Orange Pi 6 vs. Raspberry Pi: 45 TOPS AI, dual 2.5 Gbit LAN, LPDDR5, and dual PCIe 4 SSDs

We have already covered the Orange Pi 6 Plus. The Orange Pi 6 (without “Plus”) is another single-board computer that - at least on paper - offers strong performance and a robust feature set. According to the manufacturer, it can deliver AI performance of up to 45 TOPS; however, this figure applies to the entire system, meaning it combines the CPU, NPU, and GPU. The dedicated NPU, optimised for AI workloads, contributes 28.8 TOPS. Reaching the full 45 TOPS is likely to reduce energy efficiency. As both the CPU and GPU would be heavily utilised, which may not be ideal in real-world scenarios. The system is powered by the CIX CD8180 SoC with 12 processing cores. The LPDDR5 memory measures 8, 16, or 24 GB, depending on the selected configuration.

While microSD card support is included, users can also install up to two M.2 2280 SSDs, each connected via four PCIe 4.0 lanes. For NAS use cases, a SATA adapter card could be an option. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth can be added via an M.2 (Key E) module. Out of the box, wired networking is handled by two Ethernet ports, each supporting speeds of up to 2.5 Gbit/s. The board also offers two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, two USB 2.0 ports, and two fully featured USB 3.0 Type-C ports, which also support video output. DisplayPort 1.4 enables 4K output at up to 120 Hz, while HDMI 2.0 supports up to 60 Hz. MIPI CSI is supported, and power is supplied via USB Type-C. A 40-pin GPIO header is included. Pricing and availability for the 90 × 90 mm board have not yet been announced. The Orange Pi 5 is available for purchase on Amazon.