Recently, there has been news about the Banana Pi BPI-M5 Pro, which for the first time adopts the RK3576 SoC. Let’s take a look at the specifics of this development board and learn more about the upcoming RK3576.

Rockchip RK3576 features four 2.2GHz Cortex-A72 cores and four 1.8GHz Cortex-A53 cores, utilizing currently common cores, but with a certain degree of overclocking. The four Cortex-A72 2.2GHz cores are stronger than the Raspberry Pi 4B’s 1.8GHz, and the four 1.8GHz Cortex-A53 cores outperform the Raspberry Pi 3B’s 1.2GHz and Raspberry Pi 3B+’s 1.4GHz.

It comes with a Mali G52 MC3 GPU, which has one more core than the common Mali G52 MC2.

It features a 6TOPS (int8) NPU, the same as the RK3588.

Manufactured using 8nm process technology. The high frequency is likely due to this 8nm process.

The RK3576 is expected to be an essential SoC for mid-range development boards, significantly outperforming the RK3568. My previous dissatisfaction with the RK3568 was that it only had four Cortex-A55 small cores, but this time it at least provides four Cortex-A72 large cores along with four Cortex-A53 small cores.

With this performance, I estimate that its multi-core performance can compete with the Raspberry Pi 5. Its standout feature is the NPU, which greatly enhances the cost-performance ratio of the RK3576. This level of computing power is quite rare. If you are mainly engaged in AI development, this computing power will be very attractive, especially as it is cheaper than the RK3588/RK3588S. For example, if it is priced under 400, it will have no competitors in this price range.

Next, let’s take a look at the specifications of the Banana Pi BPI-M5 Pro and see the potential of the RK3576 interfaces.

Currently, the news we have is that the Banana Pi BPI-M5 Pro offers 8GB/16GB LPDDR4/4X memory options.

32GB/128GB eMMC options are available, along with an M.2 2280 SSD interface, although the protocol and speed are still unclear. If it is PCIe3.0x4, that would be excellent, but I estimate it is likely PCIe2.0x1.

For display interfaces, it includes HDMI2.1 and MIPI DSI.

It has two MIPI CSI camera interfaces.

Onboard is a Realtek RTL8852BS, supporting Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.

It features one USB3.0 port, one USB2.0 port, and one USB2.0 Type-C port (supporting DisplayPort 1.4), along with a Type-C port supporting PD2.0 power supply, accommodating 9V / 2A, 12V / 2A, and 15V / 2A.

It includes a fan interface, RTC battery interface, and power switch button.

40Pin interface.

Dimensions are 92x62mm, with an 8-layer PCB that is very well designed.

The official system supports Android 14, Debian 11, and Buildroot, while third-party support includes Armbian. I estimate it will also support systems like OpenWRT, Ubuntu, and Android TV in the future.

Overall, there will finally be a development board that complements the RK3568 and RK3588, especially if the price can be in the 200-400 range, it will greatly outperform most development boards in terms of cost-performance ratio. I am very much looking forward to the upcoming RK3576.

Currently, the Banana Pi M5 Pro has only released news; when it will be officially launched and available for purchase depends on Banana Pi’s speed. I hope Banana Pi can seize this opportunity and make a comeback. If they set a price of 299 or 349, that would be very attractive. However, I suspect they might aim for a higher price given that the configuration starts at 8GB, it is very likely they want to sell it at a high price. If this is Banana Pi’s strategy, I really don’t know whether to recommend the Banana Pi M5 Pro.

The Orange Pi 5 Pro is really good

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