeheartedly agree with you that it opens the door for others that will come in the future. In 10 years we will probably be having SBCs smaller than the Pi Zero with more power than the LP Alpha. Hopefully you will be reviewing it around 2030 or sooner. A decade is a long time in technological development terms

[@DFX2KX]

as far as size goes, we're approaching practical limits with CPU die size (which is the largest factor contributing to speed). pushing Celeron performance out of a die the size of a Broadcomm chip is going to make magic smoke even with 3-5nm. Your board might be small, the heatsink probably won't be. That said, the Latte Panda as a footprint is going to be a good bit more powerful in a few years if you don't mind the fans or radiator keeping it cool.

[@geoffreyjohnstone5465]

@@DFX2KX Thats with todays technology. Phones are getting more and more powerful with every iteration and they are quite small. 10 years ago the idea of a matchbox sized computer for $30 would never have entered my thoughts but they are available in abundance now

[@TheOleHermit]

SBCs are getting pretty congested with all of their connectivity & features. But, whenever size matters (as in less = more), I'm getting a lot of bang for my bucks with inexpensive micro-controllers, such as the ESP32 & ESP8266 development boards + accessories.😎

[@nailsonlandimprogramming]

Jetson Nano SBC is amazing and it`s possible to embed AI on almost anything at a reasonable cost. i am eager to get one.

[@mryitch]

Really hoping to see a video on Risc V... love the explanations you have so far.... makes it easier for me to learn the subject matter :)

[@sonix7119]

Interesting vid - RPI4 is awesome - WITH COOLING !!! :) Cheers for sharing !!! :)

[@thewelder3538]

Chris, you totally made the right choice. I'd have been having words if the Nano wasn't number 1, it's an awesome SBC, but I have to agree I wished it were more focused at the consumer space. It's easy enough to code for though.

[@an1rb]

I wonder why a stacked HDMI connector (one top of each other) hasn't been invented yet -- much better than mini-HDMI ones sitting side-by-side.

[@ExplainingComputers]

As somebody notes below, there is a stacked, full-size HDMI and DisplayPort connector on the Jetson Nano. So it can be done! But I'm sure the constraint for the Raspberry Pi foundation is price. That, and it would make the Pi rather tall, giving issues with HAT compatibility.

[@sethrd999]

Most likely would not be electrically sound ala interference, adding adequate shielding would boost the BOM cost.

[@twmbarlwmstar]

@@ExplainingComputers There's also a SBC (can't remember which one) that has its USB sockets sat in the middle of the PCB, so one below and one above. Not really sure if that really achieves much as it is now thicker on both sides and no thinner than if they were on one side.

[@TheOleHermit]

Personally, I prefer dual USB-C connectors. They are far more versatile than HDMI.😎

[@deanlawson6880]

Another good video Professor! Although I (mostly) agree with your choices of SBC's on the market, I would have substituted the RockPro 64 instead of the RockPi 4 in your #5 spot.. But then I'm somewhat biased. As a result of your video earlier in the year on the RockPro 64 I ended up buying a RockPro64 along with their SATA add-on board and the small enclosure, along with a couple of 1TB SSD drives and building my own little *Home NAS* running OpenMediaVault 4.0 - It works Great! Again, thanks for the videos Professor, they are interesting and informative and very well done!!

[@ExplainingComputers]

The RockPro 64 is a nice board, but it was not launched in the last 12 months, so does not qualify for this particular list. But with the SATA card as you say, it offers something pretty unique. Glad to hear it is working for you. :)

[@mickelodiansurname9578]

Cant go along with your choice for number 2. Too expensive... Good luck to the manufacturers pushing whatever envelope you think is required Chris, but that board is simply out of the ballpark on price, and its precisely because it'll be on every damn board in a few years that its not suitable for home automation, robitics or a desktop. Your number one I'd go along with, then again I dont have one yet...and a gpu with no actual OS support for video etc. is pretty daft. But tensorflow works well with it. Position 3? Really? This is the PI i'll miss...im not spending another $30 on cooling...may as well buy the nano.

[@TheUtuber999]

Mickelodeon: You're paying for the CPU cooler in the higher price point on the Nano... except you don't have the flexibility of choosing which one to use.

[@DFX2KX]

I think his point is that there's not a whole lot of options for x86 compatibility in anything smaller then ITX size. I'd personally love to spend a few hundred bucks on something the same power that my Optiplex does without the extra case lying around.

[@twmbarlwmstar]

@@DFX2KX There's STX, in the UK that's only Asrock's deskmini but much more widespread in MEA/Far East. It's about 5" square and some motherboards have plenty of 'SBC' I/O- the prices are a bit salty though which is probably reflected in the cost of the Bolt.

[@twmbarlwmstar]

@ukkr Memory is at its cheapest in all of history right now, although the LAtte PAnda does use a relatively expensive version of computer memory.

[@mickelodiansurname9578]

@@TheUtuber999 but you do get a pretty good GPU... Well a good GPU for a board half the physical size of a phone.

[@hubbaba]

Great reviews!

