This is a new series looking at the Radxa ROCK 5T single board computer. It’s billed as an elegant single board computer (SBC) with 8K + 4K dual display. The SBC is based on the Rockchip RK3588(J) SoC in a compact form factor packed with a wide range of class-leading functionality, features and expansion options. The RK3588 is a low power 8-core 64-bit processor that is ARM-based.
Various LPDDR5 RAM memory options (4, 8, 16, 24 and 32GB) are available with optional onboard eMMC (32, 64, 128, and 256 GB) . For the series, I’m using the 8GB RAM model with 64GB of onboard eMMC. At the time of publication, that’s available on AliExpress for £111.19.
Getting Started
You’ll need more than just the bare board, but some of the accessories you may already have. You need a microSD card (use class 10 card) to boot the machine, and a power charger DC 12V. For the latter I’m using the Radxa Power DC12 36W adapter which supplies 12V 3A. It comes with a UK plug adapter (as well as adapters for AU, EU, and US).
You’ll also need a least one HDMI cable and an HDMI-enabled monitor with a recommended resolution of 1080P or higher, a USB keyboard and mouse, and a network cable. I also recommend getting a heatsink.
Getting started is simple. Radxa provide a ROCK 5T System Image (6.1 Kernel): rock-5t_bookworm_kde_b2.
Download that file and write it to a microSD card with balenaEtcher or similar software. Insert the microSD card into the board and connect the cables up.
In this image, I’ve only got one of the two HDMI and ethernet ports used.
Let’s look at the board’s supported operating system.
Pages in this article:
Page 1 – Introduction
Page 2 – Radxa OS
Page 3 – First Login
Page 4 – Interrogation of the system