"Virtually interchangeable with a Raspberry Pi 4B 4GB"
It is a cheap Raspberry Pi 4B 4GB clone. Not sure when the deal ends but I picked one up today for a little project I had in mind.
Rock 4 Model C Plus $39.00 + $7.95 Delivery ($0 Pick up) @ Jaycar
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what OS does this run?
Your best bet would be Armbian.
To all the people here asking 'can I run pihole / retropi ?" etc , keep in mind a lot of the convenience of running a Raspberry Pi comes from installing a preconfigured appliance distro for a particular end use, tailored to / optimised for the rPI's architecture. This ain't that. You will be creating an Armbian SD card and then, after you get it running, layering in 3rd party packages etc over the top, on the command line.
As mentioned below 'compatible' means 'has the same physical footprint, can use same cases'. Software, not so much. Peripherals, via the GPIO connector, no.
Mine landed today, and I got Armbian (desktop and 'lite' / server) images working just fine. Overall, very happy.
You can find the latest desktop image here:
https://github.com/armbian/community/releases/tag/25.8.0-tru…
search for
Rockpi-4cplusImage was burnt to SD with USBImager. BalenaEtcher might be OK too.
One tip - I needed to connect to the micro-HDMI closest to the centre of the board to get video out.
@hughc: Did you have to make any changes to the config to get video output?
I was successfully able to flash a recent armbian from GitHub, I can connect to it via SSH and wifi works, but neither of the two HDMI ports provide any signal to my TV, I wonder if it's a config option I missed somewhere?
I'll try flashing the old official debian image to verify HDMI works at all over the weekend, but just curious
@drasticmeasures1337: No, no changes. TBH I wasted time on a couple of flashes / reflashes, thinking the board had not come up, and switching from Etcher to USBImager (as recommended by Armbian). Boot was probably fine, but because I was using the second port, I saw nothing. Swapped over the cable and all good.
Haven't gone to the shed to look for a second adapter in my box marked 'video cables', to test if the second port only gets activated when you boot to the desktop. For my (likely headless) use cases for the board, I'm not that fussed.
@hughc: Cheers, in my case the HDMI suddenly started working after I powered the same armbian off/on with a button on a different monitor (1080p instead of a 4k monitor), not sure what's up with that lol, maybe something wrong with the 4k output. I still can't get the second HDMI to work but I'll keep trying.
It was definitely slightly weird with the LEDs behaviour being different to the Pi, but yeah got it to work.
@drasticmeasures1337: If you have issues always try re-downling, checking hash, imaging the usb again. I can’t tell you how many times a Linux distro had issues because it was corrupted on the download process.
@Low Punt: I've honestly never had a problem with corrupt iso downloads :P But thanks for the heads up. The image was fine btw, the HDMI worked with a different display, unclear why
what OS
linux, bsd what more y want?
Can I run steamOS with a Windows 11 partition?
@serpserpserp: Theoretically you can run the ARM64 version of Win 11 on there, but it won't be a good experience.
@16k-zx81: Yep, you can even download it directly from Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11a…
I'd recommend using one of the more tailored images for SBCs though. There's one available through the rPi imager, but search for Windows 11 ARM UUP dump for a more generic process for it.
can you run retropi on this?
Yes, once you install another linux distro, you can have retropie installed over it
Hmm it was there 30 seconds ago, but now it's gone.
Would it run piOS?
Does it run Crysis?
yes a pentium 4 can run crysis
Can you install newer versions or only those ancient ones on that page?
sorry, not pios, but ubuntu, debian.. if you're running them headless they are essentially the same
@impoze: They asked if there are newer versions of the OS. Running old unsupported distros is crazy. Headless or not.
Hi all,
I'm new to raspberry pi and
grabbed 2 for pi hole after reading a thread 2 was recommended.What else do I need to get this working and how to install pi hole?
Thanks
- microSD cards for each
- USB Type C power supply
ChatGPT can easily guide you through the process of installing pi-hole and setting up the second with syncing for the backup like nebula using Docker etc.
