NanoPi R76S: Raspberry Pi alternative offers up to 16GB RAM, quick Ethernet and NPU

The NanoPi R76S is a new single-board computer that’s available in various configurations starting at $49. A case can be added for an additional $10. For another $6, the RAM increases from 2GB to 4GB, while the 16GB LPDDR5 RAM variant costs an additional $40. All versions come with 32GB of eMMC mass storage.

Regardless of the model variant, the Raspberry Pi competitor is always powered by the Rockchip RK3576 SoC, with four Cortex-A72 and four Cortex-A53 cores, a Mali-G52 MC3 GPU and an NPU with 6 TOPS. Wireless connectivity via WiFi is not available out of the box, but a corresponding module can be added after purchase. The two Ethernet ports offer up to 2.5Gbps each.

For video output, the SBC has a single HDMI port that can display 4K at 60 Hz. Furthermore, there is one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port, while the USB Type-C port is solely used for power supply. External sensors and actuators can be connected via 8 GPIO pins. The Raspberry Pi 5 (from $73 on Amazon) offers a 40-pin header, which isn’t included here.

According to the manufacturer, various operating systems are supported, including Ubuntu 20.04, Android 14, FriendlyWrt and OpenMediaVault. FriendlyElec states that the 2.28 x 2.28 x 0.06 inch board can also handle Docker containers for applications like NextCloud or hosting a Minecraft server. Operating systems can be easily installed on the NanoPi R76S via a web browser, from a PC or from a microSD memory card.