And the CHIP has 3.5mm audio, which is more than a new iPhone does! :)
7 лет назад+35
That moment when a 9 dollar micro PC is more advanced in technology than the newest 1000 dollar + shit from Apple.
7 лет назад+14
***** No. I shit into their. To be honest. I just don't want to buy overpriced shit that has old technology which is selled as "new". I don't want to buy things that make life "easier" but actually makes your life worse by takeing away any comfort. If Apple would be honest... or no. If there were not so extremely many fanboys that takes all of the shit they are making to heaven, Apple would be a much better brand. That is the opinnion I have about Apple. Once, they were glory, once. Not today anymore. They died for me like Nintendo is dying right now.
3:25 actually, powering C.H.I.P. from a LiPO battery _was_ straightforward, as it had onboard power management to stabilize voltage and charge the battery. Awesome for a hobby project.
Way To Bring The Hits Every Sunday Chris! Another Great Video Man. It Was Very Interesting To See A Side By Side Comparison Like That. Well Done. This Will Provide Many Answers And Options For People New To These Devices Moving Forward......
good video but I really wish you had run the same browser and video player on each device. using different programs kind of negates the test in my mind. What default program the developers decided to use doesn't really have any bearing on raw performance. I think anyone who would be buying one of these would understand how to install a different program.
not if another player shows something else. the chip is now unusable for many, but if another free player is able to play it fine, it would change the outcome. perhaps still slower than the pi which this was all about, that's true. but it would still be a better test/video.
What a great video ! I'll go with Chip + DIP. You could use a flashusb for added RAM for chip (like old winxp netbooks used for extra RAM) so 6gb basically =) I'll just use my 2k downconverted or 1080i to vcd/mpeg1 video files to play on CHIP !
The video playback comparison is tied into the "support" you mentioned near the end of the video, and said support may be the most important part of SoCs. Any SoC at the sub 50usd range will always crawl like the chip when doing video playback with gnome mplayer. At least with catch-all acceleration methods and drive stacks that come out with the operating system you use with it. Starting at the lowest level the Pis operating systems and hardware have been available to the public for far longer, so not only is there more of a mature understanding of it, you see things like Omxplayer more often. Omxplayer is what wins the Pi for video playback, it is an entire video player stack using the OpenMax api from Broadcom themselves to get the absolute best media play back possible from the Pi. The chip may one day have the same sort of support but unfortunately unless one person stumbles on some goldmine of performance in the chip to compete with things like Omxplayer, it is always going to be second fiddle to the Pi.
To be honest I'd use neither of these for desktop computing, I do have a Zero which I am planning to try some projects with and I'm going to get a Chip just because they are cheap, by the time you buy all the peripherals you'd be better with a PI 3 model B with 4 USB Ports, Wifi, Bluetooth, Quadcore, 1 Gb ram, Ethernet, HDMI all for around the $40 mark.
These sorts of mini computers are good for personal security programming small projects ect. There are many more places you can cram a chip or pi zero than a full on Pi3
Pi Zero W just came out a week or two ago and it adds the same WiFi and Bluetooth setup as the Pi 3 to the Pi Zero. Costs $10 instead of $5 but that should actually make it a lot more accessible since now they have room for profit.
well it had to happen some time i guess 36 years old , internet / youtube about 20+ years first thing that's interesting on this crap site very nice structured videos , good explanation thanks man , keep it up
Excellent video, Christopher. I like the neutral point of view presented, because both boards have advantages and disadvantages, and of course it is up to the user to decide which will be better to meet their need.
If you put the DIP on the Chip all the GPIO pins will be occupied just to have a HDMI output. On the PI you can still use the GPIO pins and have a HDMI output. They should've made something else for the Chips so that you can still use the GPIO pins + have a HDMI output.
You could still use pins if you put DIP on the CHIP. You have GPIO solder points on the DIP where you could solder GPIO headers :) Look more carefully: docs.getchip.com/images/hdmi_callout.jpg
Excellent! Didn't even know about the RasPi Zero, but just ordered one, although I struggled to find the board only! Ordered a Chip but still waiting for it as it was sold out. Just been notified it will be shipped this month. Really good narration voice and presentation by the way!
ErPAkka Yes. New versions of Raspbian come with Chromium browser pre-installed. Raspbian used to have a more bare bones browser before the Pixel update. I'm not too sure why they decided something as heavy as Chromium was a good idea for a SBC...
Ordered a chip years ago after watching your review, never ever got to try it.... Ordered the pi zero w last Thursday and it should be here tomorrow, hope it's more fun that the chip would have been heh...
I think for a cheap torrent box that can download stuff overnight without having to turn on a regular desktop PC, the chip is pretty good. It already has on board storage so you can stick whatever Linux you want to use to make the torrent client. Also has Wifi built in and you can run it from composite video to do the initial setup of the board, no need to buy an adapter + hdmi cable for that. Has a regular USB port so you can add a external storage and configure it so it dumps your torrent or hosts your files from there.
Could you please take a clip about playing a video over usb source? - this maybe shows where the brake is going on. Graphics adapter or the onboard flash? An 2.0 usb Adapter with a SD-Card will show us the truth and will me getting sleep in slightly :-) Cheers!
Network seems to be bottled capped with these single computer boards since they seem to share the USB data with the network adapter. So it really doesn't matter if you use a built in Ethernet port (like on a Raspberry Pi) or a USB Ethernet adapter, you still pretty much limited by the data transfer speeds of the USB chipset/controller itself. So using Wi-Fi to downloads torrents on these is pretty much OK considering it's a low powered device that you leave unattended @ night downloading stuff for you. Also keep in mind it's just a $9 board.
Well, I don't know if any comparison makes sense. Those computers are not meant to be used for general computing anyway. And from what I see, the zero is meant for smaller projects (well, physically smaller at least :) ) while CHIP could be good for some retro gaming with its less-than-perfect analog video output. In any case, I see a market for both, but not necessarily competing directly.
The zero or the chip, no they don't have the horse power for general computing. I have done retro gaming on the zero its no quad core but it does the job. I can see the chip being good in that application as well. For General computing though the pi 3 is getting close to what I would call usable horse power for that. If the pi 3 had just one more gig of ram it would be there IMO.
The Pi Zero is about the same size as the Arduino nano, As is the Pi3 to the Arduino Uno but they are for 2 entirely different purposes so it isn't really a useful comparison. These little things are certainly not sitting between the full Pi and Arduino, as these little computers hold a full operating system with a nice amount of RAM & storage space vs the Arduinos 2KB RAM and 32KB of flash memory, but again they are for 2 completely different purposes. Last time I looked into it the Banana Pi had a separate USB/Ethernet bus if that is what you need, if they are still going.
Easily missed fact about the CHIP is that it has a 40 pin display controller so you can cut the display's driver board out and run it straight off the CHIP. The space saving from not needing a display driver board makes up for the board size difference.
