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Voltarum Mini PC Guide
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Radxa · Radxa · 2022

Radxa ROCK 5B

For advanced users

An RK3588 board with one of the best mainline Linux efforts among Arm SBCs.

Processor
Rockchip RK3588
RAM
4 / 8 / 16 / 32 GB
Network
1 × 2.5 GbE
Drive slots
1

Great fit for: No use rated great

—

Researched from manufacturer data and public reviews; not tested by us.· Last reviewed Oct 28, 2026

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What it is good for

Derived from the specs

Our rules applied to its specs. The reasons come from the data in the specification table. How the verdicts are decided

  • Home AssistantGood
    • Home Assistant OS needs a community build
    • Takes an SSD or eMMC for the system
    • Low power for 24/7 use
  • Media serverGood
    • Hardware encoder (Rockchip MPP): supported by Jellyfin, not by Plex
    • Decodes HEVC 10-bit and AV1 in hardware
  • Homelab / ProxmoxLimited
    • Arm processor: Docker works, Proxmox VE does not
    • Up to 32 GB of RAM for containers
  • Router / firewallLimited
    • One network port: only as a 'router on a stick' with VLANs and a managed switch
  • NASLimited
    • 1 internal drive slots (1× M.2)
    • 2.5 GbE network
    • A single drive: no mirror, so keep a backup elsewhere
  • DesktopLimited
    • Linux desktop on Arm: fine for browsing, coding and learning, slow with heavy sites
  • Electronics / GPIOGood
    • GPIO header
    • Raspberry Pi HATs and libraries do not always work unchanged

Configurations and where to buy

Prices are editorial references (launch price and a typical street price on the date shown), not live prices. In 2026 the memory shortage has pushed many prices well above launch.

Prices are shown only if updated in the last 24 hours and may change; the retailer’s price at checkout applies. We may earn a commission from these links at no cost to you. Affiliate disclosure

Overview

Editorial opinion

Best for: Arm developers and tinkerers who want RK3588 power with upstream kernels.

Editorial opinionWould we buy it today?

Yes for Arm development; for a home server an N150 mini PC is less work.

Pros and cons

Editorial opinion

Pros

  • Good progress on mainline Linux
  • Full-speed NVMe slot
  • Up to 32 GB

Cons

  • One network port
  • Needs a capable USB-C PD supply
  • Heatsink needed

Specifications

Factual data
General
Manufacturer
Radxa
Type
Single-board computer
Form factor
Compact board (100 × 75 mm or so)
Released
2022
Availability
On sale
Processor and graphics
Processor
Rockchip RK3588Arm (64-bit) · Cortex-A76 + A55
Cores / threads
8 / 84× Cortex-A76 + 4× Cortex-A55
Max clock
2.4 GHz
Graphics
Arm Mali-G610 MP4
Hardware video decode
H.264, HEVC 8-bit, HEVC 10-bit (HDR), VP9, AV1
Hardware video encode
H.264, HEVC 8-bit
NPU
6 TOPS
Memory and storage
RAM options
4 / 8 / 16 / 32 GB
RAM type
LPDDR4X
RAM upgrades
Soldered, cannot be upgraded
M.2 slots
1
microSD slot
Yes
Storage details
M.2 2280 NVMe (PCIe 3.0 x4), eMMC connector, microSD
Network
Ethernet
1 × 2.5 GbE1× 2.5 GbE (Realtek RTL8125B), PoE with a HAT
Wi-Fi
M.2 E-key slot for a Wi-Fi card
Displays, USB and expansion
Displays at once
3
Video outputs
2× HDMI out (8K), HDMI in, USB-C with DisplayPort
USB
2× USB 3.0, 2× USB 2.0
USB4 / Thunderbolt
No
GPIO header
Yes
Power over Ethernet
Yes
Power, cooling and size
Power input
USB-C PD (12 V recommended)
Power supply
External adapter
Cooling
Bare board: heatsink or fan sold apart
Size (W × D × H)
100 × 75 mm

Rockchip RK3588: The most capable common Arm SoC for boards: eight cores, 8K video decoding, H.264/HEVC encoding and lots of PCIe.

Source: Manufacturer specifications

Software support

Editorial opinion

How well each system installs and runs on it today (editorial assessment).

  • Windows 11Not supported
  • Linux (Debian, Ubuntu or vendor image)Good
  • Proxmox VENot supported
  • Home Assistant OSWorks with effort
  • OPNsense / pfSense / OpenWrtWorks with effort

Measured

Factual data

Measured values with their source. We never invent figures.

No measured values yet.

Alternatives

Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi 5

Processor
Broadcom BCM2712
RAM
16 GB
Network
1 × 1 GbE

Great fit for: Electronics / GPIO

The reference board: two to three times a Pi 4, PCIe for an NVMe SSD and the best software of any SBC.

from $78 (typical price)Highly recommended

Other boards

ZimaSpace ZimaBoard 2

Processor
Intel N150
RAM
16 GB
Network
2 × 2.5 GbE

Great fit for: Home Assistant · Media server · Router / firewall

A silent, fanless N150 board in an aluminium case with two Intel 2.5 GbE ports, two SATA ports and a PCIe slot.

from $279 (typical price)Recommended

Orange Pi

Orange Pi 5 Plus

Processor
Rockchip RK3588
RAM
32 GB
Network
2 × 2.5 GbE

Great fit for: No use rated great

The RK3588 board with the most I/O: two 2.5 GbE ports, a full-speed NVMe slot, HDMI in and up to 32 GB.

from $109 (launch price)For advanced users