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July 19th, 2024

Radxa X4 low-cost, credit card-sized Intel N100 SBC goes for $60 and up

The Radxa X4 is a compact Intel Processor N100 SBC with 4GB/8GB RAM, dual HDMI, USB, Ethernet, WiFi, GPIO, RP2040 microcontroller, M.2 SSD support, Windows/Linux compatibility. Lacks camera/display interfaces. Compatible with Raspberry Pi GPIO. Out of stock temporarily.

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Radxa X4 low-cost, credit card-sized Intel N100 SBC goes for $60 and up

The Radxa X4 is a credit card-sized Intel Processor N100 single board computer (SBC) priced at around $60 for the 4GB RAM model and $80 for the 8GB RAM variant. It offers features like dual micro HDMI output, USB ports, Ethernet, WiFi networking, and a 40-pin GPIO header. The SBC includes an Intel Processor N100 quad-core processor, Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller, 4GB or 8GB LPDDR5 RAM, M.2 SSD support, and various connectivity options. It supports Windows 10/11 and Debian/Ubuntu Linux distributions. The lack of MIPI CSI and DSI connectors is a downside for projects needing camera and display interfaces. The board is compatible with the Raspberry Pi GPIO header and offers features like power buttons, RTC header, and BIOS features. The Radxa X4 is currently out of stock but expected to be available soon, with eMMC flash models and industrial-grade variants potentially offered later. Cooling solutions for the board are not provided yet.

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AI: What people are saying
The Radxa X4 SBC garners interest and discussion on various aspects.
  • Performance and Features: Users praise its built-in M.2 SSD support, fast USB 3.2 ports, and x86 architecture for less idiosyncratic software.
  • RP2040 Microcontroller: The embedded RP2040 is noted for its potential in tight timing projects, though some wish it could control the Intel chip's power.
  • Availability and Pricing: The board is already out of stock, and some caution that the final cost may be higher due to additional fees.
  • Potential Uses: Enthusiasts see it as a promising option for home projects, desktop use, and possibly as a WiFi access point.
  • Concerns: There are questions about cooling, power consumption, and potential firmware issues.
Link Icon 16 comments
By @yjftsjthsd-h - 3 months
> 2.5GbE and WiFi 6, M.2 SSD support is built-in and four to eight times faster compared to PCIe HAT for the Pi 5, and the USB 3.2 ports are capable of 10 Gbps speed.

For $60 that seems pretty killer. And I assume x86 means less "idiosyncratic" software. I wonder if its WiFi supports AP mode; this might be a nice little WAP.

Edit: I really want to see pricing for 16GB RAM; this could be a good desktop!

Edit 2:

    WiFi 5 & BT 5 for 4GB RAM model
    WiFi 6 & BT 5.2 for 8GB RAM or more models
Small caveat. Still great.
By @PedroBatista - 3 months
That appears reasonably good. It's a shame ARM SBCs main Achilles heel has always been storage ( and networking a bit, and definitely bootloaders and OS support., )

Word of caution: These things never get acquired for that price. When everything is said and done, the real total price is closer to double. I'm talking about supporting knick-knacks, import fees, shipping fees.

I recently ordered a ODROID-H4 PLUS ( N97, not N100 ) and it's looking good, but it's more upmarket than this SBC.

By @bityard - 3 months
It's been quite a while since I saw the announcement of a new Linux-compatible SBC and thought, "this is really cool."

This is really cool.

By @emj - 3 months
In the schematic on Radxas site[1] there is no connection between the RP2040 and the power circuit, I would love to be able to shutdown the Intel chip from the Raspberry Pi microchip. Seems far fetched that it would be hackable if this is not a feature, I'm guessing the power chips are a lot more complicated and undocumented than a RP2040.

[1] page 22 https://dl.radxa.com/x/x4/radxa_x4_v1.11_schematic.pdf

By @entropicdrifter - 3 months
This little PC looks awesome. I have a little Beelink N100 PC with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB NVME SSD, thing cost like $160 and sips power, even when transcoding 4K video for my Jellyfin server.

The fact that these are available with 4 and 8 GB of RAM now and with Pi-compatible GPIO could mean some excellent home project opportunities.

By @Chabsff - 3 months
The embedded RP2040 is really interesting. I wonder what the CPU<->MCU latency looks like. You can pull off some really neat stuff with very tight timing using that chip.

Also an interesting addition for a platform that is clearly meant to compete against RPI in general.

By @renewiltord - 3 months
Does anyone use a solar-powered remote device like this? What is low enough to run off battery for a while?
By @fl7305 - 3 months
Has anyone done good power measurements of similar boards?

How many watts does it draw in idle, surfing the web, and watching a YouTube video?

By @Havoc - 3 months
What does the cooling look like on this? Guessing it's not suitable for full passive?
By @bb88 - 3 months
My only wish is that they had put an oculink port on it.
By @ein0p - 3 months
AliExpress seems to be down, at least the mobile app.
By @ArchOversight - 3 months
Unfortunately it seems like it is already sold out.
By @SomeoneFromCA - 3 months
Hopefully no nasty surprises in firmware.
By @shudza - 3 months
Already out of stock?
By @f1shy - 3 months
After the experience I had last month with RPi, I hope this will be the end of RPi.

Note: the problem I had, is I had a system with an old Rpi, I did made a physical clone, new board, copy the SW, but on a new OS (bookworm) and surprise! Nothing works!!! Raspian is a chaos, and using systemd in an embedded system is just Not For Me!