Odroids

[Dirk Broer]

Odroids are an interesting family of SBCs (Single Board Computers) made in South-Korea by Hardkernel Co., Ltd.

You can buy them all over the globe:
USA : http://ameridroid.com
Germany : http://www.pollin.de
UK : http://www.lilliputdirect.com
Russia : http://www.lilliput.com.ru / http://www.madrobotics.ru
Poland : http://kamami.com
Canada : http://www.ca.diigiit.com
Australia : http://www.auseparts.com.au

So far they've made boards for the following SOCs (seemingly to focus a bit on Samsung products):



SBC
Picture
SOC
Family
GPU
RAM
Current?
Price


Odroid (original)



Samsung S5PC100

ARM Cortex-A8
833MHz Single core CPU

PowerVR SGX535

512MB DDR2

No




Odroid PC



Samsung Exynos 4210

ARM Cortex-A9
1200MHz Dual core CPU

Mali-400 MP

1GB LPDDR2

No

$350


Odroid-X

http://dn.odroid.com/homebackup/201206301841017729.jpg

Samsung Exynos 4412

ARM Cortex-A9
Quad 1400MHz CPU

Mali-400 MP4@400MHz

1GB LPDDR2

No

$129


Odroid-U2

http://com.odroid.com/sigong/_Files/2012/201211/images/201211242034331171.jpg

Samsung Exynos 4412

ARM Cortex-A9
Quad 1700MHz CPU

Mali-400 MP4@400MHz

2GB DDR2

No

$89


Odroid-X2

http://com.odroid.com/sigong/_Files/2012/201211/images/201211151702013304.jpg

Samsung Exynos 4412

ARM Cortex-A9
Quad 1700MHz CPU

Mali-400 MP4@400MHz

2GB DDR2

No

$135


Odroid-XU/XU Lite

http://dn.odroid.com/homebackup/201307301649441136.jpg

Samsung Exynos 5410

Octa
ARM Cortex-A15
Quad 1600MHz (Lite 1400MHz) and
ARM Cortex-A7
Quad 1200MHz CPU

PowerVR SGX544MP3

2GB LPDDR3

No

$169
(Lite $139)


Odroid-XU3/XU3 Lite

http://dn.odroid.com/homebackup/XU3LiteMain.jpg

Samsung Exynos 5422

Octa
ARM Cortex-A15
Quad 2000MHz (Lite 1800 MHz) and
ARM Cortex-A7
Quad 1200MHz CPU

Mali-T628 MP6

2GB LPDDR3

No

$179
(Lite $99)


Odroid-U3

http://dn.odroid.com/homebackup/201312222305368236.jpg

Samsung Exynos 4412

ARM Cortex-A9
Quad 1700MHz CPU

Mali-400 MP4@533MHz

2GB LPDDR2

No

$69


Odroid-W

http://dn.odroid.com/homebackup/201407222013337548.jpg

Broadcom BCM2835

ARM1176J(F)-S
700MHz Single core CPU

VideoCore 4

512 MB DDR2

No

$30


Odroid-C1 (http://www.hardkernel.com/main/products/prdt_info.php?g_code=G141578608433)

http://dn.odroid.com/homebackup/201412051744489785.jpg

Amlogic S805 (http://www.amlogic.com/#Product/178/index.html)

ARM Cortex-A5
Quad 1500MHz CPU

Mali-450 MP2

1 GB DDR3

Yes

$35


Odroid-C1+ (http://www.hardkernel.com/main/products/prdt_info.php?g_code=G143703355573)

http://dn.odroid.com/homebackup/201507/ODROID-C1+m.jpg

Amlogic S805 (http://www.amlogic.com/#Product/178/index.html)

ARM Cortex-A5
Quad 1500MHz CPU

Mali-450 MP2

1 GB DDR3

Yes

$37


Odroid-C2 (http://www.hardkernel.com/main/products/prdt_info.php?g_code=G143703355573)

http://www.hardkernel.com/main/_Files/prdt/2016/201602/ODROID-C2.png

Amlogic S905 (http://www.amlogic.com/#Product/178/index.html)

