Hardkernel has sent me a kit with the ODROID-H5 10GbE SBC for review. In addition to the Intel Core i3-300 board itself, the kit also comes with an ODROID-H5 Type-1 case, an M.2 card for a second 10 Gbps Ethernet port, and other accessories.
I’ll start the review with an unboxing, my experience assembling the kit, and first boot using an M.2 NVMe SSD with Ubuntu 24.04 and Windows 11 in a dual-boot configuration. In a few weeks, I’ll continue the review after upgrading to Ubuntu 26.04 and perform thorough testing of all features and performance.
ODROID-H5 kit unboxing
An advantage of the ODROID family is that it’s highly flexible, and you can build your own customized system. For this review, Hardkernel sent me a package with the following items:
- External LED power button
- H5 Case Type 1 enclosure
- ODROID-H5
- 16GB DDR5 SO-DIMM (Crucial)
- 15V/4A PSU with US plug adapter
- M.2 10GbE card for dual-port 10GbE implementation
Let’s have a quick look at the board itself:
It’s fanless and cooled by a large and thick heatsink, and most ports can be found on the rear panel: 12V DC jack, two USB 2.0 ports, a 10GbE RJ45, two USB 3.0 ports, one HDMI port, and two DisplayPort connectors.
A look at the top shows one of the M.2 PCIe Gen3 x2 sockets (SSD2), an eMMC module slot, Power and Reset buttons, an RTC battery connector, a 4-pin 12V fan connector, and a 24-pin GPIO header.
The bottom side features a single SO-DIMM connector and three more M.2 sockets. Note that SSD1 and SSD3 are PCIe Gen3 x2 sockets, but SSD4 is only connected to one PCIe Gen3 lane, so that’s something to keep in mind when connecting modules.
The H5 Case Type1 is made of six PCB panels (FR4), and comes with plastic standoffs, rubber feet, and screws.
The 10GbE M.2 card appears to be a standard one for installation in computer cases with RJ45 ports, short and long cables, short and long brackets, standoffs, and screws.
I removed the thin heatsink to check whether it was an RTL8127 module, and indeed it’s based on RTL8127AT. I’m glad this new low-power 10Gbps Ethernet chip exists, as it will help further “democratize” 10GbE networking at home.
The 15V/4A power adapter features a 5.5/2.1mm DC jack and takes 100-240 AV input, so it’s supported worldwide. This type of adapter often comes with three to four plug adapters (US, UK, EU, AU), but to cut costs, Hardkernel only provides one.
ODROID-H5 Case Type1 assembly
Hardkernel didn’t send any storage devices. I have recently upgraded my laptop from a 512GB NVMe SSD to a 2TB NVMe SSD since free storage was tight, and I decided to use the now spare 512GB module, especially since it already comes with Windows 11 and Ubuntu 24.04.
Let’s start the assembly by inserting the 16GB DDR5 module and the NVMe SSD into the SSD1 socket (PCIe Gen3 x2).
I did the same for the 10GbE M.2 module and also connected the RJ45 board through the short cable provided with the kit.
The next step was to add standoffs and rubber feet using the Type_2_D panel as shown in the photo below.
I then attached the RJ45 to the Type_A panel with two standoffs and screws.
I followed the instructions for the ODROID-H4 to connect the Power LED button, since it’s not available yet for the ODROID-H5. Basically, I connected the black wire (GND) to pin 1, the red wire (5V) to pin 4, the Green wire to pin 17, and the blue wire to pin 19.
I almost forgot to add the RTC battery…
… before securing the case with four more screws. The result looks pretty neat.
I now have a dual 10GbE mini PC that could be used for a range of networking applications. The HDMI/DP connectors also enable up to three independent 4K displays, and a few USB ports allow for expansion. I’d just wish there was a full-function USB Type-C port with DisplayPort Alt. mode and USB PD, as I found these to be really convenient now that I have a few USB-C displays.
First boot to Ubuntu 24.04 and Windows 11
Time to quickly test the board. I added an HDMI display (14-inch Crowview portable monitor), a USB RF dongle for a keyboard and mouse combo, and connected the power. The ODROID-H5 quickly booted into Ubuntu 24.04, and I could confirm the Intel Core i3-N300 octa-core CPU, 16GB RAM, and 512GB NVMe SSD in the System->About window.
I’ll have to update that to Ubuntu 26.04, but in the meantime, I rebooted and selected Windows 11 in Grub.
It started fine, but since Windows must have detected hardware changes (from my laptop to the ODROID-H5), it asked me to reset my PIN, and I can’t do that without Internet… I can only connect over WiFi when outdoors, so I’ll skip it and will probably not review Windows on the ODROID-H5 anyway. Instead, I’ll focus on Ubuntu 26.04 in the second part of the review, and test 10GbE networking, the three display outputs, USB ports, and overall performance.
I’d like to thank Hardkernel for sending an ODROID-H5 SBC and accessories for review. Here’s the price breakdown of the kit I received:
- ODROID-H5 SBC – $250
- H5 Case Type 1 – $11
- LED Power Button – $5.99
- 15V/4A PSU (US plug) – $11
- M.2 10GbE card – $76
- 16GB DDR5 SO-DIMM – $220
The total is $573.99 before shipping and taxes. I should be used to RAM pricing by now, but I’m still shocked by it. The first three items must be purchased from Hardkernel or distributors, but you can shop around for the 10GbE M.2 card and 16GB RAM. The ODROID-H5 price appears to depend on the destination country. While I’m shown $250 to Thailand, if I use a “slow” US VPN, $230 first appears, and then it switches to $260. I haven’t found out the reason behind this yet, I was just curious since some US blogs list the price as $260.
The full price doesn’t include the NVMe SSD, so the total should be quite over $600. A close competitor is the iKOOLCORE R2 Max with 2x 10GbE, 2x 2.5GbE, Core i3-N305 SoC, 8GB RAM, and a 128GB SSD that I reviewed in 2024 and sold for $449 at the time. However, since the price of RAM and storage has increased, they don’t bother anymore and only sell the barebone model for $469, which means the ODROID-H5 pricing still looks competitive. The ODROID-H5 should also consume much less when using 10GbE since it features low-power RTL8127 chips instead of legacy “Marvell AQC113C-B1-C” network cards. But that’s something I’ll test in the second part of the review….
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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