HardKernel Releases Pi 3 Competitor Odroid C2

Hardkernel has presented the Raspberry Pi 3 competitor Odroid C2. The board costs slightly more than the Pi 3, but has a faster processor, GPU with support for outputting 4k images and a built-in gigabit Ethernet port.

The C2 has an Amlogic S905 soc on board, according to the product page. It has four Cortex A53 cores at a maximum of 2GHz. Broadcom’s BCM2837 in the Pi 3 also has A53 cores, but they go up to 1.2GHz. The Odroid’s GPU is a Mali 450MP5 at 700MHz. As a result, the Hardkernel board is capable of outputting 4k video and h265 material at 60fps, two things the Pi 3 cannot do. The mini computer has 2GB DDR3 memory on board. Users have to add storage themselves and can do so via the micro-SD slot or the emmc port.

Where the Pi 3 has a nic that can handle a maximum of 100Mbit/s, the Odroid C2 has a gigabit nic. Onboard support for WiFi and Bluetooth is missing. For this, users will be able to plug adapters into one of the four USB 2.0 ports, the South Korean manufacturer suggests. For the operating system, users can choose from Ubuntu 16.04 or Android 5.1.

The C2 is the same size as its predecessor and as the Pi 2 and 3, namely 85x56mm. The small computer is for sale immediately and costs 40 dollars, currently converted around 37 euros. This makes it slightly more expensive than the Pi 3, for which the Raspberry Pi foundation is asking $35.