"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.
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.
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.
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/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
@0jay: Why are you attacking my knowledge? This whole thread is evidence to your lack of reading comprehension.
I'm not expecting SolarAssistant to support the ROCK 4C+. I'm not expecting the ROCK 4C+ to run SolarAssistant.
This whole thread is about whether or not images made for the Raspberry Pi will or won't work on a ROCK 4C+. Because part of the description says "Virtually interchangeable with a Raspberry Pi 4B 4GB", which to some (at least my self and 1 other), implies a chip level clone.
Why are you attacking my knowledge?
i am not, in fact, attacking anything.
i am however questioning your authoratively asserted misinformation in a thread many folks come to for insight.
i am not, in fact, attacking anything.
Buuuuut
this is a non statement and is no more than evidence of the fact you don't have foundational knowledge.
And then:
i am however questioning your authoratively asserted misinformation in a thread many folks come to for insight.
How am I asserting misinformation? I am also trying to provide insight. Anyone who thinks that they can any image made for a Raspberry Pi 4, flash it to a microSD card, and shove it into a ROCK 4C+ and expect it to work, will hopefully stumble on this thread and see that they cannot.
evidence of the fact you don't have foundational knowledge
is a statement of fact
How am I asserting misinformation?
for one thing you've claimed solar assistant only support the rpi
they also support orange pi which (in point of fact) also use rockchip
@0jay: oh my lord SORRY
SolarAssistant doesn't support ROCK 4C+ and if I were to think that the ROCK 4C+ could run the Raspberry Pi 4 image of SolarAssisant since the ROCK 4C+ is "Virtually interchangeable with a Raspberry Pi 4B 4GB" then I'd be sorely mistaken.
@tonyamazing: if you were to think it's adaptable to run on this board you'd probly be right (if you had a bit of knowledge about compiling your own software). it may not be possible, if it's leveraging hardware unique to rpi4/a particular orange pi board it may not be possible.
the question here (in context of solar assistant) is to a company wanting to limit their resources to only supporting limited hardware. there's every possibility that their software runs fine on other sbcs only you need to know what you're doing.
the thing, i guess, is that linux is primarily for tinkerers. if you expect iwannaspeaktothemanager support then stick to only the very middle of the road options but if that's your caper i'd suggest that even the rpi might be a bit more than y can chew an all
images made for the Raspberry Pi 4 will not work on a ROCK 4C+
as an example, there is an open source hardware project an example of which is a firefly board. this has a rockchip cpu just like the radxa baord in this deal.
the firefly board has a tool you can use to add firefly drivers to a pios image so that it will boot both on the pi4 and on the firefly board
firefly board has a tool you can use to add firefly drivers to a pios image so that it will boot both on the pi4 and on the firefly board
So, you're agreeing with me? Images for Raspberry Pi and Rockchip are not interchangeable.
Images for Raspberry Pi and Rockchip are not interchangeable.
just gave y an example demonstrating that they are, in fact, interchangable
just gave y an example demonstrating that they are, in fact, interchangable
You did not. The image needs modification with a tool.
The image needs modification
you call adding drivers for a new graphic card a modification?
most folks'd consider that just adding drivers
you call adding drivers for a new graphic card a modification
100% the image cannot be flashed to a different device without changing it. Which is a modification. Which matters when you're dealing with closed source software.
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Awesome find. Grabbed one. Thanks