Pine64’s SOQuartz is a computer-on-a-module featuring a Rockchip RK3566 quad-core ARM Cortex-A55 processor with Mali-G52 graphics.

First announced in June, Pine64 has announced that the SOQuartz Compute Module W is now available for purchase for $35 and up.

There are three prices/configurations available:

  • 2GB RAM for $35
  • 4GB RAM for $50
  • 8GB RAM for $75

Each model features LPDDR4 memory, support for WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0, and multiple interfaces for displays, cameras, Ethernet, USB 2.0, and PCIe hardware as well as 28 GPIO pins.

Pine64 says there will also be a cheaper version available in the future that lacks the WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities. And if you want to add storage, Pine64 says you can purchase an eMMC module separately and solder it to the board yourself.

Measuring 55 x 40mm, the SOQuartz Compute Module W is the same size as a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 or Radxa Compute Module 3 and it’s pin-to-pin compatible with those devices, which means that a carrier board designed for one should work with the others. Pine64 also plans to offer its own carrier boards soon.

The company notes that while the SOQuartz hardware is available for purchase immediately, software for the compute module is still in its early stages, and while you can boot Linux on the system it “will be months before end-users and industry partners can reliably deploy it.” So if you’re looking for something that’s already compatible with a robust software ecosystem, you may be better off with a Raspberry Pi module for now.

But eventually the SOQuartz board, like Radxa’s CM3 may offer an alternative for folks that want a device capable of on-device AI acceleration, since both boards have a Rockchip RK3566 processor with a 2 GHz ARM Cortex-A55 CPU, Mali-G52 graphics, and 0.8 TOPS neural acceleration engine.

This article was originally published October 29, 2021 and last updated November 8, 2021. 

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6 replies on “Pine64 SOQuartz compute module with RK3566 now available for $35 and up”

  1. Wait, what? I can pop this onto one of those handheld retro game devices that uses the CM4, and it’ll then have RK3566 instead of the Pi 4!? That can’t be right, can it?

    1. I guess you’d just need to ensure the RK3566 board supports all of the same range of features, and power delivery through the PCIe interface.

      Like, does this board support the same amount of USB interfaces, or does it support the video output interface that the device uses on it’s daughter board?

      Lots of potential compatibility questions.

      1. I don’t think there would be much issues there.
        The biggest factor would be software. The RiPi has a big fanbase of developers, and they eventually get something like RetroPie OS built for their devices. Pin64 does okay for community support, it’s up there close enough to HardKernel, but pretty far removed from some of the x86 boards or the Pi community.

        The Pi Zero 2 is great for tiny, low-power things. The CM4 is better for larger, more performant things. And the full-scale 4B+ opens options for more hardware related things.

        The biggest alternatives to these are the Odroid C4, Odroid H2+, and Odroid N2+. And if going more higher-end, there is the Nvidia Jetson Nano, LattePanda Alpha, and Udoo Bolt V8.

    2. Or just buy a Powkiddy X18S and sort that software out, leaves both suggested home brew devices, behind.

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