A Single Board Computer, more commonly referred to as an SBC, is a circuit board that contains all the necessary components to both run an operating system, and to allow for the plugging in of peripheral devices, such as a keyboard, mouse, and monitor.
While they are not new to the world of computing, there have been major leaps in overall refinement over the last few years, and SBCs are now a decent choice when it comes to having a cheap desktop, or a device for various projects. Here we will look at some of the most popular SBCs on the market at the moment.
The Odyssey X86J4
This is the SBC to choose for the user that wants the most power possible on a single board. It’s about the only SBC that can successfully run Windows 10 thanks to its Intel Celeron J4105, m which is a quad-core CPU that runs at 1.5GHz. Along with this, the Odyssey comes complete with 8GB of LPDDR4 RAM, as well as 64GB of onboard storage, which comes in an eMMC format. There are other nice-to-haves, such as integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, Ethernet ports, HDMI and SATA ports, and much more.
Raspberry Pi Zero
This is one of the most affordable SBCs around right now, and it’s a great choice for those that don’t have a large budget, but still want a decent SBC for project use. It can be bought for around 5 to 10 USD, depending on the model, making it one of the cheapest available. The standard Pi Zero does not come with integrated Wi-Fi, meaning that a separate adapter will be needed in order to get connectivity working. The more expensive Pi Zero W, which is slightly more expensive, comes equipped with functional wireless connectivity.
Raspberry Pi 4
This is a great all-rounder SBC that sides on the line between affordability and power. The model 4 is the latest from the Raspberry Pi Foundation and comes in a few iterations depending on the user’s needs. Boasting a quad-core processor, and a choice between 2, 4, and 8GB of RAM, the Pi 4 is perfect for running a small home server or desktop computer, and more than enough to watch videos, surf the web or play what’s available on canadianonlinegambling.net. It’s also an SBC that comes with a huge variety of add-ons and cases. The Raspberry Pi Foundation even offers their own keyboard, mouse, and cover that works with the Pi 4.
The Jetson Nano
Most people are familiar with Nvidia, the company that makes graphics cards, but this isn’t the only hardware that they offer. The Jetson Nano is an SBC offered by Nvidia with a focus on graphical power, and while it isn’t as powerful as the Odyssey or as flexible as the Raspberry Pi, it’s an excellent choice for users that want to delve into machine learning, something that Nvidia focuses on with their hardware. Its CPU isn’t as up to scratch as many of the others on this list, but it does come equipped with a 128-core Nvidia Maxwell GPU, one of the smallest and most powerful around.