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The 8-CORE Raspberry Pi Killer: ODROID XU4Q with CloudShell2 Case - Assembly

The Raspberry Pi got us all very excited about making our own little mini computers, but they're slow and dated. Let's look at the ODROID XU4Q SBC which has a whopping 8 cores, 2 GB DDR3 RAM, eMMC, USB 3.0 and gigabit Ethernet. Put that inside a CloudShell2 case for a 2-drive SATA RAID backplane with a 2.8" color display in a sleek package. This makes for the most gorgeous and powerful DIY NAS server we've seen yet!

NOT a PI KILLER!

WOW! Raspberry Pi fans are die-hard! We've been so impressed with all your comments about our calling the ODROID XU4 a "Raspberry Pi Killer" and felt it seemed important to explain the tongue-in-cheek statement.

Our Biggest Fans On YouTube - Volume 2

The Raspberry Pi 3 is BIGGER than the ODROID XU4Q and Robbie is not as decorative as the rest of the team. This is the chance for Our Biggest Fans On YouTube to speak up and tell us what they really think.

Size Comparison: Raspberry Pi 3 vs. ODROID XU4Q

Side-by-side, which is bigger: The Raspberry Pi 3 or the ODROID XU4Q?

ODROID XU4 vs Raspberry Pi 3 - htop Quick Comparison

Let's take a quick look at what htop shows for a Raspberry Pi 3 vs an ODROID XU4Q as we prepare to do some side-by-side testing of these two single board computers.

ODROID XU4 vs Raspberry Pi 3 - Stress Test, Mining Monero and Network Interface Benchmark

Let's use stress-ng to test the CPU of both the Raspberry Pi 3 and the 8-core ODROID XU4Q. We'll also fire up iperf to see how well each board's ethernet adapter performs, and finally we'll run cat5tv-miners, which uses xmrig, to mine some Monero cryptocurrency and see how many H/s each board achieves using CPU mining.

ODROID XU4 vs Raspberry Pi 3 - GIMP Performance Comparison

Let's see how the Raspberry Pi 3 and the ODROID XU4Q handle the GNU Image Manipulation Program. In our demonstration, we'll side-by-side compare performance when scaling an image to a whopping 12000x8000 pixels and creating a 20% Gaussian blur.

SBC Price vs. Performance Volume 2: NanoPi M4 vs ODROID XU4Q

As we continue our PVP series showing the true value of various-priced single board computers, Volume 2 is a shocker! Is the 8-core XU4Q a Raspberry Pi killer? Or will the newer NanoPi M4 destroy them both? Let's use Ģiggles to determine the true value-for-the-money of each board, while also paying attention to the actual performance gains in the higher-priced devices.

Unboxing ODROID HC1 (Home Cloud 1) 8-Core XU4-Based SBC NAS

The ODROID HC1 is an 8-Core ARM SOC based on the popular XU4. It has integrated SATA3, Gigabit Ethernet, and runs Linux like a dream. Let's get into the box and see what it looks like to connect an SSD to the unit before firing it up.

Turn the ODROID HC1 into a Linux-Based BitTorrent Seed Server

Now that we've got our ODROID HC1 ready to go with Debian Linux, let's boot it up, SSH in and get started! We'll format our SSD, create a non-root Linux user, mount the SSD using fstab, setup transmission-daemon and gain access to its web server, and set it to download our torrents directly to a "torrents" folder on the SSD. This is some serious Linux fun, so get ready!

Block Ads and Porn using a Single-Board Computer

Whether you want to keep your kids safe while using the Internet, prevent staff or students from accessing inappropriate content at work or school, or just want to make your Internet visibly faster, we'll build a DNS server that lets us block Internet ads before they're downloaded, and will take it one step further by also blocking pornography using nothing more than a single board computer to protect our entire network.

Help Us Decide: USB 3.0 with UASP + eSATA, or 3.1 Rev 2 with UASP?

Okay, here's the dilemma: There are two NAS Enclosures. They're exactly the same price. They are virtually identical. The only difference is the connectivity, and therefore, the speed of data access. Unit 1 provides USB 3.0 with UASP (5 Gb/sec) and eSATA (6 Gb/sec). Unit 2 provides only USB 3.1 Rev 2 with UASP (10 Gb/sec). Would you go with the faster Unit 2, keeping in mind that the computer we want to connect it to only has USB 3.0 UASP (so the unit will still only run at 5 Gb/sec unless we later upgrade our computer)? Or would you go with the more connectivity options of Unit 1? Help us decide, and we'll review the one the community picks (majority rules).

Linux Partitions and Mount Points: Preparing a DIY NAS

As we begin preparing to build our own NAS server out of a single board computer and USB 3.1 R2 DAS enclosure, Robbie will take us through some fundamentals to help us understand how mount points work, how to partition and format our drives, and even answer questions about the project.

Crew Conversation: Raspberry Pi as a Minecraft Server

Jeff wants to turn a Raspberry Pi 3 B+ into a Minecraft server. We'll talk about his progress, what Robbie feels might drive him more toward an ODROID-XU4 or even a Raspberry Pi 4, and an actual pre-optimized Minecraft server for Raspberry Pi from the same folks who bring us balenaEtcher.

Status of Minecraft Server on a Raspberry Pi and a Cupcake

Jeff circles back to our Category5 Crew Conversation about running Minecraft Server on a Raspberry Pi. We'll also learn who got the most votes, and who gets the bakery-fresh cupcake treat!

ARM is being sold to Nvidia for $40bn

UK-based computer chip designer ARM Holdings is being sold to the American graphics chip specialist Nvidia. The deal values ARM at $40bn, four years after it was bought by Japanese conglomerate Softbank for $32bn.