Really surprised by the result of the video playback test! Did not expect that at all! Bit of a shame that the Pi Zero does not have wi-fi and/or bluetooth on that board, though. It's just what it needed. EDIT: I wonder how's the performance for data access speed on both of those devices.
you should do a vid on the different "projects" you can do with the chip. you do a great job with the vids long time watcher and subscriber keep up with the work
Perhaps a more accurate comparison might now be between a CHIP and a Raspberry Pi zero-W which has a built in bluetooth and 802.11(something) wi-fi card - it's closer to $10, but brings more functionality onboard. The "vanilla" Zero is perhaps closer in concept to the "thinking person's Arduino" - it's primarily intended as a "maker" board which *happens* to run a version of Linux, than a fully-functional desktop alternative. And to be "balanced" - the Rpi needs you to set up the Micro-SD card on a conventional computer, or buy one preloaded with Raspian Still, an interesting comparison
Thanks for this -- and you see Chromium in this video. Since the launch of PIXEL, it has been the default browser on the Pi, and is now pre-installed in Raspbian. The LattePanda also happily runs Chrome or Chromium. :)
I have to agree the Pi has the edge. Its on-board HDMI and user selective memory capacity are key features. The CHIPs slow video playback is more than a little disturbing and a game ender if it cannot be overcome. The price of both devices is getting up there once you add on necessary accessories... which make one wonder about simply going with a full size Pi over the Zero. Excellent video as always.
omxplayer has always been the superior video player in my opinion, for low-end computers it completely bypasses desktop environment which makes it MUCH faster, and capable of being run from a command-line only interface (obviously not through ssh or such, but CLI through hdmi)
Well, you've changed my mind about the CHIP. Another great video tutorial. Thank you for posting this video. I'll stick with my PI 3 for the wife's next computer.
the CHIP sounds downright ideal for use as a remote-use device. Especially a battery powered one. I feel like the built in LiPO connector isn't getting enough credit for it's usefulness in that regard. If you're just setting it up to run a small program remotely you'll only need composite out to do initial setup then never need video out again. If the project doesn't need much space then you can VERY easily justify the lack of expandable storage by having the convenience of it built on, and the wifi/bluetooth connectivity right out of the box is a bit of a godsend. I'd wager you could make a mean solar powered piratebox for small files out of one of those things with a big enough battery to last the night/cloudy days for probably under 30 bucks since it already has most of what you'd need built in.
I think once the Chip solves its video playback, it will become the better SBC. I wish you would have discussed how to addon memory to the chip. Maybe another dip?
The memory is soldered, and hence cannot be expanded I'm afraid. Since I made this video a $10 "Raspberry Pi Zero W" has become available with WiFi and Bluetooth like the CHIP.
Its worth noting that the availability of the raspberry pi and the chip are vastly different. I have only ever seen the chip shipping from the nextthing site whereas the raspberry pi is sold on a multitude of electronics websites. Also the chip shipping costs for the UK are extortionate, but it is coming from Australia so ho hum.
The CHiP includes a battery charging circuit doesn't it? So you can solder on a LiPo and use it out and about. Then again there are plenty of 5V battery packs that connect via USB, and they include a charger circuit. The newer Pi Zero (v1.2) introduced a mini sized camera port. You did a fair review I think... clearly not biased one way or the other.
I would have thought the use for these would be to be built into other projects, for control or telemetry, as a kind of super form of embedded device, so I would tend to downplay the necessity of using a monitor, and for this reason I would prefer the Pi Zero as it comes with the option of either soldering header pins on if needed, or directly soldering wires onto the board itself for a better long term connection, which is how I would like to construct a project myself.
I really don't consider the Orange Pi to be a "Pi" beyond the name, because RPIs are released by Pi Towers, while OPIs come from Adafruit. That being said, OPIs are generally more expensive, which may allude to better-performing hardware, or at least, more for your money, but there is nothing stopping the ecosystems for CHIP, RPI and OPI from merging together, as many hackers manage to get components working together even if they aren't made to work with one another because it's all copper and silicon at the end of the day.
the pi is a lot better option for me. i have a wifi dongle, an hdmi to normal hdmi cable, a usb hub and a powersupply. i use (a full size) pi as a media center for my living room. i also overclocked it with no problem whatsoever. but the most important for me is the on-board decoder that makes the video playback perfectly buttery smooth.
Community support is probably the most important part for me. Without community support I would have never bough my Pies. note: I saw you say that some 64Gb cards work on the Pi in fat32. I have formatted my 64Gig and even 128Gb cards with the special formatter (for noobs) and they all work great (I have about 8 Pies that I manage and or own - i lost count)
It now contains a webpage with nightly compiles - over time the archive has become quite big. They where on sale during black Friday ($32,-) I just had to buy one. www.amazon.com/SanDisk-microSDXC-Standard-Packaging-SDSQUNC-128G-GN6MA/dp/B010Q57S62/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1485204251&sr=8-2&keywords=128gb+sandisk
I prefer the zero w out of both these. The sd card support and hdmi support is great and you don't have to buy that silly wifi adapter. It's my favorite SBC by far.
I'm wondering if the HDMI adaptor on the chip computer was causing the slow browser video playback, was the performance the same out of the composite video? Academic as chip went bust
But I'm looking for a microcontroller that can interface with an electronic subsystem, provide video and computer connection, with data. So if I hook up that HDMI module to the Chip, I lose all of those GPIO and analog connectors. Actually, I also want video I/O, and it doesn't look like either of these will do both. Both of these are ARM processors. Chip is Allwinner R8 ARMv7 Cortex-A8. Pi-0 is ARM1176. Alternatively, an onsite laptop computer, which is what I don't want to drag along, but if I want to do any heavy data storage, I may have to. Neither of these has an external drive port. Interesting - thanks for the comparison. I think you also may have separate videos on each of these, so I'll have a look at those.
I do indeed have videos on each -- and on a great many other SBCs! Sounds to me like an x86 board like a LattePanda may suit your needs: ruclips.net/video/z5EXNfHYPfQ/видео.html
+ExplainingComputers / Christopher, Good comparison of these two devices, but (as usual) I do have some comments about this video. Firstly, it would be nice if you included to mention which WiFi chipset is used within the Chip. Recently, I have been experimenting with BSD based firewall appliances (ie. opnSense, PFSense, FreeBSD etc.) and am aware that BSD can be selective about WiFi drivers / chipsets. Secondly, it seams that you are suggesting these devices should / must have some sort of display interface for them to be fully functional (and are presuming that most people will be using these devices as workstation alternatives). We both know that these devices can have many other usages beyond workstation styled terminals (as demonstrated by your Raspberry robotics videos). As an example, the Banana BPI device that has recently been delivered to me does have a full HDMI bus but I am intending to not use the display interface (with the expectation of the initial installation of the OS) and will be using SSH and a web / LAMP based GUI for further configuration purposes. Finally, you touched on the Lipo battery plug / interface but failed to mention anything about the recent changes in legislation / IATA ( International Air Transport Association ) regulations governing the shipping of lithium ion batteries. The result of these new regulations means that lithium batteries can only be imported by a selected few companies (ie. DHL, FedEX and UPS), which could result in creating a monopoly within this market. The result of these regulations is making it harder to purchase new and replacement batteries within the UK, I have been trying and failing to find a UK based vendor that can supply high capacity batteries with standard Lipo connectors (10000+ mAh -- output at 3.7v / 2a). I would welcome any recommendation or suggestions of UK based vendors that can provide high capacity lithium batteries.
Thanks Mark -- great feedback as usual. I was not aware of the battery shipping issue -- very interesting. And yes, agreed, there are many uses for these machines without a display.
