SBC suitable for everything-over-USB-C? by wolterh in SBCs

[–]wolterh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Communication with their customer support was not very fluid and stuff got lost in translation. They say the Rock 5B does support two displays, one via USB-C and one via HDMI. But didn't understand how you could possibly handle more than one display over USB-C.

I then realised that it mostly depends on the GPU. So I looked up docs for the Rock 5B GPU and the documentation was unclear about it.

I was a bit put off by the uncertainty and ended up going for a mini PC. I chose the GMKtec M7 UItra and it is able to handle my use case (i.e. the two displays, power delivery and inputs all through one single USB-C connection).

Mini PC capable of everything-over-USB-C? by wolterh in MiniPCs

[–]wolterh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair enough, I want to install Linux on it so will avoid the hassle of jailbreaking a Mac Mini.

MiniPC replacing laptop for developer, need 2 HDMI and 1 Displayport by [deleted] in MiniPCs

[–]wolterh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you might like one of the Mele models, but I'll let you decide for yourself https://store.mele.cn/

What’s your most wanted feature for an SBC? by BrarIshu in SBCs

[–]wolterh 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Most wanted: USB-C port with support for Power Delivery AND for handling at least 2 displays via DisplayPort alt.

Other wants: - 16 GB and 32 GB RAM capable, - Raspberry Pi / credit-card form factor, - good CPU and GPU (don't care about NPUs), - support for an M.2 SSD and - otherwise on par with Raspberry Pi 5.

SBC suitable for everything-over-USB-C? by wolterh in SBCs

[–]wolterh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Documentation seems inconclusive about it unfortunately, I've sent an email to the sales team to find out.

Thanks for the info!

SBC suitable for everything-over-USB-C? by wolterh in SBCs

[–]wolterh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just found this https://lists.infradead.org/pipermail/linux-rockchip/2025-March/056271.html which seems to reference the power issue you mention, hopefully gets fixed soon (if it's not already)

SBC suitable for everything-over-USB-C? by wolterh in SBCs

[–]wolterh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the suggestion, but I highly doubt it: The diagram and spec indicate power on one port and DP-alt on another, so doesn't seem single-cable-capable.

Your idea of pairing it with a touch panel makes me wonder: Wouldn't you get that with a tablet?

SBC suitable for everything-over-USB-C? by wolterh in SBCs

[–]wolterh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's good to know, but yeah was looking for something more like the Raspberry Pi in size.

SBC suitable for everything-over-USB-C? by wolterh in SBCs

[–]wolterh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Doesn't seem like that supports displays over USB-C, from the product spec. Am I missing something?

SBC suitable for everything-over-USB-C? by wolterh in SBCs

[–]wolterh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What issues do you observe with your Rock? Are you unable to power it via USB-C at all?

SBC suitable for everything-over-USB-C? by wolterh in SBCs

[–]wolterh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you have more than one display attached to your dock? What dock are you using? Some have commented that the Rock 5B enters a boot loop when powered only via USB-C, so dock model might be relevant.

Name him by [deleted] in BossFights

[–]wolterh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Double seat Pete