Banana Pi BPI-CM6 system-on-module (SoM) is powered by a SpacemiT K1 octa-core RISC-V processor and compatible with most carrier boards for the Raspberry Pi CM4 or CM5 modules.
It ships with 8GB LPDDR4 and 16GB eMMC flash by default, a Gigabit Ethernet PHY, and a WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.1 wireless module. It exposes most interfaces through three 100-pin board-to-board connectors with HDMI 1.4, MIPI DSI, three MIPI CSI, five PCIe 2.1 lanes, USB 3.2/2.0 interfaces, and more. While it can work with Raspberry Pi CM4/CM5 carrier boards using two of the B2B connectors, the company also designed the BPI-CM6 IO carrier board to make full use of all the interfaces, especially the PCIe lanes.
Banana Bi BPI-CM6 SoM
Let’s check the module itself first.
Banana Pi BPI-CM6 specifications:
- SoC – SpacemIT K1
- CPU – 8-core X60 RISC-V (RV64GCVB) processor @ 1.6 GHz (roughly Cortex-A55 equivalent)
- GPU – Imagination IMG BXE-2-32 @ 819 MHz with support for OpenGL ES3.2, Vulkan 1.3, OpenCL 3.0; 20 GFLOPS
- VPU
- H.265, H.264, VP8, VP9, MPEG4, MPEG2 decoder up to 4K @ 60fps
- H.265, H.264, VP8, VP9 encoder up to 4K @ 30fps
- Support simultaneous processing
- 1080p60 encoding + 1080p60 decoding
- 1080p30 H.264/H.265 encoding + 4Kp30 H.264/H.265 decoding
- AI performance – 2.0 TOPS (INT8) through “CPU core fusion”
- RVA 22 Profile RVV 1.0 compliant
- System Memory – 8GB (default) or 16GB LPDDR4
- Storage – 8GB, 16GB (default), 32GB, or 128GB eMMC flash
- Networking
- Realtek RTL8211F Gigabit Ethernet PHY
- WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.1 SDIO module (Realtek RTL8852BS)
- 3x 100-pin board-to-board connectors
- Display Interfaces – HDMI 1.4 and MIPI DSI
- Camera Interfaces – 3x MIPI CSI interfaces
- Networking – RGMII
- USB – 1x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0
- PCIe – 5-lane PCIe 2.1
- Low-speed I/Os – 10x UART (and likely others, but not documented for now…)
- Power Management – P1 PMIC
- Dimensions – 55 x 40mm
- Temperature Rrange – -40°C to 85°C
The BPI-CM6 SoM benefits from the work done on the Banana Pi BPI-F3 SBC based on the same SpacemiT K1 processor, and the company provides Armbian-built Ubuntu and Debian images relying on the Linux 6.1 kernel. The documentation also links to Titan Windows/Linux development tools, and several source code repositories, including an OpenWrt port, but no image is provided for that one.
Target applications for the RISC-V module include NAS systems, laptops, smart robots, industrial control, AI edge computing, and automation. While we’ve seen plenty of Arm-based Raspberry Pi CM4/CM5 alternatives featuring compatible B2B connectors, the Banana Pi BPI-CM6 appears to be the only RISC-V Compute Module available right now. We covered the Milk-V Mars CM and Antmicro AVRSOM previously, but they don’t seem to be available for sale anymore. Other SpacemiT K1 system-on-modules include the NVIDIA Jetson Nano NX-compatible Jupiter NX and Lichee LM3A SO-DIMM SoM.
BPI-CM6 IO carrier board
Specifications:
- Compatible SoM – Banana Pi BPI-CM6 described above
- Storage
- MicroSD card slot
- Optional NVMe SSD(s) via 2x M.2 M-key 2230 slots
- Video output
- HDMI port
- 4-lane MIPI DSI connector
- Camera I/F – 2x 4-lane MIPI CSI connectors
- Networking – 2x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports
- USB
- USB 3.0 Type-A port
- USB2.0 Type-A port
- USB Type-C OTG port
- Expansion
- 2x M.2 M-Key slots (2-lane PCIe 2.1) for NVMe SSD, AI accelerator, etc…
- 26-pin GPIO header
- Misc
- Power, Reset, and MaskROM buttons
- RGB LED
- 2-pin RTC battery connector
- Bootstrap switch
- Power Supply – 12V DC via 5.5/2.1mm power barrel jack
- Dimensions – 85 x 56 mm
The company did not provide a block diagram or schematics for the carrier board, but as I understand it, the five PCIe lanes are used as follows: one for one of the GbE ports, and four (2+2) for the M.2 slots. The documentation link is the same as for the BPI-CM6 Compute Module.
The BPI-CM6 RISC-V system-on-module can be purchased on the Banana Pi shop for $67 in its default configuration, and the IO board adds $17, or $84 in total. It’s also listed on AliExpress, but currently out of stock.
Via Liliputing
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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I’ve been using the Banana Pi BPI-F3 … a great RISC-V board, with a good OS (Bianbu)
I would say the Banana Pi BPI-CM6 setup is functionally almost the same, with the following differences:
… that’s it? Not enough reason for me to buy one. I’m looking forward to the next generation RISC-V SOCs and SBCs … maybe, maybe with RVA23.
Good news! Have been waiting forever on a replacement for the Milk-V Mars CM to come out ever since the newer cores were introduced for the SBC boards already. Gave up hope after such a long time and assumed the vendors had abandoned the CM form factor. What a relief now this existing carrier board can continue to function, and reaffirms the investment at the start to have an upgradeable platform.
It’s the same old, same old thing. It’s a rehashed version of a CPU that’s a success. Performance is more like 8x Cortex-A53 at 1.5 GHz. Where’s the Milk-V Titan with the UltraRISC UR-DP1000 processor? Or the SpaceMIT K3 8×100 2.5 GHz? The heavily subsidized Chinese RISC-V program has hit a snag. The lack of competitive lithography is making its presence felt. Sales are too low to drive production, and RISC-V itself lags significantly behind ARM.
RISC-V process is indeed slow, but I think it’s expected. The K3 will be officially introduced at the end of this month, and development boards will follow in H1 2026.