ARM Cortex-A53
Quad 2000MHz CPU

Mali-450 MP3

2 GB DDR3

Yes

$40


Odroid-XU4 (http://www.hardkernel.com/main/products/prdt_info.php?g_code=G143452239825)

http://dn.odroid.com/homebackup/201506171531272562.jpg

Samsung Exynos 5422 (http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/minisite/Exynos/w/solution.html#?v=octa_5422)

Octa
ARM Cortex-A15
Quad 2000MHz and
ARM Cortex-A7
Quad 1400MHz CPU

Mali-T628 MP6

2GB LPDDR3

Yes

$74



Rumour has it that Hardkernel is working on an Odroid-XU5, featuring a Exynos 7 - A 64-bit octa-core SOc made of a quad Cortex-A57 + a quad Cortex-A53 (in big.LITTLE configuration)

[Nflight]

Very Cool, thanks for sharing Dirk !

[Dirk Broer]

I updated the table below with the upcoming Odroid C2 model, a quad core ARM Cortex-A53@2000 MHz sporting 2GB RAM.

[Dirk Broer]

The latest on Odroid C1+:
Remove the Jumper on J8, if you don't use the USB OTG port as a power input (http://www.hardkernel.com/main/products/prdt_info.php?g_code=G143703355573).
It will reduce the power consumption and heat significantly. My guess is that it's the black thing on the edge of the board:
http://www.hardkernel.com/main/_Files/prdt/2016/201611/201611011746498811.jpg
Notice that the heat sink has grown to C2 proportions in this iteration

The latest on Odroid C2:
Remove the Jumper on J1, if you don't use the USB OTG port as a power input (http://www.hardkernel.com/main/products/prdt_info.php?g_code=G145457216438).
It will reduce the power consumption and heat significantly. My guess is that it's the black thing on the edge of the board here too (next to the HDMI connector).
On older editions of these boards those jumpers were nowhere to be seen....
http://www.hardkernel.com/main/_Files/prdt/2016/201602/ODROID-C2.png
Notice that Hardkernel has dropped the rating of the CPU from 2000MHz to 1500MHz. It seems to be kernel-related (https://www.cnx-software.com/2016/08/28/amlogic-s905-and-s912-processors-appear-to-be-limited-to-1-5-ghz-not-2-ghz-as-advertised/), higher settings are ignored. It also affects other AMLogic S9xx products...

[vaughan]

Asteroids supports these ARM devices. Are there any other projects with support for ARM v7?

[Dirk Broer]

WEP, it seems made for it, at least my ARM v7 Raspberries run WEP -but under Linux. My Odroid-XU4 also runs WEP and -though the average XU4 CPU core is half the power of that of the Raspberry Pi-4- the sheer mass of cores makes it as productive as a Raspberry Pi 4 @1500 MHz.

There's an Einstein application for Android, as well as Albert, Moo!, Rosetta, Seti, Seti Beta, Universe, WCG and Yoyo, AFAIK
I skipped Enigma, as I am not sure if there's still an active android app -my Raspberries don't run Enigma anymore either.

[Dirk Broer]

Boinc platforms come and go (e.g. PowerPC, Itanium, Alpha) but sometimes it makes you wonder.

Take Android. Millions of Android users, as it is the almost default OS on mobiles/handys/cellphones. Second on that hardware platform is IOS, but Apple won't allow BOINC in their app store.
And it is not that Google does likewise: the number of BOINC projects with an active Android app is very low. I installed Android 4.4.4 on a Odroid-XU4 (using NativeBoinc and BAM!) and tried to run BOINC: only GoofyxGrid ran, one WU of each of their four apps and that was it, as I seem to have reached my daily quota. Totally underwhelmed with the performance/benchmarks under Android I will continue to test the XU4 with some more Linux distro's.

