Maybe you missed it? NanoPi R5S Review
NanoPi R4SE
FriendlyElec, the company behind the successful NanoPi R4S SBC, just announced a new, improved board under the name NanoPi R4SE. For non-tech geeks, we are discussing a crossbreed between a single-board computer and a mini router gateway device.
Most specifications in this model remain the same as with the older NanoPi R4S and include dual GbE and two USB 3.0 ports. Still, the router is now only available with 4GB LPDDR4 and no option for only 1GB RAM, and the GPIO and USB 2.0 headers have been removed.
You can also find two USB 3.0 Type-A ports and a USB Type-C power connector (5V/3A). There is mention of a three-pin UART interface. In addition, You can install the board inside a small metal enclosure with 72x72x29 mm dimensions. The temperature range of operation of the NanoPi R4SE is from 0 to +60 °C, so proper cooling is a Must Have requirement.
NanoPi R4S/E Metal Enclosure
The metal Enclosure design and dimensions remain untouched and are compatible with Both NanoPi 4RS /E series boards. FriendlyElec would probably include a new Thermal pad in the Enclosure kit. The Thermal pad will be placed on the 32GB eMMC Chip, pressing it against the button cover of the metal enclosure.
NanoPi R4SE specifications
- SoC: Rockchip RK3399
- CPU: Hexa-core processor with dual-Core Cortex-A72 up to 2.0 GHz, quad-core Cortex-A53 up to 1.5 GHz
- GPU: Mali-T864 GPU with OpenGL ES1.1/2.0/3.0/3.1, OpenCL, DX11, and AFBC support, 4K VP9 and 4K 10-bit H265/H264 60fps video decoder
- System Memory: 4GB LPDDR4
- Storage: 32GB eMMC flash, MicroSD card slot
- Networking: 2x GbE, including one native Gigabit Ethernet and one PCIe Gigabit Ethernet
- USB: 2x USB 3.0 Type-A ports,
USB 2.0 via 4-pin header Expansion– 2x 5-pin header with 1x SPI, 1x I2C- Debugging: 3-pin debug UART header (1,500,000 bps by default)
- Misc: 1x power LED, and 3x user LEDs (SYS, LAN, WAN), user button, 2-pin RTC battery connector, 5V fan connector, one MASK button for eMMC update
- Power Supply: 5V/3A via USB-C connector
- RK808-D PMIC and independent DC/DC enabling DVFS, software power-down, RTC wake-up, system sleep mode
- Dimensions: 66 x 66 mm (8-layer PCB); enclosure: 72 x 72 x 29 mm
- Temperature Range: -0°C to 80°C
Why do I need the eMMC Upgrade?
The main bottleneck of most router boards is archiving high fast throughputs, where the model starts to shine. With the new 32GB onboard flash, you can expect improved read/write speeds compared to the previous model.
Practical usage
The NanoPi E4SE can be carried inside a small pocket and used as a personal mini PC to run Android or a lightweight Ubuntu Linux OS. If you are considering buying the metal enclosure, it’s pretty solid in design, and we highly recommend it, primarily if used in more harsh industrial environments.
Thanks to a pair of 1GbE ports, most users would find it very appealing to use it as a personal firewall device as it supports the FriendlyWrt OS, a modified fork of the known OpenWrt Linux distribution. Other usages include building a small NAS, Samba file sharing server, Printer server, etc.
Price & Availability
The NanoPi R4SE board is aimed to replace the previous model NanoPi R4S without eMMC support and is now available for purchase at an estimated price of $70. If you want to buy an excellent metal case, it will cost you an additional $10, which is worth the investment in getting proper cooling for electronic components, such as RAM and CPU.
