Asus Tinker Board

The Asus Tinker Board is a single-board computer launched by Asus in early 2017. Its physical size and GPIO pinout are designed to be compatible with the second and third-generation Raspberry Pi models. The first released board features 4K video, 2 GB of onboard RAM, Gigabit Ethernet and a Rockchip RK3288 processor running at 1.8 GHz.^[1]

ASUS Tinker Board

Type	90MB0QY1-M0EAY0
Release date	April 19, 2017
Introductory price	c. US$59.99
Operating system	TinkerOS (a Debian Linux derivative), Armbian (Debian or Ubuntu derivative), Android
System on a chip	Rockchip RK3288
CPU	1.8 GHz 32-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A17
Memory	2 GB dual-channel DDR3
Storage	MicroSDHC UHS-1 slot
Graphics	ARM Mali-T760 M4 GPU – supports 1080p & 4K
Website	ASUS specifications page

Specifications

Model	Tinker Board	Tinker Board S	Tinker Board R2.0	Tinker Board S R2.0	Tinker Edge T	Tinker Edge R	Tinker Board 2	Tinker Board 2S	Tinker Board 3	Tinker Board 3N
Release Date	April 2017	January 2018	October 2021		November 2019[2]		November 2020			August 2023
SoC	Rockchip RK3288		Rockchip RK3288-CG.W		NXP i.MX 8M	Rockchip RK3399Pro	OP1 (Rockchip RK3399)		Rockchip RK3566	Rockchip RK3568
Architecture	ARMv7-A (32-bit)				ARMv8 (64-bit)
CPU	Quad-core 1.8 GHz ARM Cortex-A17 (up to 2.6 GHz turbo clock speed)		Quad-Core		Quad core 1.5[3] GHz ARM Cortex-A53	Hexa core. 2× Cortex-A72 cores up to 1.8 GHz, 4× Cortex-A53 cores @ 1.4 GHz	Hexa core. 2x Cortex-A72 cores up to 2 GHz , 4× Cortex-A53 cores @ 1.5 GHz		Quad core 4× Cortex-A55
GPU	600 MHz Mali-T764 MP4				GC7000 Lite 3D	800 MHz Mali-T860 MP4			Mali G52
Coprocessor	N/A				Google Edge TPU 4 TOPS of performance	NPU 3 TOPS of performance	N/A		RockchipNPU	N/A
RAM	2GB dual channel LPDDR3				1 GB LPDDR4	4 GB dual channel LPDDR4 for system, 2 GB LPDDR3 for NPU	2GB/4GB dual-channel LPDDR4 RAM options		Dual-channelLPDDR4X 2GB / 4GB	2GB/4GB/8 GB dual-channel LPDDR4 RAM options
Storage	removable MicroSD slot (supporting SD 3.0 )	16GB eMMC + removable MicroSD slot (supporting SD 3.0)	Micro SD(TF) slot	16/32 eMMC + Micro SD(TF) slot	8GB eMMC	16GB eMMC + removable MicroSD slot (supporting SD 3.0)	Removable MicroSD slot	16GB eMMC + removable MicroSD slot	Micro SD (TF) card slot (push/pull)	eMMC - none / 32GB / 64GB Micro SD(TF) card slot (push/pull) SPI Flash 16MB
Video output	1× full size HDMI 1.4 1× MIPI-DSI (compatible with the Raspberry Pi 7" display and others)						1× HDMI 2.0 (4K-capable) 1× MIPI-DSI (4 lane) 1× DisplayPort 1.2 via USB Type-C		1 x HDMI, supports up to 4096 x 2160 @ 60 Hz 1 x MIPI DSI, Supports four lanes up to 6 Gbps, 1920 x1080 @ 60 Hz (22 pin)	1× HDMI with CEC hardware ready 1× LVDS (Dual-link) 1× eDP
Video input	1× 15-pin MIPI-CSI camera				2× MIPI-CSI camera		1× MIPI CSI-2 (2 lane) camera
Audio	RTL ALC4040 HD CODEC, Play: 24bit/192 kHz, Record: 24bit/96 kHz 3.5 mm audio jack (supporting line out and microphone in)	RTL ALC4040 HD CODEC, Play: 24bit/192 kHz, Record: 24bit/96 kHz 3.5 mm audio jack (supporting line out and microphone in, Plug-in Detection and Auto-Switch)	1× HDMI audio output RTL ALC4030U CODEC with 1 x 3.5mm audio jack (with mic and plug-in detection) 1× S/PDIF TX pin 1× PCM/I2S pins (from GPIO)			3.5 mm audio jack	1× HDMI audio output 1× S/PDIF TX pin (from GPIO) 1× PCM/I2S pins (from GPIO)		1 x 3.5 phone jack (with mic) 1 x HDMI audio	1 x 3.5 Phone Jack (w/ Mic) 1 x Speaker Stereo Pin Header (4ohm, 3W each) 1 x HDMI audio