Plenty of youtube videos
2x for a pi hole setup?
Sounds strange to melot of folk use 2x pihole servers for redundancy
if your main pihole DNS server goes down, your internet will be offline. Unless, you set it to fall back to google/cloudflare DNS.
It doesn't have to be 2x raspberry pi though, just two instances.
What a bargain. Grabbed 2.
Anyone have info on software/usability differences between this and a RPi 4? Currently trying to convince myself to buy this since it seems to be a pretty good deal (already have an unused Pi sitting around waiting for a good project idea).
this will be just as unused then
can’t use pihats as pinouts differ
So much for "Virtually interchangeable with a Raspberry Pi 4B 4GB"
not everyone has a use for hats. as linked above there's a radxa poe hat designed for these units
the interchangable refers to formfactor (cases) and software
folks should really learn something before posting this is fckn tedious
Bought 1, figure out use case later 😂
dont need, bought, thanks!
bought one , on radax forum people say Pi4 case is compatible
anyone tested it before?
The official webpage has an image implying it'll fit with Raspberry Pi 4 case.
Don't know why I'm getting votes on this one. This is the image I'm talking about.
Thanks give you a 👍 for that with snap. I was guessing the same for that implication but with the imgur crystal clear.
thanks to both @16k-zx81and @tonyamazing , appreciated!
Anyone Remember C.H.I.P ?
Yes! I still have my Pocket CHIP I occasionally boot up, but still have no real use for.
does it work with pi 4b poe hat?
would also like to know
Anyone know if this can be used as a wireless Android Auto dongle instead of a raspberry pi?
i don't see why not - it has usb otg, wireless, should be compatible with same oses..
Cheers mate, something for me to consider then.
Is this for a cool project?
If not, $20 on Aliexpress. Works almost better than native Wireless AA on some cars.I've been seeing mixed feedback on the usual Carlinkit wireless carplay / AA dongle deals - seems to be a few issues with lagging and needing to reboot phones for AA when compared to Carplay. I was thinking that could be mitigated by getting one of these and going the DIY route. Still weighing my options.
Hey mate, can't really say for the others but I've got a very cheap Android Auto headset I put in myself. It used to have all those issues of connectivity etc, then I Upgraded my 8 year old Android phone to a current gen one, and poof, all the connectivity issues are gone, didn't even have to update anything on the head unit side.
Imo trying to do Android Auto via an RPi will be a huge challenge and not worth it compared to the cheap dongles that can be plugged into your video headunit if you already have one
@aaronsd: Thanks mate, those are some good insights. Tbh after sleeping on it, I've come to the conclusion that ~$20 is worth the punt to actually get one off AliExpress and see if I have any issues. Thanks all for the responses :)
thought that raspberry pi foundation had a special deal updon did with broadcom that the raspberry pi soc had an extra arithmetic unit on the chip, so unless it’s from the pi foundation the soc isn’t 100% the same ?
the SOC has a different manufacturer, different cpu model, different gpu, etc. It's not a chip-level clone, its a form factor and usage clone: If, like me, you're throwing generic linux on it for standard raspi tasks, it should be a very similar experience.
Except all the offical OS options are old unsupported distros that no one should be running.
Looks like dietpie is the only one I’d even remotely consider using and who knows how long updates will continue for that.
Fair, off-brand hardware can be a bit of an adventure after a few years. Debian 11 is still getting security patches for a year, but I'll probably dive into armbian or the community builds when mine arrives.
armbian
https://github.com/armbian/community/releases/tag/25.8.0-tru…
im using it right nowanother option is run libreElec Nightly build and run docker containers
https://test.libreelec.tv/13.0/Rockchip/rock-4c-plus/@YeahBabi: Which is the correct files for Armbian to download?
Armbian_community_25.8.0-trunk.90_Rockpi-4cplus_noble_current_6.12.31_gnome_desktop.img.xz
NOTE: Link to this file is broken at the moment.What about if you don't want the Desktop?