CHIP came-up to me with short 3.5mm to phono AV lead, so I will not add this cost. But fairly price scope and computing power is quite similar. Real deal with CHIP is on-board communication, storage and lipo connector, making it very small and compact computer, ideal for drones or robots :) However, the killer punch is from RPi with community support. In my opinion the most important thing in DYI IoT devices. BTW: Serious programming is done via remote desktop/SSH, not on board, best wo. xwindow started ;)
Chris, you might want to do a video about thin client computing, meaning using a low power computer to access a remote server to do work, like I'm doing right now. I use a Windows 10 OS in a virtual machine on a Linux server in France, and accessing it from Linux Mint using Remmina RDP client. I use a low power laptop with a 4W Intel Celeron N3160 CPU and 4GB RAM and a 32GB eMMC storage.
The CHIP has one huge advantage and that's the ongoing availability by the manufacturer. While the RPi Zero is great when it comes to function as it should, the company behind unfortunately decided to set this thing on a limited production. That's also why prices for the board are also almost as high as those for the typical Pi2 and Pi3 boards.
This is true, although both the CHIP and Pi Zero are hard to get hold of. It took me six months to get a CHIP after the order, and I see that are now out of stock until "Q1 2017". In a way this is good -- it indicates demand -- but I think the margins in these boards make their supply problematic for any company.
Just saw a presentation about this thing embedded into the PocketCHIP case. By the time you make the "cheap" computer runnable, it is at least 3 times the cost of Pi3, about 10 times the price of a Pi0 with about the same speed if you want HDMI. 1/4 the speed of a 3B for more money. I guess it has a market niche but I am straining to understand it. The flash that has to be bought tends to level the pricing just a little but, as you say, not changable on CHIP. Limited selection of environments, too. As always, an excellent, informative presentation. One update, the Pi0W is out now so $5 extra for the Pi side of the tally. As of May 3, 2018 the CHIP is not available. They claim they will return. I suspect their production run was completely subscribed and they have to go back to the fab to get some more made up. Will see what it looks like next round.
Thanks for the video, I'm glad you showed that the price of the device itself is not the whole story. On the browser test, the reason the pi was delayed loading youtube, you can see it was loading data for the 'uBlock Origin' extension which is quite a slow add-on in my experience, so test it again with that disabled and the pi will probably win Having said that, your tests kind of miss the point of these devices. They are designed for hobby uses or for robotics (as 2 examples), where you set the thing up and then run it standalone, with no need for a screen output or for keyboards and mice etc. If you want a 'Computing device' then the full size pi or equivalent is much better value and more practical.
what are you smoking? these are great boards, but apple have phones with 4-8 gigs of ram, faster CPUs than mobile intel processors and graphics better than an ps3/xbox 360. add on the 64+ gigs of storage, battery, hi res display, 4k cameras, os...
I think the software comparison would have been more fair if the tests were run using the same applications, I mean, to be fair, that the actual conclusions here fit the question "what default software run better on each device" instead of "what device is faster/better"
On the Launch browser & page load-test, you can see in the bottom left of the Raspberry browser that it's the uBlock extension that's causing most of the extra time spent in rendering the page, while I'm not sure the C.H.I.P even had that extension. Still, neither of these computers are really meant for browsing or even windowed environments in general no matter what the marketing is telling us.
Thanks for the comparison video, thumbs up and subbed. I would run the chip as a headless server and point boot to root stored on a 16 GB USB stick. So for my purpose the chip looks like the best deal.
The Chromium starts to wait for uBlock Origin adblock extension from 26.5 seconds. What if we also install adblock on Firefox? Does it run faster on the CHIP?
This is why the pi zero w was such a huge deal. add "ssh" to the root of the sdcard and "wpa_supplicant.conf" with your network config and use it in projects wireless and headless. Nobody should be using these as computer systems other than like a gameboy or something.
Thanks Chris, but both have problems of availability, if you got either or both then you are an extremely lucky person Then the charge of shipping cancels their low price! So your safest bit it to get an Orange Pi, use Etcher to copy Armbian (Linux for Arm cpus) on it & live your life: www.banggood.com/search/orange-pi.html BTW, the RPI Zero has CVBS to RCA (TV Out) you just need to solder jumpers or RCA video cable onto it. TV Out is to the right of the RPI logo : raspi.tv/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Pi-Zero-1.3-top_700.jpg And for RPI Zero Analogue Audio, LadyAda has some Schematics for a board: learn.adafruit.com/introducing-the-raspberry-pi-zero/audio-outputs
Very true -- both the CHIP and the Pi Zero are too cheap to off a decent enough vendor margin to make them mass available (unless sold in bundles of other hardware, which negates the initial low price).
Christopher, I think the benchmark is quite muddled by the fact that you're using different apps on the two different systems. I also think the webpage on the chip was likely cached. It was far too fast considering all of the other bottlenecks. I'm not disputing your conclusion, just offering refinements on the methodology. Thanks!
I inevitably used different apps on different systems, as there is no available operating system that runs on both computers, nor a common browser. So I am running here what the manufacturers/suppliers intended. The test here is a real-world one of computer systems, not hardware -- or in other words, the combination of hardware and software that real users would run in the real world. People seem to forget that on ARM systems you cannot just "download the same OS" and try it. It does not work that way. The OS and drivers need to be available and compiled for the specific hardware. :) When testing other SBCs I get a similar argument -- the test is no good, why not try using such-and-such an OS on them that happens to run both? (Even though it is a very obscure OS that almost no real world user will ever run). Which might, technically be a "better test" of hardware vs hardware, but is meaningless for real world application. If comparing a Mac and a PC, would you wipe macOS and Windows off them to install Linux to do a better test? I seriously hope not.
I agree that you can't run the same distro on both, because there are custom binary drivers usually involved. But I think you can probably get the same browsers on both.
I figured you were comparing "system" to "system," rather than hardware to hardware. I would still humbly recommend trying to run the benchmarks on the same apps if at all possible, and not just the same type of app. Cheers.
I have come to really like this channel. That said, this video didn't hit the mark of a fair or accurate comparison. The "cost" portrayed is really off the rails here as nearly nobody will use them for desktops and thus will not be purchasing most of accessories listed. These are embedded project boards, not workstations. Also, the web browser test was only run once. An accurate test would be to start the browser several times and see the average. Many times after a reboot an app will take longer to start up the first time. But close it and start it again and it will be faster. It would also have been better to use the same browser on both boards to test. Better yet have Firefox and Chrome on both and run those tests. I'd also have added a Libre Office app and a performance benchmark test just to get a good sense of each board's true performance. The one test I thought was good was the video. But I'm not sure of the method the video was played on each board. All in all I am glad this video was made as it gives at least a glimmer into the comparison. For most who will be looking for an embedded project board, I think the Pi Zero wins if for no other reason than it's extremely slim profile; a feature that was sort of an after thought in this comparison.
Nice comparison, but there are two issues with your cost-calculations! 1) You have added both the HDMI DIP and the composite into the cost of the CHIP 2) You did not add any WiFi or Bluetooth Adapter to the PI to make them both comparable. All in all, is the CHIP setup around 20$ cheaper!
