Hardkernel ODROID-C5 is a lower-cost upgrade to the ODROID-C4 SBC with a faster and more efficient Amlogic S905X5M quad-core Cortex-A55 SoC clocked at 2.5 GHz, 4GB DDR4 RAM, and almost the same features as the previous generation Amlogic S905X3 single board computer.
That means a microSD card slot and an eMMC flash module socket for storage, HDMI 2.0 video output up to 4Kp60, a Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port, four USB ports, and the usual 40-pin Raspberry Pi GPIO header.
ODROID-C5 specifications:
- SoC – Amlogic S905X5M
- CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ 2.5 GHz
- GPU – Arm G310-V2 GPU @ 850 MHz supporting OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.0 and OpenCL 2.0
- VPU
- Video Decoding – 4Kp75 10-bit: AV1, H.265, VP9, AVS2; 4Kp30: H.264
- Video Encoding – 1080p30 H.264
- System Memory – 4GB DDR4 @ 3200MT/s
- Storage
- eMMC module connector with HS400 speed (16, 32, 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB modules available)
- MicroSD slot with support for DS/HS mode up to UHS-I SDR104
- Video Output – HDMI 2.0 port up to 4K @ 60Hz with HDR, CEC, EDID
- Audio – Analog stereo line out, digital audio via HDMI
- Connectivity
- Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port
- Optional WiFi with USB dongle
- USB
- 4x USB 2.0 host ports
- micro USB 2.0 OTG port for host or device mode (not for power input)
- Expansion
- 40-pin I/O header with up to 25x GPIO, 6x PWM, 2x ADC (12-bit, 1.8V max), 2x I2C, 1x SPI, 1x UART, and 5V, 3.3V, 1.8V, GND power signals.
7-pin audio expansion header with I2C S/PDIF output, 5V DC- Note all I/Os are 3.3V, except ADC @ 1.8V max
- Debugging – Debug serial console (UART)
- Misc – IR receiver, system LEDs for power (Red) and kernel status (Blue)
- Power Supply – 7.5V to 15.5V via 5.5/2.1mm DC jack or 2-pin header (See L below); DC 12V/2A power adaptor is recommended
- Power consumption – Idle: ~1.0W; CPU stress: ~2.5W with Performance governor; power off: ~0.22W
- Dimensions – 85 x 56 x 22 mm
- Weight – 42 grams (lighter than ODROID-C4 since a heatsink is not needed)
Hardkernel provides an Ubuntu 22.04 image with Wayland Gnome Desktop and Vulkan 3D GPU support and an Android 14 image. You’ll find both on the wiki, along with more technical details and instructions to get started.
The company says that compared to the Amlogic S905X3-powered ODROID-C4 SBC, the ODROID-C5’s CPU is about 20-25% faster, the 4GB DRAM interface has improved with a 30% increase in the memory bandwidth, and the Arm Mali G310-V2 GPU delivers over twice of 3D rendering performance. Our Amlogic S905X4 vs S905X5M comparison also mentions that the S905X5M implemented HDMI 2.1 features like QMS, VRR, QFT, and SBTM, but Hardkernel does not mention anything about that. Another plus is that the eMMC host interface has been changed from HS200 to HS400, resulting in file system access speeds that are more than 50% faster.
The lower power consumption and higher efficiency mean the ODROID-C5 can run fanless without a heatsink, while the ODROID-C4 requires one, and it’s the first heatsink-free board from Hardkernel ever. The company measured the CPU temperature under load at 25°C ambient, and it never exceeded around 72°C while the board was inside an enclosure.
However, there’s one downside since the Amlogic S905X5M lacks the PCIe/USB 3.0 found in the S905X3, so the new SBC only features USB 2.0 ports, while the ODROID-C4 has four USB 3.0 ports. If it does not matter for your use case, then the ODROID-C5 is better and cheaper in every way.
The company also offers various accessories for the ODROID-C5, many of which are the same as for the ODROID-C4, including HS400 eMMC flash modules, 7-inch touchscreen displays, enclosures, an RS485 expansion module, an RGB LED strip board (showcased below), and more. Many Raspberry Pi HATs will also be compatible.
While the ODROID-C4 used to sell for $50 (out of stock now, but a batch is coming in July), the ODROID-C5 goes for just $39, making it a serious competitor against the ODROID-C4 and Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB). Considering the Amlogic S905X5M SoC runs without a heatsink, I initially thought an “ODROID-Go Ultra Lite” game console could come out in the next few months as a cheaper alternative to the ODROID-Go Ultra, but the SoC lacks a MIPI DSI interface, so that would be an issue…
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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It’s implied with the restocking for the ODROID-C4 in July, but the company confirmed the board will remain in production:
This is food.
Nice amount of RAM, low power usage.
Ticks all check boxes for me.
How pedormat is it vs the rpi4/rpi5?
7-zip benchmark results are nearly identical to the Raspberry Pi 4.
https://www.cnx-software.com/2020/11/02/raspberry-pi-400-review-benchmarks-vs-raspberry-pi-4/#raspberry-pi-400-benchmarks-and-thermal-testing
The ODROID-C5 runs cooler because my Raspberry Pi 4 clearly needed a heatsink under load.
