Boardcon Compact3588S SBC – A Raspberry Pi 5 alternative based on Rockchip RK3588S AI SoC with M.2 socket for SSD or 4G LTE module

Boardcon Compact3588S SBC is another Raspberry Pi 5 alternative powered by a Rockchip RK3588S octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 SoC with a 6 TOP NPU for AI acceleration, up to 16GB RAM, up to 256GB eMMC flash, and all the features found in the Raspberry Pi 4, plus an M.2 socket supporting either an NVMe SSD or a 4G LTE module in conjunction with a Nano SIM card slot.

It more closely follows the Raspberry Pi 4 form factor, but Rockchip RK3588S’ performance and capabilities make it a direct Raspberry Pi 5 competitor. Contrary to most credit card-sized single board computers, it follows a carrier board + soldered-on system-on-module design, rather than a single PCB.

Boardcon Compact3588S SBC Raspberry Pi 5 Alternative

Boardcon Compact3588S specifications:

  • SoC – Rockchip RK3588S
    • CPU – Octa-core processor with 4x Cortex-A76 cores @ up to 2.4 GHz, 4x Cortex-A55 cores @ up to 1.8 GHz
    • GPU – Arm Mali-G610 GPU with OpenGL ES 3.2,  OpenCL 2.2, and Vulkan 1.2 support
    • VPU – 8Kp60 video decoder for H.265/AVS2/VP9/H.264/AV1 codecs, 8Kp30 H.265/H.264 video encoder
    • AI accelerator – 6 TOPS NPU
  • System Memory – 8GB LPDDR4x (up to 16GB)
  • Storage
    • 32GB eMMC 5.1 flash (option up to 256GB)
    • MicroSD card socket
    • M.2 socket for SSD multiplexed with 4G LTE module
  • Video Output
    • 1x micro HDMI 2.1 port up to 8Kp60
    • 1x micro HDMI 2.0 port up to 4Kp60 (implemented through DP1.4 to HDMI 2.0 bridge)
    • 4-lane MIPI DSI via 30-pin FPC connector up to 4Kp60
    • 3x independent displays supported in up to 8K+4K+2K configuration
  • Camera I/F
    • 4-lane MIPI CSI via 30-pin FPC connector
    • 2-lane MIPI CSI via 24-pin FPC connector
  • Audio – 3.5mm earphone jack
  • Networking
    • Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 via RealTek RTL8211F-GC controller with optional PoE support
    • Dual-band WiFi 6 2T2R up to 1201Mbps and Bluetooth 5.2 via Ampak 6275P module
    • Optional 4G LTE module (Quectel EM05) via M.2 socket and nano SIM card slot
  • USB – 1x USB 3.0 Type-A host/device port, 3x USB 2.0 Type-A ports
  • Debugging – Serial console via USB-C port
  • Expansion
    • 40-pin Raspberry Pi-compatible GPIO header with up to 12x GPIO, 2x I2C, 1x SPI, 2x UART, 1x PWM
    • M.2 socket for SSD or 4G LTE
  • Misc
    • Recovery button
    • 2-pin RTC battery connector
  • Power Supply
    • 5V DC via USB type-C connector
    • 5V DC via GPIO header
    • Power over Ethernet (PoE) enabled with PoE HAT
  • Dimensions – 85 x 56mm (Raspberry Pi 4 Model B form factor)
  • Weight – 58 grams

Rockchip RK3588S SoM Raspberry Pi SBC COMPACT3588S V2 board

Supported operating systems include Android 14 and Debian 12 and Buildroot can be used to create custom images. All images rely on Linux 6.1.75 and U-boot 2017.09,  Boardcon can also provide a 4G LTE module, 13MP and 8.46MP cameras, an extra WiFi module (not sure why?), and 10.1-inch LCD (1280 x 800) making the board suitable for IoT devices, industrial monitoring equipment, smart home devices, smart cameras, service robots, and other Edge AI applications.

Component and SoM datasheets and basic tools (SecureCRT and CH9102X serial driver) are available for download, but not the Android, Debian, and Buildroot SDKs which are only provided to customers and not shared publicly likely because Boardcon mostly targets the B2B market.

 

Boardcon Compact3588S block diagram
Block diagram

The main advantages of this alternative compared to the Raspberry Pi 5 are the inclusion of an eMMC flash, support for up to 16GB RAM (although that may change soon for the Pi 5 considering the Raspberry Pi CM5 already supports 16GB RAM), support for more hardware video decoder/encoders, and the M.2 socket and AI accelerator are built-in so you don’t need to purchase additional accessories increasing the price and height of the solution. Software support will not quite be at the same level, but as long as low-level drivers are taken care of, most companies will be fine with it.