Yes, you are right -- I added both the composite lead and the HDMI DIP to the CHIP. My mistake. But I did add the cost of the WiFi dongle and hub to the Pi. So the CHIP is about $5 cheaper. :)
I'm surprised you have a problem being able to see NTSC on a modern TV. We in New Zealand use PAL also, but I have not seen a TV sold here that was made in the last 17 years that could not also handle RF or composite signals from all 3 systems of PAL, NTSC and SECAM. All the flat screens I have seen handle all 3 types. The old Sharp CRT TV I used to have with a built in VHS video recorder made in the mid-90s was also able to handle NTSC fine and actually also played NTSC VHS tapes from the US as well as local PAL ones. I normally had to manually select the color format though as by default it used the Japanese NTSC colour format that although almost identical to the US NTSC format has a different colour signal I think was 180 degrees out of phase to the US version.
hmmm $2 for Wi-Fi chip n $2 for Bluetooth plus the ram, free headers, no soldering and ability to clip in an hdmi out...chip wins hands down for hassle free plug, play and get to programming! ...great setup by chip! .. if you want to tinker and start from scratch and sniff some lovely flux smoke then the Zero is better for learning n burning! ..cheaper to set a Zero ablaze or install in multiple projects/toys/prototypes....but the chip DEFINITELY has its pros and and its place.
Memory Access Time - how much of a factor is memory access time? I have been surprised at how slowly laptops run SDs and microSDs when plugged into the SD slot, even when the storage chips themselves are fast. UHS cards running on USB3 via an appropriate adapter can be several times as fast as the same cards shoved into the SD slot.
I have to say for embedded systems I prefer the Pi. I don't need HDMI or networking, or even Bluetooth. I just need the GPIO Pins. And a big advantage of the pi is: I plug in a SD card with my software, solder some wires on, and it works.
Sadly, here in Poland atleast, these things are kinda expensive. For example, Pi Zero costs 60 $. 100 bucks for self contained plug and play gadget. As for CHIP, i could`nt find it anywhere. For 100 $ i can have used 10 YO laptop running WinXP with some power to spare. And i cant get anything ordered from abroad cheaper, do to taxes. Tell me about 5th world country... Anyhow. Quality upload, as always.
I don't know why, but I prefer Raspberry Pi boards. I think it's the user community which seems to be in the millions with an endless back catalogue of projects, from the very simple to the unbelievably advanced.
hi chris love your videos ....keep up the great job .....!!!! i'm new to single board computer...is it possible to make clusters with each of those two boards, if yes how many is it possible to stacks together ?? thank you
Another great video Chris. Thanks for the comparison. I'd like to see what kind of electronics/IoT stuff the Chip can do, versus the Pi, seeing as its got twice the gpio pins. Also, is there a pass through method on the Chip when using the HDMI card, or is there some other work around? Thanks again for a great channel.
Thanks Steve. The CHIP has more header pins, but most pins are for an LCD display and the HDMI or VGA DIPS -- there are, I think, only 8 dedicated XIO (GPIO) pins. With the HDMI or VGA DIP connected, there are solder pads to which pins can be connected to access these and a few other pins (like power) -- so yes, there is pass through.
have you checked if the Pi isn't set up for background loading of pages? Like as soon as the page was loaded, it could be that the Chip would need 34 seconds to load a sub page, but the pi might load it in seconds? I also would have loved to see the game 'DOOM' playback. With it's specs of 66Mhz on a 486 processor, it should run fine on both systems! IMHO, they should create a Raspberry Pi 0, with 4GB of RAM, 64GB of ROM, dual BT port (keyboard/mouse and possibly audio), WIFI, and HDMI port standard, and bump up the price to still an affordable level, like $30 or so.
There is a Raspberry Pi with most if not all the features you listed, it is the Raspberry Pi 3, which is $40. Also, Doom runs on very low specs due to the requirements from the time it was made, it doesn't need a 486 or equivalent, it works with a 386 or even a 286 processor, and a fraction of the ram a raspberry pi zero has.
66mhz was a requirement for the Windows 95 version as well. our first pc ran Doom 2 with less than 66mhz and it was either a 286 or a 386. And the frame rates were ok. It ran on a lower resolution to make it work well.
I was curious about the audio output quality and found in the datasheet that the Allwinner SoC has an integrated 24-Bit audio peripheral. For me that would be a huge advantage over the Zero, but now I'm confused why they don't lose a word about the audio in the documentation. Neither the wiki nor the datasheet specify the sampling rate, output impedance etc.
Could youb explain why the CHIP can't play video smoothly? I've heard that is because of a video codec or driver. Do you think this can be fixed? Thanks!
At least they have more ports than the new MacBook
And the CHIP has 3.5mm audio, which is more than a new iPhone does! :)
That moment when a 9 dollar micro PC is more advanced in technology than the newest 1000 dollar + shit from Apple.
***** No. I shit into their.
To be honest. I just don't want to buy overpriced shit that has old technology which is selled as "new". I don't want to buy things that make life "easier" but actually makes your life worse by takeing away any comfort.
If Apple would be honest... or no. If there were not so extremely many fanboys that takes all of the shit they are making to heaven, Apple would be a much better brand.
That is the opinnion I have about Apple.
Once, they were glory, once. Not today anymore. They died for me like Nintendo is dying right now.
The only Apple product I can afford is Apple Juice
I was waiting for someone to say that. Haha
3:25 actually, powering C.H.I.P. from a LiPO battery _was_ straightforward, as it had onboard power management to stabilize voltage and charge the battery. Awesome for a hobby project.
R.I.P. NTC
Very nice comparison. Yeah, people complain about different softwares being tested, but this is great for comparing out of the box performance.
Exactly! :)
It held up to what I have seen in other videos. The cost comparison with accessories though is the best I have seen done on the 2 boards.
I got lucky and scored 2 zero boards. The kit plus a single board. You have to camp the sites hard as they sell fast.
Check Pimoroni's site. Zero is currently in stock: shop.pimoroni.com/products/raspberry-pi-zero
sorry it wasn't when i sent you the link
Way To Bring The Hits Every Sunday Chris! Another Great Video Man. It Was Very Interesting To See A Side By Side Comparison Like That. Well Done. This Will Provide Many Answers And Options For People New To These Devices Moving Forward......
good video but I really wish you had run the same browser and video player on each device. using different programs kind of negates the test in my mind. What default program the developers decided to use doesn't really have any bearing on raw performance. I think anyone who would be buying one of these would understand how to install a different program.
Yes I agree :)
not if another player shows something else. the chip is now unusable for
many, but if another free player is able to play it fine, it would
change the outcome. perhaps still slower than the pi which this was all
about, that's true. but it would still be a better test/video.
Do R/C! but if he did that, then it wouldn't be comparing the default hardware.
Yes, great job once again. My whole family follows your videos. You do such a great job of explaining thoroughly.
Thanks to your whole family for watching! :)
What a great video ! I'll go with Chip + DIP. You could use a flashusb for added RAM for chip (like old winxp netbooks used for extra RAM) so 6gb basically =) I'll just use my 2k downconverted or 1080i to vcd/mpeg1 video files to play on CHIP !
I just wanted to say that I really enjoy and appreciate your videos. Your lack of bias and dedication to fair comparison is exemplary. Thumbs up.
Many thanks.
The video playback comparison is tied into the "support" you mentioned near the end of the video, and said support may be the most important part of SoCs. Any SoC at the sub 50usd range will always crawl like the chip when doing video playback with gnome mplayer. At least with catch-all acceleration methods and drive stacks that come out with the operating system you use with it. Starting at the lowest level the Pis operating systems and hardware have been available to the public for far longer, so not only is there more of a mature understanding of it, you see things like Omxplayer more often. Omxplayer is what wins the Pi for video playback, it is an entire video player stack using the OpenMax api from Broadcom themselves to get the absolute best media play back possible from the Pi. The chip may one day have the same sort of support but unfortunately unless one person stumbles on some goldmine of performance in the chip to compete with things like Omxplayer, it is always going to be second fiddle to the Pi.
