The Raspberry Pi Foundation released the Raspberry Pi 3 before 2016 ended but Asus is starting 2017 with a bang by releasing a worthy competition for the Single Board Computer (SBC). While Asus has not created a product page for the Asus 90MB0QY1-M0EAY0 Tinker Board in its company website, the tech company has made its SBC available in the United Kingdom via a Farnell page on Jan. 20.
The Tinker Board has been rumored before but now it has finally been released with the full technical specifications which could blow you away, especially if your planned project for the Raspberry Pi 3 is to build a home media system.
Technical specifications and performance
The Asus Tinker Board is definitely more powerful than the Raspberry Pi 3 and Asus purposely manufactured it to cater to SBC-enthusiasts who require more power than the Pi 3 can offer.
Specifications | Asus Tinker Board | Raspberry Pi 3 (Model B) |
| CPU | Rockchip RK3288 Quad core 1.8GHz ARM Cortex-A17 | 4× ARM Cortex-A53, 1.2GHz |
| RAM | 2GB Dual channel LPDDR3 | 1GB LPDDR2 |
| Storage | MicroSD slot with UHS-I support | MicroSD |
| Display Output | HDMI 2.0 port to support H.264 4K resolution | HDMI, supports HD resolution |
| Audio Playback | Supports up to 192k/24bit sample rate | Supports up to 48K/16bit sample rate |
| GPIO | 40-pin Internal header with 28 GPIO pins | 40-pin header, populated |
| Connectivity | Gigabit LAN and Bluetooth 4.0 + EDR connectivity Gigabit Ethernet port via PCI , 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi | Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.1 Classic, Bluetooth Low Energy 10/100 Ethernet, 2.4GHz 802.11n wireless |
| Ports | 3.5mm audio jack Four (4) USB 2.0 ports HDMI 2.0 with 4K support MIPI-CSI camera port MIPI-DSI with HD support | 3.5mm analogue audio-video jack Four (4) USB 2.0 HDMI Port Camera Serial Interface (CSI) Display Serial Interface (DSI) |
| Power | Micro-USB | Micro-USB |
| OS Support | Linux-Debian,KODI | Linux-Debian |
According to the table of specifications above, the Tinker Board is definitely a winner with the power it packs since it has a faster processor, stronger connectivity, and more amazing audio and video decoding capability. So if you are looking for an SBC that to tinker with for your personal media system, you may want to look into the Asus Tinker Board.
"Raspberry Pi has been in the market for so long, we're here to expand users' choices with more options," Asus said.
Price Comparison
The Raspberry Pi 3 is selling for $35, which is the same price as the Raspberry Pi 2. The Asus Tinker Board, on the other hand, is priced higher at $68 (£55, VAT inclusive) at Farnell.
If it's just affordability, then the Raspberry Pi 3 wins, hands down.
The Verdict
The Raspberry Pi 3 is a decent SBC at an affordable price so, for beginners and people who need something more basic but powerful for their projects, the Pi 3 is already an excellent choice. However, as Asus said, the Pi 3 has its limitations so, if you're someone looking for amazing sound and graphics, shelling out over $60 but less than $100 should already be a good deal.
The main considerations for interested people, since the Tinker Board is nearly twice the price of the Pi 3, is if they will be working on media projects that will be able to make full use of the Tinker Board's specifications and if they are willing to wait a while because the Asus SBC is currently available only in Europe and the United Kingdom.