Is it all the fault of NativeBoinc, the Android 4.4.4 image (version 6.9 from March 2020), or the ancient 7.0.36 client? I will order a Odroid-N2+ with a more recent Android and try to install the Berkeley client (didn't work on the XU4, stupid Android only sees my smartphone) to find out.
https://cdn.hardkernel.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/N2vsN2plussize1.jpg
The new Odroid-N2+ next to the old model

The good news first.
You can still run BOINC on a modern Android 9 device -though I did see some minor alarming messages about Android 10- e.g. the Odroid-N2+, provided you either supply it with a WiFi and a Bluetooth dongle, or are prepared to run the Berkeley supplied experimental 7.16.3 client -which they themselves do not advice. I could connect with all projects that still have active Android apps.

The bad news then.
If you have an Android device that is not a modern smartphone you face problems, as Google does not see your e.g. Odroid, unless you have it equipped with both WiFi and Bluetooth.

Android is not a keyboard-mouse-PC monitor OS, and sure it will let you know. I had a quite annoying black rectangle blocking my view, stating that the automatic screen resolution was not good and that I needed to run in 1024x1080@60Mhz instead (yes, it is such a monitor). The moment I choose that -to be able to fill in the info for the last remaining project (Ralph)- the screen went into reboot, only to return all-black. Worst of all: nothing is running in the background.

Another point of annoyance is that Android 9 won't let the Odroid-N2+ run at the higher speeds for that model, making the fan a present rather useless feature -speeds and temperatures aren't getting high enough.

I was able to connect the N2+ to WCG's Covid-19, Universe, Rosetta (but not Ralph), Einstein (plus Albert), WuProp, GoofyxGrid, from the top of my mind.
Will download a new Android 9 on the eMMC and do a straight install of the Berkeley client, bypassing the :icon_twisted: Google :icon_twisted: play store that keeps installing BOINC on my ancient Android 3.4 semi-smartphone. Now checking the Odroid forums for tips about getting it to run the full advertised 2400 MHz....

Turns out that the latest image solves the needed speed settings. So, 2nd try.
I've just connected to
Einstein (one WU is already running too),
Rosetta,
World Community Grid (one WU is already running too),
Yoyo (four Wu's are already running too),
Moo!,
Universe,
and Asteroids.

I now need to manually attach WuProp, GoofyxGrid, Ralph and Albert -they are not supplied in the menu, just as always with those beta's (in case of Ralph and Albert) and shady's.
And, apart from Ralph, all were attached. I can even choose LHC, but I need to investigate whether that needs virtual box too...it doesn't, it is just sixtracks and sixtracks beta. Hop! another project added to the odroid/android....

Added bonus: temperatures caused by all six cores doing BOINC takes care of the fan problem: It runs by itself, no hokus-pocus needed.
https://cdn.hardkernel.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/N2pluscoolingfanzh-1-800x386.jpg
The Odroid-N2+ with added fan, including stand-offs

[Dirk Broer]

Overclocking the Odroid-N2 or N2+ requires your system to be updated with all packages to date (2021-02-23 in the case of Ubuntu Mate at the time of writing)

sudo apt update --fix-missing
sudo apt dist-upgrade
sudo reboot
Reboot is required after the upgrade!

Now you can edit /media/boot/config.ini and select the desired frequency (https://wiki.odroid.com/odroid-n2/hardware/overclocking):
N2
Supported Frequencies for Big Cores (Cortex-A73): 500, 667, 1000, 1200, 1398, 1512, 1608, 1704, 1800 (Stock), 1908, 2004
Supported Frequencies for Small Cores (Cortex-A53): 100, 250, 500, 667, 1000, 1200, 1398, 1512, 1608, 1704, 1896 (Stock), 1992

N2+
Supported Frequencies for Big Cores (Cortex-A73): 500, 667, 1000, 1200, 1398, 1512, 1608, 1704, 1800, 1908, 2016, 2100, 2208 (Stock), 2304, 2400
Supported Frequencies for Small Cores (Cortex-A53): 500, 667, 1000, 1200, 1398, 1512, 1608, 1704, 1800, 1908 (Stock), 2016

Note: Any frequency marked in RED is an overclock and stability may be at an issue. The N2+ needs the optional 80mm fan for these values! Once the fan is placed and set to run always the CPU temperatures remain below 40 degrees at my home (ambient temperatures between 15 degrees centigrade (winter) and 35 degrees centigrade (summer).
If you try a frequency that isn't supported it will default to stock!

