ROCK Pi 4 Model C+ is a single board computer (SBC) by a Rockchip RK3399-T hexa-core processor @ 1.5 GHz, equipped with 4GB RAM, and two micro HDMI ports to drive up to one 4K display, and one 2K display.
It is yet another ROCK Pi 4 SBC from Radxa, and the first to use the down-clocked RK3399-T processor with other models based on Rockchip OP1 processor clocked at 2.0GHz (overclockable to 2.2/2.4GHz) or the traditional Rockchip RK3399 @ 1.8 GHz (overclockable to 2.0 GHz), and also the first of the family to offer dual HDMI output.
ROCK Pi 4 Model C+ specifications:
- SoC – Rockchip RK3399-T big.LITTLE hexa-core processor with
- 2x Arm Cortex-A72 @ up to 1.5 GHz (up to 2.0 GHz overclock)
- 4x Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.4 GHz (up to 1.6 GHz overclock). Note the processor datasheet says the Cortex-A53 cores are limited to 1.0 GHz, but Radxa confirmed the 1.4/1.6GHz numbers.
- Mali-T864 GPU with support OpenGL ES1.1/2.0/3.0/3.1, OpenVG1.1, OpenCL, DX11, and AFBC
- VPU with 4K VP9 and 4K 10-bit H265/H264 decoding, 1080p60 H.264 hardware encoding
- System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4
- Storage
- MicroSD card slot
- eMMC socket up to 128GB
- Support for M.2 Key M 2230 NVMe SSD up to 2TB (PCIe 2.0 x4) – Note the photo below should the wrong M.2 connector
- Optional 4MB SPI flash with support for NVMe or Network boot (Note: it will reduce available DSI lanes by 2)
- Video Output / Display Interface
- Micro HDMI 2.0 port up to 4K @ 60 Hz
- Micro HDMI 2.0 port up to 2K @ 60 Hz
- 4-lane MIPI DSI via FPC connector (only 2 lanes if the SPI flash is soldered to the board)
- Dual independent display support (not three before the 2K HDMI and MIPI DSI interfaces are multiplexed)
- Audio – 3.5mm stereo audio+mic jack, digital audio via HDMI; RK817 HD codec supporting up to 24-bit/96Khz audio
- Camera – 2-lane MIPI-CSI2 connector for cameras up to 8MP
- Connectivity
- Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port with PoE via additional HAT
- Dual-band 802.11ac WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.0 (AzureWave AW-CM256 module) with u.FL antenna connector
- USB – 2x USB 3.0 host ports including on OTG (at the top), 2x USB 2.0 host ports
- Expansion – 40-pin expansion header with 1x UART, 2x SPI bus, 2x I2C bus, 1x PCM/I2S, 1x SPDIF, 1x PWM, 1x ADC, 6x GPIO, and power signals (5V, 3.3V, and GND)
- Misc – Power button, PWM fan header
- Power Supply – 5V/3A via USB-C port (5V/5A recommended if an SSD is connected)
- Dimensions – 85 x 54 mm
Radxa provides support for Debian/Ubuntu Linux, Android 7.1/9.0/11 for the board, with open-source GPU drivers (that should be Panfrost), as well as hardware access/control library for Linux/Android. All RK3399/OP1 processors are software compatible, so you’d be able to follow the same Wiki as for other ROCK PI 4 boards.
The Rockchip RK3399-T simply lowers the BoM cost together with some other optimizations.
Besides the Rockchip RK3399-T processor, one other major difference is that the new ROCK Pi 4 Model C+ SBC does not support USB PD anymore, and you’d need to power it up with a 5V USB-C power adapter. Radxa managed to free up 2-lane for MIPI DSI, which should also enable the extra 2K micro HDMI port unless you also solder an SPI flash. The audio codec and wireless modules are also been changed with the ESS ES8316 chip and AP6256 modules giving place to Rockchip RK817 audio codec and AzureWave AW-CM256 module without changing the key specifications.
ROCK Pi 4 Model C+ is currently sold on Allnetchina for $59.99 plus shipping, as well as on Ameridroid for $64.95 (Note the photos are correct, but the specs on Ameridroid are wrong at the time of writing).
Thanks to j_c for the tip.
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.
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