@whats up skip: just search the releases page with "rockpi-4cplus" as theres to many images, what you want is minimal
heres a bookworm minimal link
https://github.com/armbian/community/releases/download/25.5.…
What about proxmox or home assistant OS?
Except all the offical OS options are old unsupported distros that no one should be running.
Not sure where you're seeing that. There are official images for Debian 11 and Ubuntu Jammy, both of which remain supported. They also recommend the currently supported version of Armbian.
They run absolutely fine on the current LTS versions of Ubuntu and Debian.
Yeah “Virtually interchangeable” is very misleading.
Is it though?
"virtually". No claim was made that the machines are entirely identical.
"The ROCKPro64, a single-board computer, supports a wide variety of operating systems, including various Linux distributions, Android, and even some BSD images. Specifically, it can run Debian, Ubuntu, Arch Linux, AOSC, DietPi, LibreELEC, Manjaro ARM, OpenMediaVault, and OpenWrt, among others. It also supports Android 9.0.0, 8.1.0, and 7.1.2".
The most important thing is software support.
The raspberry pi biggest advantage is a wide range of officially supported operating systems.
This has a hodgepodge of operating systems that no longer receive security updates and operating systems maintained by community.
I’d say even mentioning the word interchangeable is wrong.
It’s a single board computer with no relation or comparison to a raspberry pi.
The most important thing is software support.
This.
A quick google shows lots of people trying to use this thing and giving up.
Very few people will be able to turn it into something useful.Very few people will be able to turn it into something useful.
authoritative statement on the strength of a bit of domestic strength googling mate
radxa boards are in fact one of the most popular sbcs around
I think it is. I'll probably still buy one to sit in my drawer of raspberry pis, arduinos, and esp32s, but prior to reading some of these comments, I was under the impression that software compatible with Raspberry Pi 4 would be compatible with this ROCK 4C+. Unless I'm mistaken, this isn't the case.
For me, that doesn't make it virtually interchangeable; more like physically interchangeable.
@tonyamazing: why's it not the case?
pi is arm, rockchip's arm, what's the problem?
ever hear linux'll run on anything?
further to that why buy hardware y have no use for then come and fud about it without experience?
@0jay: You're right linux'll run on anything. Linux runs on the ROCK 4C+.
But images made specifically for the Raspberry Pi 4 don't appear to be compatible with the ROCK 4C+. I'll happily be proven wrong, I would love to run Solar Assistant on this. I'll buy one of these and try running RPi4 images to see for myself.
From my quick Googling, the Pi 4 has a BCM2711, which is a single chip, quad core ARM Cortex-A72 processor. The ROCK 4C+ has a RK3399, which is a big.LITTLE dual chip, with dual core ARM Cortex-A72 and quad core ARM Cortex-A53. That difference in architecture, as far as I understand, makes RPi4 images incompatible with the ROCK 4C+.
@tonyamazing: pi os is debian with pi firmware embedded in the image
people are posting with near zero knowledge or experience of linux and it really really shows
pi os is debian with pi firmware embedded in the image
so …. pi os is specifically for the raspberry pi? I don't understand the argument here.
I'm also not sure what my experience with Linux has to do with this discussion. I'm stating that images made specifically for the Raspberry Pi 4 don't appear to be compatible with the ROCK 4C+.
All you're doing is trash talk. Show me or prove to me that these images work. All the forum and reddit threads I find on this topic all suggest that RPi 4 images do not work with the ROCK 4C+.