While a fully overclocked (2147 MHz) Raspberry Pi4 will draw 11 Watt (or more), the overclocked Odroid-N2+ only draws about 6.2 Watt, according to Hardkernel.

[Dirk Broer]

I am running T.Brada Experimental Grid on some ARM devices at the moment and my advice as of now is

make sure you have 1GB per thread T.Brada Experimental Grid!

All's fine on a nVidia Jetson Nano 4GB, all grinds to a halt on a nVidia Jetson Nano 2GB, and things go wrong on a Odroid-N2+ (unresponsive, not connecting to BOINC-tasks anymore) with 4GB (for its six cores).
I wish they bring out a 6GB model N2++ soon....

The alternative is of course to limit the number of WUs running at the same time. The 2GB model runs fine with just one T.Brada Experimental Grid WU and three WEP-M+2 WUs, so I suspeded four tasks on the Odroid-N2+ as well.

[Dirk Broer]

Present Odroids compared, and some predicted future models


Model
Architecture
CPU
SOC
Cores/Threads
RAM in GB
RAM GB/Thread
Power consumption
Power consumption/Thread


XU4

ARMv7-A

Cortex-A15 (4)/Cortex-A7 (4)

Samsung Exynos5422

8

2

0.25

13.20 Watt

1.65 Watt/thread


N2+ -2GB

ARMv8-A

Cortex-A73 (4)/Cortex-A53 (2)

Amlogic S922X

6

2

0.33

6.20 Watt

1.03 Watt/thread


N2+ -4GB

ARMv8-A

Cortex-A73 (4)/Cortex-A53 (2)

Amlogic S922X

6

4

0.66

6.20 Watt

1.03 Watt/thread


M1-4GB

ARMv8.2-A

Cortex-A55

RK3568

4

4

1

4.44 Watt

1.11 Watt/thread


M1-8GB

ARMv8.2-A

Cortex-A55

RK3568

4

8

2

4.44 Watt

1.11 Watt/thread


C4

ARMv8.2-A

Cortex-A55

Amlogic S905X3

4

4

1

3.64 Watt

0.91 Watt/thread


Perhaps surprisingly the C4 model has both the lowest powerdraw and the most modern CPU/SOC, though it is by no means the latest model. The 8Gb model of the M1 has the best RAM per core value, and that is in the BOINC-world a feature to cherish -the N2+, though by far the most powerful ARM-based Hardkernel Odroid model, sometimes falls short in tasks demanding 1GB per task -or more.

As other companies are getting their next models to market in 2023, Hardkernel will be pressed to upgrade their N2-line yet once more, or bring out a N3 model with at least more RAM and preferably a CPU that is ARMv8.2-A or better and includes a NPU. A 12GB Cortex-A710(4)/A510(2) model would secure their position, as that would mean a ARMv9-A architecture -but that is perhaps asking too much for 2023. Quicker would be to use the Amlogic A311D2, a Cortex-A73 (4)/Cortex-A53 (4) SOC as used in the Khadas-VIM4. The actual release leaves me a bit underwhelmed: the new Odroid-N2L -the 4GB model (there's a 2GB model too) (https://www.hardkernel.com/shop/odroid-n2l-with-4gbyte-ram/).

A possible future RK3588 equipped M2 could do with the better, more powerful NPU -and better OS and software support for such a feature.

If they would want a quick upgrade to their C4, let's say a C4+, they could think of using the Amlogic S905X4. For a future Odroid-C5 a Cortex-A510 SOC would also be an option.

