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The Cool Pi 4 is a single-board computer with a Rockchip RK3588S octa-core processor with support for 8K video playback and a dedicated neural processing unit.

Shaped like a Raspberry Pi Model B, it should fit into many of the same spaces as Raspberry Pi’s little computers, while delivering more processing power. With prices starting at $142 for a model with 4GB of RAM, the Cool Pi 4 is a lot more expensive than a Raspberry Pi… but it has at least one thing going for it: the Cool Pi 4 is actually in stock. They’re available now from AliExpress.

Like a Raspberry Pi Model B, the Cool Pi 4 measures 85 x 56mm (3.3″ x 2.2″) and features full-sized Ethernet and USB ports along one side, and smaller video outputs along another. There’s even a Raspberry Pi-like 40-pin expansion header.

But at the heart of the Cool Pi 4 is the same Rockchip RK3588S processor that powers systems like the Orange Pi 5, NanoPi R6S, and Khadas Edge2. The chip features:

  • 4 x ARM Cortex-A76 CPU cores @ 2.4 GHz
  • 4 x ARM Cortex-A55 CPU cores
  • Mali-G610 graphics
  • NPU with 6 TOPS performance

The computer’s ports and connectors include:

  • 1 x micro HDMI 2.1 (8K/60Hz support)
  • 1 x mini DisplayPort 1.4 (4K/60Hz support)
  • 1 x Gigabit Ethernet (with Power over Ethernet support)
  • 2 x USB 3.0 Type-A ports
  • 2 x USB 2.0 Type-A ports
  • 1 x USB Type-C port (for power)
  • 1 x microSD card reader
  • 1 x 3.5mm audio jack
  • 1 x MIPI-DSI display connector
  • 1 x MIPI-CSI camera connector
  • 1 x 40-pin GPIO/I2C/SPI/UART header

The little computer also supports WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 wireless connectivity and can use a microSD card and/or an eMMC module for storage: 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB eMMC modules are available for $26, $35, and $52, respectively.

The makers of the board offer Debian 11 and Ubuntu 22.04 images for the Cool Pi 4. Both GNU/Linux distributions are available for download from the Cool Pi forum. According to the AliExpress product page, the system should also support Android 12, but as CNX Software notes, it’s unclear where you’re supposed to download that disk image from.

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