Orange Pi 5B Unveiled with Wi-Fi 6 starting at low as $89

• Maybe you missed it? Orange Pi 5
• Orange Pi 5B Review, Specifications, and Price.

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Orange Pi 5B

Single-board computers have become increasingly popular over the years due to their small form factor, low power consumption, and affordable pricing. Among the most popular single-board computers are Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone Black, and now, the new Orange Pi 5B.

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Orange Pi 5B Specifications

SoC	Rockchip RK3588S (8nm LP process)
CPU	• 8-core 64-bit processor • Big.Little Architecture: 4 * Cortex-A76 and 4 * Cortex-A55, Big core cluster is 2.4GHz, and Little core cluster is 1.8GHz frequency.
GPU	• Arm Mali-G610 MP4 • Compatible with OpenGL ES1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.2 and Vulkan 1.2 • 3D graphics engine and 2D graphics engine
NPU	Built-in AI accelerator NPU with up to 6 TOPS, supports INT4/INT8/INT16 mixed operation.
PMU	RK806-1
RAM	4GB/8GB/16GB /32GB（LPDDR4/4x）
Memory	• 32GB eMMC • MicroSD (TF) Card Slot
USB	USB3.1 * 1 USB2.0 * 2 Type-C (USB3.1) * 1
Video Output	• HDMI2.1, up to 8K@60Hz • DP1.4 (DisplayPort), maximum output resolution up to 8K@30Hz • 2 * MIPI D-PHY TX 4Lane, configurable up to 4K@60Hz
Camera	• MIPI CSI 4Lane • 2 * MIPI D-PHY RX 4Lane
Audio	CODEC: ES8388 • 3.5mm headphone jack audio input/output • Input: Onboard MIC • HDMI 2.1 eARC
Ethernet	10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet
Expansion Port	For extending UART, PWM, I2C, SPI, CAN and GPIO interfaces
Wi-Fi, BT module	On-board Wi-Fi6+BT 5.0 module, Wi-Fi6 interface: PCIe, BT interface: PCM+UART
Button	1 * MaskROM key 1 * Recovery key 1 * On/Off key
Power Source	Support Type-C power supply, 5V@4A
LED	Power indicator: red Status indicator: green
Debugging	3 Pin debug serial port (UART)
Supported OS	Orange Pi OS（Droid）、Orange Pi OS（Arch）、Debian11、Ubuntu22.04、Ubuntu20.04、Android12
Dimension	62mm * 100mm
Weight	52g

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Orange Pi 5 vs. Orange Pi 5B

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Interfaces

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Unboxing (Package Contents)

• x1 Orange Pi 5B (16GB RAM /256GB eMMC).
• x1 User Guide.
• x2 Wired type antenna.

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A Closer Look at the Board

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Cooling the board

Compared to the previous Orange Pi 5 board design, there are now five chips that need cooling via a large heatsink which include the following components: the main chip, RAM and Wi-Fi/BT chip. This is something worth pointing out as you will need to add additional thermal pads.

The normal thermal pad thickness you will need is about 3-5mm max depending on the spacers length if you are planning to use the semi-open case upper plate as shown in the picture below.

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Identifying Storage Devices

Device name	Description	Notes
/dev/ram0	RAM Partition
/dev/zram1	RAM Partition
/dev/zram0	RAM Partition
/dev/mmcblk0p1	eMMC Partition (256GB)
/dev/mmcblk1	Micro SD Card (32GB)

root@orangepi5b:~# fdisk -l
Disk /dev/ram0: 4 MiB, 4194304 bytes, 8192 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes


Disk /dev/zram0: 7.68 GiB, 8241131520 bytes, 2011995 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 4096 = 4096 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes


Disk /dev/mmcblk0: 232.97 GiB, 250148290560 bytes, 488570880 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: F808D051-1602-4DCD-9452-F9637FEFC49A

Device         Start       End   Sectors  Size Type
/dev/mmcblk0p1  2048 488568831 488566784  233G Linux filesystem


Disk /dev/mmcblk1: 29.76 GiB, 31952207872 bytes, 62406656 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 6975A593-4FE6-1749-99B8-A1B6655F29B5

Device           Start      End  Sectors  Size Type
/dev/mmcblk1p1   61440  2158591  2097152    1G Linux extended boot
/dev/mmcblk1p2 2158592 61767679 59609088 28.4G Linux filesystem


Disk /dev/zram1: 200 MiB, 209715200 bytes, 51200 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 4096 = 4096 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes

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eMMC performance testing (256GB)

In our tests we used three file samples of 200MB, 500MB and 1GB under the Gnome Disk utility. Our results were acceptable, but not amazing. Most of the read and write speeds are “almost” symmetrical except the third test with the 1GB file sample that showed a gap in lower performance write speeds. That said, those results are still better than acquiring a high quality Micro SD Card which can be quite expensive.