The only bad thing is the lack of VVC/H.266 hardware decoding. The regular S905X5 has support for that but not this ‘M’ version.
I’m not going to say it doesn’t matter, but is H.266 gaining significant traction? I think it could end up being used less often than H.265, especially if AV2 is released within a reasonable amount of time.
It isn’t being used much yet but it will further in the future. It will indeed be used less than H.265 throughout its lifespan as H.265 already does most things well and bandwidth costs reduce every year so saving bandwidth becomes less important.
H266 is dead in the water. YouTube and streamers dictate the protocol and will prefer a free codec that’s capable or subcapable.
H264 is still very much alive and competitive in the 1080P area whereas Netflix’s 4K quality is nowhere near the requirements for H265+ encoding.
Too bad for the USB 2.0 vs 3.0. It would have been a great host for Google Coral TPU in USB flavor
This is a nice board to use as a media player. All of the more important formats seem to be covered, but can it play Dolby Vision?
Dolby Vision is supported in Android but I’m not sure about Linux as I’ve not tried it yet, as is AI SR (Super Resolution Upscaler).
It can make a nice board for automation of about anything. Heat usually is the #1 cause for hardware dying. Here it could run for a long time with no trouble. It could make sense for Home Assistant and comparable stuff for example. Also, the A55 is a good core that still has decent performance, so having them running at 2.5G can make it an interesting option compared to older A72/A73 possibly running at lower frequencies. I’m tempted even though I have no use for it right now 🙂
At last, some cheap board for decent emulation. I bet it can reach RPi4 performance or even surpass it by a little bit, as the GPU is better.
Let’s hope a cheap case is released as well.
Just put it between two slabs of acrylic 🙂
Same case as the C4, $5.40 polycarbonate.
KKSB also makes a nice metal case for the C4 that goes for about $20 US. Should also work with the C5.
The manufacturer said the CPU performance is am close to RPI 4 with the GPU performance near the RPI 5
With 1/4 the power consumption 😀
How much is a combo BT/WIFIchip these days, 20 cents? The fact that essentially the entire Odroid product line does not come with WiFi and BT in this day and age, and their competitors do, is the reason they only sell like 10 SBCs a year. SMH
I understand they do it to skip FCC/CE certification rather than save on the wireless chip/module.
Not to mention the number of on-board chips that end up being crappy, or work with bogus firmware and/or drivers, or simply considered outdated by customers and that only take place and power but have to be replaced with an external USB adapter…
Wifi onboard is so overrated. All of my rockchip and amlogic boards don’t have it (they either use usb or pcie allowing you to choose an adapter that works).
With the C5 it might work but I’ve seen several cases where antenna was shielded by other components or the casing. Including rpi3 and rpi5.
It is a shame it does not include USB3 and Wifi onboard though.
This reduces Wifi to practically 2.4GHz only.
You do realize USB 2.0. Is 480 megabits?
Maybe you meant WiFi 6 2.4ghz……..
Perhaps as a little media player/streamer. this might suit some uses.
But is also feels a little flat, with just USB 2 ports and no M.2 support.
I’m not sure what the state of play for open source drivers for the Mali G310-V2 GPU is, but for spme uses, it may be crippled out of the box.
No, these have first class support on Linux via the Panthor driver.
You won’t be using Panthor because C5 is dependent on a Linux 5.15 BSP kernel that’s been mauled by Amlogic and uses ARM Mali blobs (see https://github.com/hardkernel/linux/commit/0f93f9018ce35ff5c50ca695f8dd5ff26fda648c). I believe the next forward-port of Amlogic’s BSP will be using Linux 6.6? but even that will only have old(er) Panthor support. At the current pace of Amlogic upstreaming efforts I wouldn’t expect to see usable mainline kernel support (and thus all the latest Panthor goodness) anytime in the next 18-months. Due to their increasing use of secure-world in boot (and zero upstream u-boot support) Amlogic’s long-term technical direction is best described as hostile towards ‘open’ use. Ho hum.
To get it delivered to UK if you want to buy it as individual you need to place order value of around $190. Due to taxes and after experience with their previous product sold in UK I am expecting it will be priced just about or few £ below Raspberry Pi5. For this reason this product will not be successful in UK I think.
Also I am quite satisfied with Radxa Zero which is also one of best performance/watt boards I have with SoC build on 12nm technology. With CPU clocked on 2GHz it is demanding 2-3W. It cost $23.99 for 1GB version.
How is the software support on that?
*edit*
I checked the downloads page, seems to be well supported.
why still use the old “micro USB 2.0 OTG” port?
Good low power operating device with low temperature.
They gave up USB 3, BT, WIFI, NVME.
For lower price and less heat, I think it’s a good choice.
The main problem is shipping these devices worldwide, they don’t sell in Aliexpress
It is strange that they gave up wifi, such a large portion of people use wifi for android tv boxes.
> It is strange that they gave up wifi
Especially since they did not. Odroid SBC in the past came with no wireless capabilties at all due to certification hassles especially when selling world-wide.
Only the Odroid Go Advance Black Edition has onboard WiFi, the Odroid Go because it’s esp32 based I suppose does but it wasn’t supported.