[Dirk Broer]

There's been a new Odroid ARM board release, and some retirements. Let's try and condense the news into a few tables.
The M2 uses the 'castrated' RK3588S2 instead of the full-blown RK3588, which mainly shows in the lack of PCIe 3.0 support.

Present and New Odroid ARM boards:


Model
Architecture
CPU
SOC
Cores/Threads
RAM in GB
RAM GB/Thread
Power consumption
Power consumption/Thread


N2+ -2GB

ARMv8-A

Cortex-A73 (4)/Cortex-A53 (2)

Amlogic S922X

6/6

2

0.33

6.20 Watt*

1.03 Watt/Thread


N2+ -4GB

ARMv8-A

Cortex-A73 (4)/Cortex-A53 (2)

Amlogic S922X

6/6

4

0.66

6.20 Watt*

1.03 Watt/Thread


N2L -2GB

ARMv8-A

Cortex-A73 (4)/Cortex-A53 (2)

Amlogic S922X

6/6

2

0.33

6.40 Watt*

1.07 Watt/Thread


N2L -4GB

ARMv8-A

Cortex-A73 (4)/Cortex-A53 (2)

Amlogic S922X

6/6

4

0.66

6.40 Watt*

1.07 Watt/Thread


C4

ARMv8.2-A

Cortex-A55

Amlogic S905X3

4/4

4

1.00

3.64 Watt

0.91 Watt/Thread


M1-4GB

ARMv8.2-A

Cortex-A55

RK3568

4/4

4

1.00

4.44 Watt

1.11 Watt/Thread


M1-8GB

ARMv8.2-A

Cortex-A55

RK3568

4/4

8

2.00

4.44 Watt

1.11 Watt/Thread


M1S-4GB

ARMv8.2-A

Cortex-A55

RK3566

4/4

4

1.00

3.52 Watt

0.88 Watt/Thread


M1S-8GB

ARMv8.2-A

Cortex-A55

RK3566

4/4

8

2.00

3.52 Watt

0.88 Watt/Thread


M2 -8GB

ARMv8.2-A

Cortex-A76 (4)/Cortex-A55 (4)

RK3588S2

8/8

8

1.00

8.00 Watt

1.00 Watt/Thread


M2 -16GB

ARMv8.2-A

Cortex-A76 (4)/Cortex-A55 (4)

RK3588S2

8/8

16

2.00

8.00 Watt

1.00 Watt/Thread



*=2400(A76)/2000(A55) MHz overclock
Note that the Odroid-N2L has a lower idle and stock power draw than the N2+, but at 2400/2000 Mhz overclock the N2L misses the huge N2+ heatsink, while the 40mm fan of the N2L (the same damn noisy f**ker that we know and despise of the XU4) doesn't cool as good as the 80mm fan of the N2+. Somewhat surprisingly the M1S scores better on power draw than the M1, while using that very same damn noisy f**ker. I guess I will try to mount a N2+ cooler on my own M1.

Lastly Discontinued older Odroid ARM boards:


Model
Architecture
CPU
SOC
Cores/Threads
RAM in GB
RAM GB/Thread
Power consumption
Power consumption/Thread


XU4

ARMv7-A

Cortex-A15 (4)/Cortex-A7 (4)

Samsung Exynos 5422

8/8

2

0.25

13.20 Watt

1.65 Watt/Thread


C1

ARMv7-A

Cortex-A5

Amlogic S805

4/4

1

0.25

3.00 Watt

0.75 Watt/Thread


C2

ARMv8-A

Cortex-A53

Amlogic S905

4/4

2

0.50

5.00 Watt

1.25 Watt/Thread


N2 -2GB

ARMv8-A

Cortex-A73 (4)/Cortex-A53 (2)

Amlogic S922X

6/6

2

0.33

5.30 Watt

0.83 Watt/Thread



N2 -4GB

ARMv8-A

Cortex-A73 (4)/Cortex-A53 (2)

Amlogic S922X

6/6

4

0.66

5.30 Watt

0.83 Watt/Thread



to be continued...

[Dirk Broer]

How does the new Odroid-M2 compare with the competition?
458