@tonyamazing: debian is a very stable (conservatively so), reliable linux distro. pi os is very much vanilla debian linux with pi drivers/firmware embedded in the image. you would in fact dsicover (were you to use the hardware you say y have sitting in a drawer) that projects like armbian actually run cooler with better power consumption than pios on pi hardware. pios is not, in fact, the pinacle of linux implimentations for sbcs
debian is a very stable (conservatively so), reliable linux distro. pi os is very much vanilla linux with pi drivers/firmware embedded in the image
None of what you're saying is even remotely about getting RPi4 images working on the ROCK 4C+. I'm not talking about armbian vs pi os. There are images out there that are made specifically for the RPi. For whatever reason I want to run them. Are the projects and distros you mentioned "better"? I dunno. It's beside the point. The software I mentioned, Solar Assistant, provides closed source, "premium" (as in, it costs money), images that are specifically for Raspberry Pis.
were you to use the hardware you say y have sitting in a drawer
I've used my Pis for all kinds of projects in the past. I've since switched to sff pcs with N100s in them because I had issues with microSD card corruption. I could have used USB SSD drives instead of microSD cards, but I found I needed more processing power.
pi4 images are debian images
I think you're starting to show your lack of knowledge.
Here are some non-debian Pi 4 images
@tonyamazing: pios is not an arch linux implementation
pios is not an fedora linux implementation
pios is not an suse linux implementation
pios is not an majaro linux implementation
pios is not an kali linux implementation
you conflated my addressing pios as debian with all other linux distros for pi
You've conflated my statement about RPi4 images as Pi OS.
pi os is specifically for the raspberry pi?
I guess a primary problem here is you seem to regard any distro that runs on pi (rpi4 images) to be somehow unique. it is not.
debian on any sbc is effectively the same os as pios
you seem to regard any distro that runs on pi (rpi4 images) to be somehow unique
I'm specifically talking images made for Raspberry Pi and how I would like to run them on the ROCK 4C+.
images made for Raspberry Pi and how I would like to run them on the ROCK 4C+
how is debian running on a rockchip board different from debian running on a pi?
you conflated my addressing pios as debian with all other linux distros for pi
Bro. I haven't conflated anything.
Quote:
pi4 images are debian images
@tonyamazing: yeh i thought we were talking about pios as up until now that's the only distro you've mentioned
that's the only distro you've mentioned
Any mention of Pi OS I have made is in reply to your mention of Pi OS. I have always talked about images made for the Raspberry Pi.
@0jay: Specifically, I want Solar Assisant
I have linked several others.
Can I download any one of those images, flash it to a microSD card, and shove it in a ROCK 4C?
@tonyamazing: that's like asking can you run android on a samsung handset as against a huawei handset
software from debian repos (repos used in pios) will run on debian installs (on rockchip boards or any other sbc)
@0jay: This is exactly the point of the whole thread. That saying "Virtually interchangeable with a Raspberry Pi 4B 4GB" is very misleading.
To me, this statement implies that the ROCK 4C+ is a chip level clone, not just a physical format clone, which would mean images made for the Raspberry Pi 4 would work on the ROCK 4C+.
So we're in agreement, then; images made for the Raspberry Pi 4 will not work on a ROCK 4C+.
images made for the Raspberry Pi 4
an image for a pi4 is a debian implimentation compiled for an armv8 processor which's no diff from debian installed on one of these radxa boards (also armv8) excepting that it doesn't need pi4 drivers as pi4 drivers are particular to pi4's hadware
an image for a pi4 is a debian implimentation
Do you think that "an image for a pi 4" is Pi OS?
I'll link them again. Here is a list of Raspberry Pi Images that are not Debian based.
@tonyamazing: goddam it bruh you can run all those distros on the radxa in this deal and what's more these distro images for the pi4're compiled for the same armv8 as on the radxa baord
@0jay: Bro please.
My statement is clear. Images made specifically for the Raspberry Pi will not work for ROCK 4C+. I'm not talking about other ways to get distros running. I'm not talking about what distro works better than other distros. The statement can't be any clearer. An RPi4 image, whatever flavour it is, will not work on a ROCK 4C+.
Why does this matter to me? Because I want to use proprietary software, SolarAssistant. They only support Raspberry Pi.
Images made specifically for the Raspberry Pi
this is a non statement and is no more than evidence of the fact you don't have foundational knowledge
They only support Raspberry Pi
they also support orange pi which (in point of fact) also use rockchip
Awesome find. Grabbed one. Thanks