Other IO	40-pin header with: up to 28× GPIO pins up to 2× SPI bus up to 2× I2C bus up to 4× UART up to 2× PWM up to 1× PCM/I2S 2× 5V power pins 2× 3.3V power pins 8× ground pins 1× 2-pin contact pin: 1× PWM 1× S/PDIF	40-pin header with: up to 28× GPIO pins up to 2× SPI bus up to 2× I2C bus up to 4× UART up to 2× PWM up to 1× PCM/I2S (Enhanced I2S pin with Slave mode) 2× 5V power pins 2× 3.3V power pins 8× ground pins 1 x 2-pin contact pin: 1× PWM 1× S/PDIF 1× 2-pin Power-on Header	40-pin header with: up to 28× GPIO pins up to 2× SPI bus up to 2× I2C bus up to 4× UART up to 2× PWM up to 1× PCM/I2S 2× 5V power pins 2× 3.3V power pins 8× ground pins 1× 2-pin Power-on Header 1× 2-pin eMMC recovery header 1× 2-pin contact pin: 1× PWM 1× S/PDIF		40-pin header with: up to 28× GPIO pins up to 2× SPI bus up to 2× I2C bus up to 4× UART up to 2× PWM up to 1× PCM/I2S (Enhanced I2S pin with Slave mode) 2× 5V power pins 2× 3.3V power pins 8× ground pins	40-pin header with: up to 28× GPIO pins up to 2× SPI bus up to 2× I2C bus up to 4× UART up to 2× PWM up to 1× PCM/I2S (Enhanced I2S pin with Slave mode) 2× 5V power pins 2× 3.3V power pins 8× ground pins mPCIe Card & nanoSIM card slot for 4G/LTE	40-pin header with: up to 28× GPIO pins up to 2× SPI bus up to 2× I2C bus up to 2× UART up to 3× PWM up to 1× S/PDIF TX up to 1× PCM/I2S (Enhanced I2S pin with Slave mode) 2× 5V power pins 2× 3.3V power pins 8× ground pins 1× 2-pin Recovery header 1× 2-pin Power-on header 1× 2-pin Reset header 1× 2-pin Debug UART header 1× 2-pin DC Fan header 1× 2-pin RTC Battery header		40-pin header with: up to 2 x SPI bus up to 2 x I2C bus up to 2 x UART up to 3 x PWM up to 1 x PCM/I2S(master/slave) up to 1 x S/PDIF TX 2 x 5V power pins 2 x 3.3V power pins 8 x ground pins 1 x 2-pin recovery header 1 x 2-pin power-on & reset header 1 x 3-pin debug UART header 1 x 2-pin DC fan header 1 x 2-pin RTC battery header 1 x MaskromDIP switch 1 x M.2 E key 2230 - for WiFi 5/6 & BT module (PCIe 2.0 x1, USB 2.0)	14-pin GPIO header with: 1 x GND 1 x I2C bus 1 up to 2 x UART up to 1 x SPI bus (2 select) up to 1 x SPDIF up to 4 x PWM 2 x ADC (8 bit) 1 x 40-pin LVDS + eDP connector 1 x 5V Panel Backlight & Control header 1 x IR Receiver header 1 x 2-pin Recovery header 1 x 4-pin Power-on & Reset header 1 x 3-pin Debug UART header 1 x 4-pin DC Fan header 1 x 2-pin RTC Battery header 1x CAN Bus 2.0B FD pin header 2x COM 232 (with flow control) pin header 1x COM 232/422/485 pin header 1x SIM Slot 1 x M.2 E key 2230 - for WiFi 5/6 & BT module (PCIe 2.0 x1, USB 2.0) 1 x M.2 B key 3042/3052 with nano-SIM slot - 4G/5G or SSD module (PCIe 3.0 x1, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, SIM)
USB	4× USB 2.0 ports				2× USB 3.0, 1x USB-C	3× USB 3.0 ports, 1x USB-C	3× USB 3.2 Gen1 Type A ports 1× USB 3.2 Gen1 Type C (OTG & DisplayPort 1.2)		1 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type A 2 x USB 2.0 Type A ports 2 x USB 2.0 Micro B, device only 1 x USB 2.0 4-pin header	1× USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-C OTG port 2× USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports 2× USB 2.0 Pin header
Wired Network	Gigabit LAN (not shared with USB bus)									Dual LAN built in, and PoE PD supported via expansion module
Wireless Network	802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, with IPEX antenna header				802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi	802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac dual-band Wi-Fi) on module		Via mM2 E key expansion
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.0 + EDR		Blutetooth 4.2 + EDR		Bluetooth 4.1	Bluetooth 4.2	Bluetooth 5.0
Power	Micro-USB; due to Micro-USB power delivery limitations, powering over GPIO is suggested [4][5]		5V/2.5~3A Micro USB (supports low power voltage detection)		12V - 19V DC-in barrel connector				12-19V via DC barrel power input jack (5.5/2.5 mm)	12-19V via DC barrel power input jack (5.5/2.5 mm) 1 x 4-Pin Power In Header (also for POE module)
Form Factor	8.55 cm x 5.4 cm (3.37 x 2.125 inch)								85 × 56 mm (3.37 x 2.125 inch )	10.16 cm × 10.16 cm (4.0 x 4.0 inch) NUC
Weight	55g
Operating Systems	TinkerOS (a Debian Linux derivative) Android 6 Android 7 Armbian LibreELEC 9[6] Ubuntu Variants[7] Fedora 30[7] DietPi[8]		Debian 10 Linux Android 11				Debian 9 Linux Android 10		Debian Android Yocto	Debian 11 Android 12
Notes	Specification sourced from Asus[9][10]	[11]	Specification sourced from Asus[12][13][14]		[15]	[16]	[17][18][19][20] Specification sourced from Asus[21][22]			[23]