[@MisterRorschach90]

Every time I see a sbc in a sodimm form factor I think to myself, “what if they used that as ram, and the ram had a cpu on each dimm to help process and transfer data better.

[@DFX2KX]

That's an interesting idea, that's actually what a memory controller is to an extent. RAM is actually wired directly to the backplane pins on the CPU in modern processors (in two different ways depending on 2 stick or 4 stick optimization). the CPU itself has a little secondary 'cpu' of sorts that manages memory exclusively. You could theoretically pair a simple but very fast CPU with an old slow CPU to do some bonkers stuff with bank-switching. like, here, have 8MB of usable RAM on this 6502, but the management CPU would probably be more powerful then the 6502 you hacked.

[@MisterRorschach90]

DFX2KX when I started seeing computers shoved inside of peripherals I got the crazy idea of setting up a system with a desktop hooked up to an all in one computer, using a keyboard computer, a computer inside of a mouse, and a smart speaker, all on top of a desk pc. Stupid but awesome.

[@mschwage]

Nicely done. I agree about the latte Panda. It's a very cool board, and its Passmark score is on par with my Lenovo t430s, which has been running quite well for years. As a matter of fact, I've only been motivated to update the machine recently. It's performance has always been decent, until the current generation of CPUs. Seeing this low power CPU board is very cool.

[@vinaybharadwaj802]

I would have preferred to have USB type-C instead of mini HDMI ports on the r-pi 4B

[@wetdirtmud]

Thanks Chris. It’s great to get some insight on these devices from someone so passionate. I like your take about LattePanda pushing the envelope - I generally would look right past the board due to the high cost.

[@Rationalific]

Thanks for another fun and informative video!

[@tbernesto0912]

Hello Chris, as Always very good video. I Wonder why you did not mention the UDOO BOLT in this selection. I think is a Very Good Equipment.. Thank you.

[@gplayer01]

This is a great list Chris and I can only agree after owning all but the LattePanda. Cheers 🍻

[@iluvrgb]

Latte Panda has Windows 10 but is expensive among the others

[@NewAgeDIY]

i luv rgb /. Yep! You can build a Ryzen PC (system only) that hundred times more powerful then the Alpha! I know as a fact because did it. That said the Alpha is a nice very small portable PC. I now pack it when I go on trips. Just plug it into a TV and use a micro keyboard and your good to go.

[@jsimmonstx]

@@NewAgeDIY That Ryzen PC will cost at least $300 to build (if you keep the RAM to 8gb). Beyond that, it will be MUCH larger than the Panda. I'd rather haul a Panda around than even a mini-ATX machine. A more reasonable comparison would be a NUC if you're comparing feature for feature, as well as size. My only real complaint about these machines is the inclusion of Windows. I shed Windows long ago at my house... 13 machines, all running some flavor of Debian...

[@ExplainingComputers]

The Ryzen PC will not be 100 times more powerful that the LattePanda Alpha. :)

[@NewAgeDIY]

ExplainingComputers / A little exaggeration for the humour in it. Gone overboard on that comment. 🤪

[@johnm2012]

@@NewAgeDIY The trouble is, exaggeration only damages your argument. The Ryzen PC isn't 100 times more powerful but it isn't hugely more expensive either, especially if you don't add the discrete graphics card. I would have put the Udoo Bolt in the top five instead of the Latte Panda.

[@phildodd9942]

A very fair assessment ! As the market expands, it is bound to diversify into educational, professional, high-end and bespoke, to name just a few categories. The educational end is going to start at a low price because ultimately these devices are going to be at risk of damage as people use them to learn with ? That in my opinion is why the Pi 4 brought a few raised eyebrows, because there is NO WAY that school students should be anywhere near something that overheats and could potentially injure them. Maybe the Pi Foundation ought to be looking at "sticking" with certain ranges ? Perhaps the PI Zero family for embedded and headless use, a Pi 2 family for programming training, a Pi 3 family for general purpose with SSD drives and video output well catered for, and a PI 4 family for high speed such as gaming ? Maybe that is the way that their model range could go ? It looks to me from watching your excellent videos that the market is now opening out into such families of SBCs with particular uses - which means that your 2020 "top 5" will take even more research ? Perhaps there will be a "top 5" of all of the various families of devices ? I should go and take a lie down in I were you - you may well need the rest ! An excellent video and a thought-provoking time that we're at ! Thanks !

[@billloveless6869]

After seeing this, I have a question; which SBC is the best as a media server and why? Thanks. You put out great info.

[@Starfireaw11]

The correct answer is none of them. The second best answer is the LattePanda, as it supports the most storage options, but it's too expensive and you don't need your media server to be that small.

[@JonnyInfinite]

I feel like you should have a low medium and high price point category for this. Up to £98, £99 and over and £200+ ....no one is going to be choosing between a £50 Pi and a £300 board. I feel like this would be a better buyers guide: points can given for performance, OS availability, ports etc at each financial level. Love your vids btw

[@twmbarlwmstar]

How many boards are there that are over £200?