Rongpin DR4-S905/DR4-A311D SoM features Amlogic S905D3 or A311D processor

Shenzhen Rongpin Electronic Technology (Rongpin) DR4-S905 and DR4-A311D are SO-DIMM system-on-modules (SoM) respectively powered by Amlogic S905D3 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor and Amlogic A311D octa-core Cortex-A73/A53 processor.

The modules come with 2GB LPDDR4 and 16GB eMMC flash by default, but can be ordered with up to 4GB RAM and 128GB storage, and the company offered a feature-rich carrier board to test all interfaces provided but the system-on-modules.

DR4-S905 Amlogic S905D3 SoM

DR4-S905 system-on-module specifications:

  • SoC – Amlogic S905D3 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ 1.9GHz with Arm Mali-G31MP2 GPU up to 800MHz supporting OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.0 and OpenCL 2.0, real-time Cortex-M4 core for always-on processing, and 1.2 TOPS NPU
  • System Memory – 2GB LPDDR4 by default (1GB/4GB options)
  • Storage – 16GB eMMC 5.1 flash by default (8GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB options)
  • SO-DIMM edge connector for connection to a carrier board
  • Power management – Discrete design
  • Dimensions – 69.6 x 30mm
  • Temperature Range – -25℃ to +75℃
  • MTBF – Continuous operating life is more than 5 years

DR4-A311D Amlogic A311D system-on-module

DR4-A311D specifications:

  • SoC – Amlogic A311D hexa-core processor with 4x Arm Cortex-A73 cores @ up to 2.2 GHz, 2x Cortex A53 cores @ up to 1.8 GHz, Arm Mali-G52 MP4 GPU, built-in Cortex-M4 core for “always-on” processing, and 5.0 TOPS NPU @ 800 Mhz
  • System Memory – 2GB LPDDR4 by default (1GB/4GB options)
  • Storage – 16GB eMMC 5.1 flash by default (8GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB options)
  • SO-DIMM edge connector for connection to a carrier board
  • Power management – Discrete design
  • Dimensions – 69.6 x 30mm
  • Temperature Range – -25℃ to +75℃
  • MTBF – Continuous operating life is more than 5 years

Both modules appear to be identical except for the processor, and I initially thought they might be compatible with the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3, but the dimensions are different. The DR4-S905 is the very first system-on-module based on the Amlogic S905D3 processor I’ve seen, but we previously covered another Amlogic A311D SoM with the Banana Pi BPI-CM4 that follows the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 form factor.

The low-end Amlogic S905D3 has been found in fewer designs such as the Khadas VIM3L SBC or Powkiddy A20 portable gaming console, than the more popular and powerful Amlogic A311D (also known as S922X-B) found in Khadas VIM3 and BPI-M2S single computer boards, a range of TV boxes, Orbec Persee 3D AI camera, and more.

Amlogic A311D SoM carrier board

Rongpin is also offering a carrier board that should expose all the interfaces from the DR4-S905 and DR4-A311D CPU modules with the following specifications:

  • Supported SoM – DR4-S905 or DR4-A311D
  • Storage – MicroSD card slot
  • Display interfaces
    • HDMI 2.0 up to 4Kp60/1080p60
    • MIPI DSI connector up to 1920×1080
    • CVBS connector
  • Camera I/F – 2-lane MIPI CSI camera interface
  • Audio – Stereo speaker output (3W/8Ohm)
  • Networking
    • 10/100M Ethernet RJ45 port
    • 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.2 (Ampak AP6236 module)
    • Optional 3G/4G LTE via mini PCIe module
    • Optional GPS support
  • USB – 1x USB 3.0 Type-A port, 2x USB 2.0 Type-A ports including one OTG, and two external USB 2.0 pin headers
  • Serial – 2x TTL serial connectors, RS485 connector
  • Expansion
    • 14x GPIO via several 5-pin GPIO connectors
    • I2C connector
    • mini PCIe socket for 3G/4G module
  • Misc – RTC,
  • Power Supply
    • 12V DC input via power barrel jack
    • Output voltage – 3.3V, 5V, 12V via connector
  • Dimensions – 180 x 106 x 12mm

Rongpin DR4-S905 SoM carrier board

Besides evaluation, the board looks to be especially suitable for digital signage as it’s rather thin and can be easily integrated into a display.

On the software side, Rongpin claims support for Android 9. and Linux+Qt, but none of that appears to be available publicly. An Ubuntu 20.04 image should also be available, as I first found out about the DR4-S905/DR4-A311D SoM through a carrier board developed in Thailand called the “DragonEdge AI A311D” that’s supposed to run Ubuntu 20.04, but I was unable to obtain the image or documentation for that board either. It’s a pre-order, so that may explain it.

The DR4-S905 Amlogic S905D3 SoM can be purchased on Aliexpress for $69.99 plus shipping, but I was not able to find the devkit. There are more options for the Amlogic A311D-based DR4-A311D module and development offered on the same shop on Aliexpress as follows:

  • Type 1: DR4-A311D 2GB+16GB core board for $126.00
  • Type 2: DR4-A311D 4GB+16GB core board for $152.00
  • Type 3: DR4-A311D 4GB+32GB core board for $162.00
  • Type 4: DR4-A311D 2GB+16GB motherboard for $210.00
  • Type 5: DR4-A311D 4GB+16GB motherboard for $235.00
  • Type 6: DR4-A311D 4GB+32GB motherboard for $245.00

Additional information may also be found on the Rongpin website on the product pages for the Amlogic S905D3 and A311D devkits.

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4 Comments
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persondb@mail.com
10 months ago

That’s pretty expensive, it’s already at the price of the cheapest x86 board.

tonny
tonny
10 months ago

I agree. The Type 1 for A311D is $126. It’s about the price of orangepi 5B plus.

persondb
persondb
10 months ago

Keeping in mind that the Type 1 is just the SoM, you still need a carrier board for it. And also only has 2GB…

I really don’t get who is the customer for this board. I don’t think industrial application would like to get Amlogic and even if they do, they can are less price sensitive and can stuff that is more suited for their intentions.

While for hobbyists this is just too expensive for somewhat dated hardware.

Ray Knight
Ray Knight
10 months ago

This would make more sense if the module was compatible with Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 as it could then be used as an upgrade for existing carrier boards.

Khadas VIM4 SBC