I dreamt of 256 bit credit card computers in 1969.
Now,you have it :).
To be honest I'd use neither of these for desktop computing, I do have a Zero which I am planning to try some projects with and I'm going to get a Chip just because they are cheap, by the time you buy all the peripherals you'd be better with a PI 3 model B with 4 USB Ports, Wifi, Bluetooth, Quadcore, 1 Gb ram, Ethernet, HDMI all for around the $40 mark.
These sorts of mini computers are good for personal security programming small projects ect. There are many more places you can cram a chip or pi zero than a full on Pi3
These are for other purposes than desktop experiences. For example, I run one as a weather station logger.
Pi Zero W just came out a week or two ago and it adds the same WiFi and Bluetooth setup as the Pi 3 to the Pi Zero. Costs $10 instead of $5 but that should actually make it a lot more accessible since now they have room for profit.
You might want to re look at this now :) Since the pi zero W has wifi and bluetooth built in ;)
and the price is closer togther now lol
Indeed, things keep moving on . . . :)
well it had to happen some time i guess
36 years old , internet / youtube about 20+ years
first thing that's interesting on this crap site
very nice structured videos , good explanation
thanks man , keep it up
Thanks! :)
Excellent video, Christopher. I like the neutral point of view presented, because both boards have advantages and disadvantages, and of course it is up to the user to decide which will be better to meet their need.
If you put the DIP on the Chip all the GPIO pins will be occupied just to have a HDMI output. On the PI you can still use the GPIO pins and have a HDMI output.
They should've made something else for the Chips so that you can still use the GPIO pins + have a HDMI output.
You could still use pins if you put DIP on the CHIP. You have GPIO solder points on the DIP where you could solder GPIO headers :) Look more carefully: docs.getchip.com/images/hdmi_callout.jpg
Excellent! Didn't even know about the RasPi Zero, but just ordered one, although I struggled to find the board only! Ordered a Chip but still waiting for it as it was sold out. Just been notified it will be shipped this month. Really good narration voice and presentation by the way!
Seeing again is nice to see how things are getting better in this small device... I use the pi zero for teaching to deaf people with video lessons
Cool.
If you are a thrifty person many of the add-ons you need can be found at pound shops for the Pi Zero. A mouse, charger, hdmi adapter all found there.
Firefox vs. Chromium, found your issue.
Emilispk yes good point
agreed
ErPAkka Yes. New versions of Raspbian come with Chromium browser pre-installed. Raspbian used to have a more bare bones browser before the Pixel update. I'm not too sure why they decided something as heavy as Chromium was a good idea for a SBC...
The pi was waiting for the built in Adblocker. Look at the bottom left.
also usb wifi can be worse
Ordered a chip years ago after watching your review, never ever got to try it.... Ordered the pi zero w last Thursday and it should be here tomorrow, hope it's more fun that the chip would have been heh...
The Pi Zero W is cool -- enyou it! Sorry the CHIP did not arrive. :(
I think for a cheap torrent box that can download stuff overnight without having to turn on a regular desktop PC, the chip is pretty good. It already has on board storage so you can stick whatever Linux you want to use to make the torrent client. Also has Wifi built in and you can run it from composite video to do the initial setup of the board, no need to buy an adapter + hdmi cable for that. Has a regular USB port so you can add a external storage and configure it so it dumps your torrent or hosts your files from there.
Yes, all very, very true. :)
Could you please take a clip about playing a video over usb source? - this maybe shows where the brake is going on. Graphics adapter or the onboard flash? An 2.0 usb Adapter with a SD-Card will show us the truth and will me getting sleep in slightly :-)
Cheers!
Network seems to be bottled capped with these single computer boards since they seem to share the USB data with the network adapter. So it really doesn't matter if you use a built in Ethernet port (like on a Raspberry Pi) or a USB Ethernet adapter, you still pretty much limited by the data transfer speeds of the USB chipset/controller itself. So using Wi-Fi to downloads torrents on these is pretty much OK considering it's a low powered device that you leave unattended @ night downloading stuff for you. Also keep in mind it's just a $9 board.
I'm a big fan of CHIP, but I think this was a perfectly fair comparison overall.
Well, I don't know if any comparison makes sense. Those computers are not meant to be used for general computing anyway. And from what I see, the zero is meant for smaller projects (well, physically smaller at least :) ) while CHIP could be good for some retro gaming with its less-than-perfect analog video output.
In any case, I see a market for both, but not necessarily competing directly.
The zero or the chip, no they don't have the horse power for general computing. I have done retro gaming on the zero its no quad core but it does the job. I can see the chip being good in that application as well.
For General computing though the pi 3 is getting close to what I would call usable horse power for that. If the pi 3 had just one more gig of ram it would be there IMO.
The Pi Zero is about the same size as the Arduino nano, As is the Pi3 to the Arduino Uno but they are for 2 entirely different purposes so it isn't really a useful comparison. These little things are certainly not sitting between the full Pi and Arduino, as these little computers hold a full operating system with a nice amount of RAM & storage space vs the Arduinos 2KB RAM and 32KB of flash memory, but again they are for 2 completely different purposes. Last time I looked into it the Banana Pi had a separate USB/Ethernet bus if that is what you need, if they are still going.
Easily missed fact about the CHIP is that it has a 40 pin display controller so you can cut the display's driver board out and run it straight off the CHIP. The space saving from not needing a display driver board makes up for the board size difference.
That is a nice feature. External display driver boards can be a real pin to space out and deal with for projects.
There is not MARKET with things that are not available to buy/use!
So your safest bit is the Orange Pi:
www.banggood.com/search/orange-pi.html
Really surprised by the result of the video playback test! Did not expect that at all!
Bit of a shame that the Pi Zero does not have wi-fi and/or bluetooth on that board, though. It's just what it needed.
EDIT: I wonder how's the performance for data access speed on both of those devices.
This channel very much deserves the 3/4 million subscribers it has- "good show" I say to it success.
Great experience watching so tiny computers. Thanks................
you should do a vid on the different "projects" you can do with the chip. you do a great job with the vids long time watcher and subscriber keep up with the work
I discovered your channel a few days ago, just wanted to tank you ! amazing channel :D
Many thanks. :)
I'm amazed how heartless all of you are! This man is dying! And no one says a word.
Perhaps a more accurate comparison might now be between a CHIP and a Raspberry Pi zero-W which has a built in bluetooth and 802.11(something) wi-fi card - it's closer to $10, but brings more functionality onboard. The "vanilla" Zero is perhaps closer in concept to the "thinking person's Arduino" - it's primarily intended as a "maker" board which *happens* to run a version of Linux, than a fully-functional desktop alternative.
And to be "balanced" - the Rpi needs you to set up the Micro-SD card on a conventional computer, or buy one preloaded with Raspian
Still, an interesting comparison
True -- but the Pi Zero W had not been released when this video was made! :)
What a time to be alive.
Thanks for the video. I love when I see new videos about SBCs. I love collecting and testing them. I would love to see chromium on an SBC.