History

ASUS's intent to release a single-board computer was leaked shortly after CES 2017^[24] on SlideShare.^[25] ASUS originally planned for a late February 2017 release, but a UK vendor broke the embargo and began advertising and selling boards starting on 13 February 2017, before ASUS's marketing department was ready.^[26] ASUS subsequently pulled the release; the Amazon sales page was changed to show a 13 March 2017 release date, but was later removed entirely.^[27] However, as of 24 March 2017^[update], the Tinker Board again became available on Amazon. ASUS assured reviewer websites that the board is now in full production.^[28]

Benchmarks

In January 2017 tests showed the Tinker Board has roughly twice the processing power of the Raspberry Pi Model 3 when the Pi 3 runs in 32-bit mode.^[29] Because the Pi 3 has not released a 64-bit operating system yet, no comparisons are available against a Pi 3 running in 64-bit mode.^{[needs update]}

In March 2017 benchmark testing found that while the WLAN performance is only around 30 Mbit/s, the Gigabit Ethernet delivers a full 950 Mbit/s throughput.^[28] RAM access tested using the mbw benchmark is 25% faster than the Raspberry Pi 3. SD card (microSD) access is about twice as fast at 37 MiB/s for buffered reads (compared to typically around 18 MiB/s for the Pi 3^[30]) due to the Tinker Board's SDIO 3.0 interface, while cached reads can reach speeds up to 770 MiB/s.^[28]