The company does not provide pricing information for the Compact3588S SBC and asks customers to request a quotation. Alternatives with a Raspberry Pi 4/5 form factor and Rockchip RK3588S processor include the Radxa ROCK 5C, Radxa ROCK 5A, Cool Pi 4 Model B, and the 9Tripod Pico Pi V2.0 SBC with pricing starting at around $60 for the ROCK 5C with 4GB RAM. But the Boardcon single board computer packs a few more features than other solutions in that specific form factor. Additional information may be found on the product page.

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15 Comments
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Luc
Luc
3 days ago

It’s impressive to list what is packed in such a small factor.
And, how great, the SOC is on the bottom side.

Should be pricey I believe.

Vall
Vall
3 days ago

not so much “packed” IMO: only one USB3 port, and only 16GB max RAM; the are many other credit-card-sized SBCs in that same CM form factor with multiple USB3 ports and going up to 32GB in that same form factor.

Willy
3 days ago

But not necessarily fanless. I think the the offer is well balanced in terms of extensibility, connectivity, and base features. We’ll see when the price becomes available (I suspect a high one as well, at least just because the presence of the word “compact” in the product name suggests they see this as a differentiator, hence it might target professional usage).

Jimmy
Jimmy
3 days ago

It’s definitely tough to get a second USB 3.0 port on the RK3588S. Radxa did it with the Rock 5C, but that meant the WIFI got pushed to USB 2.0 (and shares the 480 mbps bandwidth) instead of PCIe 2.0×1. That way they could still use PCIe PHY0 for the FPC connector.

Orange Pi uses the full RK3588 on the 5 Max and 5 Ultra. So there is an extra PCIe 2.0 PHY available, however, they connected the WIFI via SDIO instead. The NVMe is connected via PCIe 3.0, and 2.5 gbe on the PCIe 2.0.

Nate
Nate
3 days ago

It’s unfortunate that these things always seem to be so low end. It could be useful for a purpose that isn’t very demanding, but they simply don’t make anything like a desktop level ARM chip that’s available to a consumer.

Willy
2 days ago

Oh, super interesting! Let’s home it will also have a comparable memory BW, which is what high-end Arm SoCs are still lacking the most (nowadays the high-end Arm chips have the same performance as low-end x86). The M1 family stands between high-end PCs and GPUs depending on the models. I don’t hold my breath too much though, I guess they wouldn’t mention M1 if they were expecting to reach the perf of the highest model, they would mention something bigger 😉

tkaiser
tkaiser
2 days ago

Maybe it’s about Radxa’s offering built around the Cixin P1 (CP8180)?

Upgrade pi-top [3]
Upgrade pi-top [3]
2 days ago

Hasn’t System76 just released their first ARM-based desktop?

Willy
1 day ago

Yes but it’s super expensive, you get nothing barely acceptable below $5k, imagine the PC you’d get at this price! One problem with the Altra SoC is that they don’t seel low-core counts at high frequency. The 32-core is at 1.7GHz, and if you want 3.0 GHz, you have 64 or 80 cores which are much more expensive (and draws more power). I think many of us would like to see a 32-core at 3.3 GHz for example. The cores remain Cortex A76, so for single-threaded tasks, they’re basically atoms. Also their system only propose big memory sticks, so you… Read more »

Willy
2 days ago

definitely interesting!

bernstein
bernstein
2 days ago

oh, what an interesting soc surprise! is this soc built at tsmc or wholly in china? if it’s the latter it’s going to be very interesting to see what prices & yield it will be.

back2future
back2future
1 day ago

[ “Laptop PC on display” shows Windows 11,
btw. “Starting Oct. 14, 2025, Windows 10 will no longer receive security updates.”, requires TPM2.0 activated for upgrading ]

MobileJAD
2 days ago

This SBC looks sick, I want it bad, dont know what I would do with it, but its usually the case when I buy a SBC, I find a use for it After ive bought it. Usually they end up being a media station, a router or simply crunch BIONC work loads for ARM.
but I agree with the others, it will probably be expensive.

Boardcon Rockchip RK3588S SBC with 8K, WiFI 6, 4G LTE, NVME SSD, HDMI 2.1...