Thanks for this -- and you see Chromium in this video. Since the launch of PIXEL, it has been the default browser on the Pi, and is now pre-installed in Raspbian. The LattePanda also happily runs Chrome or Chromium. :)
Thanks for doing these two videos on the CHIP! It was something I mentioned in the comments a while back :)
It too me some time to get hold of a CHIP. :)
I have to agree the Pi has the edge. Its on-board HDMI and user selective memory capacity are key features. The CHIPs slow video playback is more than a little disturbing and a game ender if it cannot be overcome. The price of both devices is getting up there once you add on necessary accessories... which make one wonder about simply going with a full size Pi over the Zero. Excellent video as always.
omxplayer has always been the superior video player in my opinion, for low-end computers
it completely bypasses desktop environment which makes it MUCH faster, and capable of being run from a command-line only interface (obviously not through ssh or such, but CLI through hdmi)
i have resisted doing this for 6 ov your videos and i have to admit, you got me.... SUBSCRIBED!!
thumbs up!!
Excellent -- welcome aboard! :)
Well, you've changed my mind about the CHIP. Another great video tutorial. Thank you for posting this video. I'll stick with my PI 3 for the wife's next computer.
You cannot go far wrong with a Raspberry Pi 3. :)
Thank you, Chris, for all your video tutorials. I'm learning a lot!
I'm sure you're aware by now that the PI 0 (W) comes with WIFI and BT as standard. Great video thanks
the CHIP sounds downright ideal for use as a remote-use device. Especially a battery powered one. I feel like the built in LiPO connector isn't getting enough credit for it's usefulness in that regard.
If you're just setting it up to run a small program remotely you'll only need composite out to do initial setup then never need video out again. If the project doesn't need much space then you can VERY easily justify the lack of expandable storage by having the convenience of it built on, and the wifi/bluetooth connectivity right out of the box is a bit of a godsend.
I'd wager you could make a mean solar powered piratebox for small files out of one of those things with a big enough battery to last the night/cloudy days for probably under 30 bucks since it already has most of what you'd need built in.
I have a couple running as "mesh WiFi network" systems - operating off a LiPo battery with a small USB output solar panel.
I think once the Chip solves its video playback, it will become the better SBC. I wish you would have discussed how to addon memory to the chip. Maybe another dip?
The memory is soldered, and hence cannot be expanded I'm afraid. Since I made this video a $10 "Raspberry Pi Zero W" has become available with WiFi and Bluetooth like the CHIP.
Its worth noting that the availability of the raspberry pi and the chip are vastly different.
I have only ever seen the chip shipping from the nextthing site whereas the raspberry pi is sold on a multitude of electronics websites.
Also the chip shipping costs for the UK are extortionate, but it is coming from Australia so ho hum.
The CHiP includes a battery charging circuit doesn't it? So you can solder on a LiPo and use it out and about. Then again there are plenty of 5V battery packs that connect via USB, and they include a charger circuit. The newer Pi Zero (v1.2) introduced a mini sized camera port. You did a fair review I think... clearly not biased one way or the other.
Thanks for this. And yes, the CHIP has a battery charging circuit as you say, so you can plug in or solder a LiPo.
Clear and easy to understand comparison. Very good stuff.
I would have thought the use for these would be to be built into other projects, for control or telemetry, as a kind of super form of embedded device, so I would tend to downplay the necessity of using a monitor, and for this reason I would prefer the Pi Zero as it comes with the option of either soldering header pins on if needed, or directly soldering wires onto the board itself for a better long term connection, which is how I would like to construct a project myself.
First normal comment ....
pls include the orange pi
Thanks for this! :) Yes, the Orange Pi is now on my video slate.
ExplainingComputers ohh I look forward to that.
Bought an Orange pi back in 2015, still haven't used it D: .
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cuz i couldn't afford other components :(
i think it should be compared to the orange pi sero
I really don't consider the Orange Pi to be a "Pi" beyond the name, because RPIs are released by Pi Towers, while OPIs come from Adafruit.
That being said, OPIs are generally more expensive, which may allude to better-performing hardware, or at least, more for your money, but there is nothing stopping the ecosystems for CHIP, RPI and OPI from merging together, as many hackers manage to get components working together even if they aren't made to work with one another because it's all copper and silicon at the end of the day.
the pi is a lot better option for me. i have a wifi dongle, an hdmi to normal hdmi cable, a usb hub and a powersupply. i use (a full size) pi as a media center for my living room. i also overclocked it with no problem whatsoever. but the most important for me is the on-board decoder that makes the video playback perfectly buttery smooth.
Community support is probably the most important part for me. Without community support I would have never bough my Pies.
note: I saw you say that some 64Gb cards work on the Pi in fat32. I have formatted my 64Gig and even 128Gb cards with the special formatter (for noobs) and they all work great (I have about 8 Pies that I manage and or own - i lost count)
Thanks for this -- great to hear that 128GB cards work. I've never had one that size to try in a Pi! :)
It now contains a webpage with nightly compiles - over time the archive has become quite big.
They where on sale during black Friday ($32,-) I just had to buy one.
www.amazon.com/SanDisk-microSDXC-Standard-Packaging-SDSQUNC-128G-GN6MA/dp/B010Q57S62/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1485204251&sr=8-2&keywords=128gb+sandisk
I prefer the zero w out of both these. The sd card support and hdmi support is great and you don't have to buy that silly wifi adapter. It's my favorite SBC by far.
Thank you for this, answered my question perfectly.
Great comparison. As a newbie, you info channel is an outstanding tool for me. Thanks!
I'm wondering if the HDMI adaptor on the chip computer was causing the slow browser video playback, was the performance the same out of the composite video? Academic as chip went bust
But where the heck do you find a Raspberry Pi Zero for Five Dollars?
Julien Groulx Microcenter
You can buy it from adafruit at 5$. But In Bangladesh here I payed 15$ for thar😭😭😭
@@kusum1179 vai i wanna bye it from bd can you tell me how please
@@kusum1179 plz tell me
@@mdsazzadhosssainrafi1766 You can buy it it from robotcisbd or backpackbang. I bought mine from backpackbang
I prefer the minimalism of the Pi Zero, especially not having internal storage. I like all that modular.
Great video, a long time ago now, I was thinking a raspberry pi zero vs banana pi m2 zero might be interesting.
And I have that very Banana Pi M2 in a box waiting to be featured on this channel! :)
@@ExplainingComputers that is fantastic, I bought one of these just the other day, I look forward to your video.
But I'm looking for a microcontroller that can interface with an electronic subsystem, provide video and computer connection, with data. So if I hook up that HDMI module to the Chip, I lose all of those GPIO and analog connectors. Actually, I also want video I/O, and it doesn't look like either of these will do both.
Both of these are ARM processors. Chip is Allwinner R8 ARMv7 Cortex-A8. Pi-0 is ARM1176.
Alternatively, an onsite laptop computer, which is what I don't want to drag along, but if I want to do any heavy data storage, I may have to. Neither of these has an external drive port.
Interesting - thanks for the comparison. I think you also may have separate videos on each of these, so I'll have a look at those.
I do indeed have videos on each -- and on a great many other SBCs! Sounds to me like an x86 board like a LattePanda may suit your needs: ruclips.net/video/z5EXNfHYPfQ/видео.html
+ExplainingComputers / Christopher,
Good comparison of these two devices, but (as usual) I do have some comments about this video.
Firstly, it would be nice if you included to mention which WiFi chipset is used within the Chip. Recently, I have been experimenting with BSD based firewall appliances (ie. opnSense, PFSense, FreeBSD etc.) and am aware that BSD can be selective about WiFi drivers / chipsets.
Secondly, it seams that you are suggesting these devices should / must have some sort of display interface for them to be fully functional (and are presuming that most people will be using these devices as workstation alternatives). We both know that these devices can have many other usages beyond workstation styled terminals (as demonstrated by your Raspberry robotics videos).