Test No.	Sample size	Result
1	200 Mb	Average Read Rate: 323.9 MB/s Average Write Rate: 212.7 MB/s
2	500 Mb	Average Read Rate: 318.5 MB/s Average Write Rate: 212.2 MB/s
3	1GB	Average Read Rate: 317.7 MB/s Average Write Rate: 161.1 MB/s

eMMC Sequential write/read test results

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WiFi Speed Test

Orange Pi 5B includes an integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip. In the default bare board package you will get two simple wire type antennas which should provide decent performance. You will need a pair of RP-SMA Male Antennas with an IPEX (MHF4) connector for a more reliable connection.

Using a proper male to female nut pigtail adapter, there’s another, more elegant way to use dual band antennas on the Pi 5B board. This configuration could be used to position the antennas in different locations using extension cables vs just placing them in a fixed point.

A semi-open metal case + external antennas

Wii Speed Test

A Wi-Fi test was conducted using the chrome browser via Speedtest by Ookla website. The Orange Pi 5B hardware handled a 1GB internet connection very easily.

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Hardware

The Orange Pi 5B is a powerful single-board computer that offers a lot of features and connectivity options in a compact package. It is powered by an Octa core processor, equipped with two separate clusters (4 x Cortex-A76 and 4 x Cortex-A55) which is capable of running at clock speeds up to 2.4GHz. It also features a Mali-G610 MP4, which offers excellent graphics performance, making it ideal for tasks such as gaming and multimedia playback.

One of the most significant advantages of the Orange Pi 5B is its memory and storage. It comes with 4GB LPDDR4 RAM in the most basic version, which is more than enough for most applications. Additionally, it also features 32GB up to 256GB of eMMC storage, which provides plenty of space for storing files and applications.

The Orange Pi 5B also features a wide range of connectivity options, including Gigabit Ethernet, dual-band Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and USB 3.1. This makes it easy to connect the board to the internet, peripherals, and other devices.

In terms of I/O, the Orange Pi 5B features an HDMI 2.1 port, which supports 8K resolution at 60Hz. This makes it perfect for use as a media center or for gaming. It also features a 3.5mm audio jack and a built-in microphone, making it easy to connect headphones or speakers and use voice commands.

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Software

The Orange Pi 5B also features a wide range of software support, including support for Android, Ubuntu, Debian, and Armbian. This makes it easy to find and install the software you need for your specific application.

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Connectivity: More Powerful with built-in Wi-Fi 6 Support

Overall, the Orange Pi 5B is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a powerful single-board computer that offers a lot of features and connectivity options. Its compact size, low power consumption, and affordable pricing make it ideal for a wide range of applications, including media centers, gaming consoles, and IoT devices. Additionally, it comes with WIFI 6 support which makes it a great choice for applications that require high-speed internet connectivity.

The Orange Pi team used a Linux compatible AP6275P Wi-Fi/BT chip from Synaptics. Based on our initial tests, it performed extremely well. Orange Pi team also sells an M.2 module based on the same chip that can fit the Orange Pi 5 board as well as other SBC brands.

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Final words

In conclusion, the Orange Pi 5B is a powerful single-board computer that offers a lot of features and connectivity options in a compact package. Its 8-core 64-bit processor CPU, Arm Mali-G610 MP4 GPU, and 4GB LPDDR4 RAM or larger make it ideal for a wide range of applications, including media centers, gaming consoles, and IoT devices. Its support for Wi-Fi 6 also makes it a great choice for applications that require high-speed internet connectivity. While it may not have the same level of community support as other single-board computers, it is still an excellent choice for anyone looking for a powerful and versatile board.

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Price and Availability

One potential downside to the Orange Pi 5B is its lack of community support. While it is a relatively new board, it started to gain a lot of interest as other single-board computers such as the Raspberry Pi because of its low price high value ratio.

The Orange Pi 5 is currently selling at a starting price of $89 for the 4GB RAM / 32GB eMMC variant. If you need a different configuration, with more RAM for more demanding computing applications, the price will cross the $100 price threshold. You are welcome to visit Orange Pi’s official AliExpress store (link below) for more information.