NVIDIA Jetson Developer Kits Comparison - Nano vs TX2 vs Xavier NX vs AGX Xavier

NVIDIA launched the Jetson Xavier NX developer kit yesterday, and I included a short comparison table in the announcement between Jetson Nano, TX2, Xavier NX, and AGX Xavier developer kits. But I thought it might be worthwhile to have a more detailed comparison in a separate post, so here we are.

	Jetson Nano (B01)	Jetson TX2	Jetson Xavier NX	Jetson AGX Xavier
CPU	Quad-core Arm A57 @ 1.43 GHz	Hexa-core processor with 2x NVIDIA Denver 2 64-Bit CPU, 4x ARM Cortex-A57 cores	6-core NVIDIA Carmel ARM v8.2 64-bit CPU 6 MB L2 + 4 MB L3 cache	8-Core ARM v8.2 64-Bit CPU 8 MB L2 + 4 MB L3
GPU	128-core Maxwell GPU	256-core Pascal GPU	Volta GPU with 384 NVIDIA CUDA cores and 48 Tensor cores	512-core Volta GPU with Tensor Cores
AI accel.	N/A	N/A	2x NVDLA Engines 7-Way VLIW Vision Processor	2x NVDLA Engines 7-Way VLIW Vision Processor
Memory	4 GB 64-bit LPDDR4 @ 25.6 GB/s	8GB 128-bit LPDDR4 @ 59.7 GB/s	8 GB 128-bit LPDDR4x @ 51.2GB/s	32 GB 256-Bit LPDDR4x @ 137 GB/s
Storage	MicroSD slot	32GB eMMC flash SD card slot SATA	MicroSD card slot M.2 Key M for SSD	32 GB eMMC flash Micro SD/UFS card socket M.2 Key M for SSD eSATAp + USB 3.0 type A
Video Output	HDMI 2.0 and eDP 1.4 (video only)	HDMI 2.0 Display expansion header with 2x 4-lane DSI, eDP/DP/HDMI, backlight and touch	HDMI 2.0 DisplayPort	HDMI 2.0 2x DisplayPort via USB-C ports
Camera I/F	2x MIPI CSI-2	Camera expansion header with 6x 2-lane CSI or 3x 4-lane CSI, I2S, UART, I2C 5MP camera included in kit	2x MIPI CSI-2	Camera expansion header with 16x 2-lane CSI or 8x 4-lane CSI, conrol signals
Video Decode	4K @ 60 \| 2x 4K @ 30 \| 8x 1080p @ 30 \| 18x 720p @ 30 (H.264/H.265)	2x 4K @ 60 \|4x 4K @ 30 \| 7x 1080p @ 60 \| 14x 1080p @ 30 (H.265)	2x 4Kp60 \| 4x 4Kp30 \| 12x 1080p60 \| 32x 1080p30 (H.265) 2x 4Kp30 \| 6x 1080p60 \| 16x 1080p30 (H.264)	2x 4Kp60 (H.265)
Video Encode	4K @ 30 \| 4x 1080p @ 30 \| 9x 720p @ 30 (H.264/H.265)	1x 4K @ 60 \| 3x 4K @ 30 \| 4x 1080p @ 60 \| 8x 1080p @ 30 (H.265)	2x 4Kp30 \| 6x 1080p60 \| 14x 1080p30 (H.265 & H.264)	2x 4Kp60 (H.265)
Networking	Gigabit Ethernet	Gigabit Ethernet 802.11ac WiFi 5 and Bluetooth	Gigabit Ethernet WiFi and Bluetooth via included M.2 Key-E card	Gigabit Ethernet
USB	4x USB 3.0 1x Micro USB 2.0 device	1x USB 3.0 1x Micro USB 2.0	4x USB 3.1 1x Micro USB 2.0	2x USB 3.1 Type C with optional DP, optional PD
Expansion	M.2 Key E socket (PCIe x1, USB 2.0, UART, I2S, and I2C) 40-pin expansion header with GPIO, I2C, I2S, SPI, UART signals	M.2 Key E socket PCIe x4 connector 40-pin expansion header with I2C, I2S, SPI, UART, D-MIC 30-pin expansion header with I2S, GPIOs, speaker	M.2 Key E socket (PCIe x1, USB 2.0, UART, I2S, and I2C) 40-pin expansion header with GPIOs, I2C, I2S, SPI, UART	M.2 Key E socket with PCIe x1, USB 2.0 + UART for WiFI/LTE PCIe x16 slot (x8 used) 40-pin expansion header with UART, SPI, CAN, I2C, I2S, DMIC, GPIOs HD audio header
Power Supply	5V/4A via power barrel 5V/2A via micro USB optional PoE support	5.5V to 19.6V via power barrel 19V DC adapter included	9 to 19V via power barrel power adapter included	9 to 20V via power barrel 19V DC adapter included
Power Consumption	5-10W	7.5-15W	10-15W	10-30W
Cooling	Heatsink	Fansink	Fansink	Fansink
Dimensions	100 x 80 x 26 mm	170x170mm (Mini-ITX)	103 x 90.5 x 31 mm	105 x 105 x ~55 mm
Price	$99	$399	$399	$699
AI Performance	0.5 TFLOPS (FP16)	1.3 TFLOPS (FP16)	6 TFLOPS (FP16) 21 TOPS (INT8)	5.5-11 TFLOPS (FP16) 20-32 TOPS (INT8)

As expected, usually the more you spend on a board, the better the performance and features. The exception is Jetson TX2 which’s the same price as the new Jetson Xavier NX devkit but delivers about a fifth of the FP16 AI performance. So as today, there’s little reason to buy a TX2 board for a new project unless you need some of the required features that are missing on Xavier NX.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.