As an example, the Banana BPI device that has recently been delivered to me does have a full HDMI bus but I am intending to not use the display interface (with the expectation of the initial installation of the OS) and will be using SSH and a web / LAMP based GUI for further configuration purposes.
Finally, you touched on the Lipo battery plug / interface but failed to mention anything about the recent changes in legislation / IATA ( International Air Transport Association ) regulations governing the shipping of lithium ion batteries.
The result of these new regulations means that lithium batteries can only be imported by a selected few companies (ie. DHL, FedEX and UPS), which could result in creating a monopoly within this market.
The result of these regulations is making it harder to purchase new and replacement batteries within the UK, I have been trying and failing to find a UK based vendor that can supply high capacity batteries with standard Lipo connectors (10000+ mAh -- output at 3.7v / 2a).
I would welcome any recommendation or suggestions of UK based vendors that can provide high capacity lithium batteries.
Thanks Mark -- great feedback as usual. I was not aware of the battery shipping issue -- very interesting. And yes, agreed, there are many uses for these machines without a display.
I think they're planning on releasing on upgraded model of the chip soon. I want one! :]
CHIP came-up to me with short 3.5mm to phono AV lead, so I will not add this cost.
But fairly price scope and computing power is quite similar.
Real deal with CHIP is on-board communication, storage and lipo connector, making it very small and compact computer, ideal for drones or robots :)
However, the killer punch is from RPi with community support. In my opinion the most important thing in DYI IoT devices.
BTW: Serious programming is done via remote desktop/SSH, not on board, best wo. xwindow started ;)
another quality video! always insightful and on point.
Chris, you might want to do a video about thin client computing, meaning using a low power computer to access a remote server to do work, like I'm doing right now. I use a Windows 10 OS in a virtual machine on a Linux server in France, and accessing it from Linux Mint using Remmina RDP client. I use a low power laptop with a 4W Intel Celeron N3160 CPU and 4GB RAM and a 32GB eMMC storage.
The CHIP has one huge advantage and that's the ongoing availability by the manufacturer.
While the RPi Zero is great when it comes to function as it should, the company behind unfortunately decided to set this thing on a limited production.
That's also why prices for the board are also almost as high as those for the typical Pi2 and Pi3 boards.
This is true, although both the CHIP and Pi Zero are hard to get hold of. It took me six months to get a CHIP after the order, and I see that are now out of stock until "Q1 2017". In a way this is good -- it indicates demand -- but I think the margins in these boards make their supply problematic for any company.
Just saw a presentation about this thing embedded into the PocketCHIP case. By the time you make the "cheap" computer runnable, it is at least 3 times the cost of Pi3, about 10 times the price of a Pi0 with about the same speed if you want HDMI. 1/4 the speed of a 3B for more money. I guess it has a market niche but I am straining to understand it. The flash that has to be bought tends to level the pricing just a little but, as you say, not changable on CHIP. Limited selection of environments, too.
As always, an excellent, informative presentation.
One update, the Pi0W is out now so $5 extra for the Pi side of the tally. As of May 3, 2018 the CHIP is not available. They claim they will return. I suspect their production run was completely subscribed and they have to go back to the fab to get some more made up. Will see what it looks like next round.
As you say, Pi Zero W is now a far better bet. And the CHIP is no longer available . . .
Thanks for the video, I'm glad you showed that the price of the device itself is not the whole story.
On the browser test, the reason the pi was delayed loading youtube, you can see it was loading data for the 'uBlock Origin' extension which is quite a slow add-on in my experience, so test it again with that disabled and the pi will probably win
Having said that, your tests kind of miss the point of these devices. They are designed for hobby uses or for robotics (as 2 examples), where you set the thing up and then run it standalone, with no need for a screen output or for keyboards and mice etc. If you want a 'Computing device' then the full size pi or equivalent is much better value and more practical.
You basically have 2/3rds of an iPhone... for $5. No wonder Apple is worth so much.
what are you smoking? these are great boards, but apple have phones with 4-8 gigs of ram, faster CPUs than mobile intel processors and graphics better than an ps3/xbox 360. add on the 64+ gigs of storage, battery, hi res display, 4k cameras, os...
@@ConsumerOfCringe It's a joke mate. Have a sense of humor :D
I think the software comparison would have been more fair if the tests were run using the same applications, I mean, to be fair, that the actual conclusions here fit the question "what default software run better on each device" instead of "what device is faster/better"
On the Launch browser & page load-test, you can see in the bottom left of the Raspberry browser that it's the uBlock extension that's causing most of the extra time spent in rendering the page, while I'm not sure the C.H.I.P even had that extension.
Still, neither of these computers are really meant for browsing or even windowed environments in general no matter what the marketing is telling us.
Thanks for the comparison video, thumbs up and subbed. I would run the chip as a headless server and point boot to root stored on a 16 GB USB stick. So for my purpose the chip looks like the best deal.
The Chromium starts to wait for uBlock Origin adblock extension from 26.5 seconds. What if we also install adblock on Firefox? Does it run faster on the CHIP?
Nice comparison! Also could you make a list of all the similar single board computers available so far?
This is why the pi zero w was such a huge deal. add "ssh" to the root of the sdcard and "wpa_supplicant.conf" with your network config and use it in projects wireless and headless. Nobody should be using these as computer systems other than like a gameboy or something.
EXCELLENT AND VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE .THANK YOU SO MUCH
KSM KSM
Thanks Chris, but both have problems of availability, if you got either or both then you are an extremely lucky person
Then the charge of shipping cancels their low price!
So your safest bit it to get an Orange Pi, use Etcher to copy Armbian (Linux for Arm cpus) on it & live your life:
www.banggood.com/search/orange-pi.html
BTW, the RPI Zero has CVBS to RCA (TV Out) you just need to solder jumpers or RCA video cable onto it. TV Out is to the right of the RPI logo :
raspi.tv/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Pi-Zero-1.3-top_700.jpg
And for RPI Zero Analogue Audio, LadyAda has some Schematics for a board:
learn.adafruit.com/introducing-the-raspberry-pi-zero/audio-outputs
Very true -- both the CHIP and the Pi Zero are too cheap to off a decent enough vendor margin to make them mass available (unless sold in bundles of other hardware, which negates the initial low price).
Excellent presentation!
Christopher, I think the benchmark is quite muddled by the fact that you're using different apps on the two different systems.
I also think the webpage on the chip was likely cached. It was far too fast considering all of the other bottlenecks.
I'm not disputing your conclusion, just offering refinements on the methodology.
Thanks!
I inevitably used different apps on different systems, as there is no available operating system that runs on both computers, nor a common browser. So I am running here what the manufacturers/suppliers intended. The test here is a real-world one of computer systems, not hardware -- or in other words, the combination of hardware and software that real users would run in the real world. People seem to forget that on ARM systems you cannot just "download the same OS" and try it. It does not work that way. The OS and drivers need to be available and compiled for the specific hardware. :) When testing other SBCs I get a similar argument -- the test is no good, why not try using such-and-such an OS on them that happens to run both? (Even though it is a very obscure OS that almost no real world user will ever run). Which might, technically be a "better test" of hardware vs hardware, but is meaningless for real world application. If comparing a Mac and a PC, would you wipe macOS and Windows off them to install Linux to do a better test? I seriously hope not.
I agree that you can't run the same distro on both, because there are custom binary drivers usually involved. But I think you can probably get the same browsers on both.
I figured you were comparing "system" to "system," rather than hardware to hardware.
I would still humbly recommend trying to run the benchmarks on the same apps if at all possible, and not just the same type of app.
Cheers.
Good vid! Informative with great production values.
The Raspberry Pi in all of its raspberry goodness.
thank you for the very informative video, been wondering about the performance for a while now.
I have come to really like this channel. That said, this video didn't hit the mark of a fair or accurate comparison. The "cost" portrayed is really off the rails here as nearly nobody will use them for desktops and thus will not be purchasing most of accessories listed. These are embedded project boards, not workstations.
Also, the web browser test was only run once. An accurate test would be to start the browser several times and see the average. Many times after a reboot an app will take longer to start up the first time. But close it and start it again and it will be faster.
It would also have been better to use the same browser on both boards to test. Better yet have Firefox and Chrome on both and run those tests.
I'd also have added a Libre Office app and a performance benchmark test just to get a good sense of each board's true performance.
The one test I thought was good was the video. But I'm not sure of the method the video was played on each board.
All in all I am glad this video was made as it gives at least a glimmer into the comparison. For most who will be looking for an embedded project board, I think the Pi Zero wins if for no other reason than it's extremely slim profile; a feature that was sort of an after thought in this comparison.
Nice comparison, but there are two issues with your cost-calculations!
1) You have added both the HDMI DIP and the composite into the cost of the CHIP
2) You did not add any WiFi or Bluetooth Adapter to the PI to make them both comparable.
All in all, is the CHIP setup around 20$ cheaper!
Yes, you are right -- I added both the composite lead and the HDMI DIP to the CHIP. My mistake. But I did add the cost of the WiFi dongle and hub to the Pi. So the CHIP is about $5 cheaper. :)
Is the CHIP actually available yet? Their UK site says out of stock, delivery Q1 2017. Bob
Good comparison video... Bu what about the Heat generated on Chip & Raspberry Pi ? Could you help with this. Thank you!
Neither of these SBCs get very warm -- both are very lower power.
It's Firefox - of course it's better than Chrome :)
as a PAL dweller, I'll wait for the C.H.I.P. 2 with HDMI. It's just not viable for me without. I'll have no way of setting it up.
I'm surprised you have a problem being able to see NTSC on a modern TV. We in New Zealand use PAL also, but I have not seen a TV sold here that was made in the last 17 years that could not also handle RF or composite signals from all 3 systems of PAL, NTSC and SECAM. All the flat screens I have seen handle all 3 types. The old Sharp CRT TV I used to have with a built in VHS video recorder made in the mid-90s was also able to handle NTSC fine and actually also played NTSC VHS tapes from the US as well as local PAL ones. I normally had to manually select the color format though as by default it used the Japanese NTSC colour format that although almost identical to the US NTSC format has a different colour signal I think was 180 degrees out of phase to the US version.
hmmm $2 for Wi-Fi chip n $2 for Bluetooth plus the ram, free headers, no soldering and ability to clip in an hdmi out...chip wins hands down for hassle free plug, play and get to programming! ...great setup by chip! .. if you want to tinker and start from scratch and sniff some lovely flux smoke then the Zero is better for learning n burning! ..cheaper to set a Zero ablaze or install in multiple projects/toys/prototypes....but the chip DEFINITELY has its pros and and its place.
Amazing technology and awesome comparison. Subbed
Thanks for the sub! :)
Memory Access Time
- how much of a factor is memory access time? I have been surprised at how slowly laptops run SDs and microSDs when plugged into the SD slot, even when the storage chips themselves are fast. UHS cards running on USB3 via an appropriate adapter can be several times as fast as the same cards shoved into the SD slot.
how about in one of the next videos one of the bench test i think it would be a great idea to test them in light gaming or arcade cabin emulator
I found myself cheering for The Chip. #TeamChip
Will you ever do some kind of a portable arcade or PIboy. I would love to see your version of the build!
Nice idea -- noted! :)
Thanks, cant wait for the next few episodes! :)
I have to say for embedded systems I prefer the Pi. I don't need HDMI or networking, or even Bluetooth. I just need the GPIO Pins.
And a big advantage of the pi is: I plug in a SD card with my software, solder some wires on, and it works.
Sadly, here in Poland atleast, these things are kinda expensive. For example, Pi Zero costs 60 $. 100 bucks for self contained plug and play gadget. As for CHIP, i could`nt find it anywhere. For 100 $ i can have used 10 YO laptop running WinXP with some power to spare. And i cant get anything ordered from abroad cheaper, do to taxes. Tell me about 5th world country...
Anyhow. Quality upload, as always.
Holey moley! At 5:40, that power supply is so much larger than both boards stacked together!
Sort of defeats the purpose of going small 🤔😉🤪
I don't know why, but I prefer Raspberry Pi boards. I think it's the user community which seems to be in the millions with an endless back catalogue of projects, from the very simple to the unbelievably advanced.
hi chris love your videos ....keep up the great job .....!!!! i'm new to single board computer...is it possible to make clusters with each of those two boards, if yes how many is it possible to stacks together ?? thank you
Another great video Chris. Thanks for the comparison. I'd like to see what kind of electronics/IoT stuff the Chip can do, versus the Pi, seeing as its got twice the gpio pins. Also, is there a pass through method on the Chip when using the HDMI card, or is there some other work around? Thanks again for a great channel.
Thanks Steve. The CHIP has more header pins, but most pins are for an LCD display and the HDMI or VGA DIPS -- there are, I think, only 8 dedicated XIO (GPIO) pins. With the HDMI or VGA DIP connected, there are solder pads to which pins can be connected to access these and a few other pins (like power) -- so yes, there is pass through.
i love your videos. i also like the sound track :)
Thanks!
when it comes to the pi zero, some flagship phones (like the GS7) include a USB OTG adapter, so sometimes you don't have to buy an adapter
Ah, true.
have you checked if the Pi isn't set up for background loading of pages?
Like as soon as the page was loaded, it could be that the Chip would need 34 seconds to load a sub page, but the pi might load it in seconds?
I also would have loved to see the game 'DOOM' playback. With it's specs of 66Mhz on a 486 processor, it should run fine on both systems!
IMHO, they should create a Raspberry Pi 0, with 4GB of RAM, 64GB of ROM, dual BT port (keyboard/mouse and possibly audio), WIFI, and HDMI port standard, and bump up the price to still an affordable level, like $30 or so.
I bet it ran without textures, or at like 7fps?
There is a Raspberry Pi with most if not all the features you listed, it is the Raspberry Pi 3, which is $40. Also, Doom runs on very low specs due to the requirements from the time it was made, it doesn't need a 486 or equivalent, it works with a 386 or even a 286 processor, and a fraction of the ram a raspberry pi zero has.
66mhz was a requirement for the Windows 95 version as well. our first pc ran Doom 2 with less than 66mhz and it was either a 286 or a 386. And the frame rates were ok. It ran on a lower resolution to make it work well.
I was curious about the audio output quality and found in the datasheet that the Allwinner SoC has an integrated 24-Bit audio peripheral. For me that would be a huge advantage over the Zero, but now I'm confused why they don't lose a word about the audio in the documentation. Neither the wiki nor the datasheet specify the sampling rate, output impedance etc.
Could youb explain why the CHIP can't play video smoothly? I've heard that is because of a video codec or driver. Do you think this can be fixed? Thanks!
The Pi has hardware accelerated h264 decoding, and this is the only reason it plays the video that smoothly.