Over the past year, the Libre Computer Project has been offering a succession of alternatives to the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B mini computer. But its new Renegade is a bit different. The Libre/Firefly collaboration sees the Renegade Elite single board computer packs hexa-core processing brains, 60-pin headers and USB-C connectivity.
For the last wee while, single board computer makers looking for a slice of the Pi market have walked a similar design path, but Libra has opted to break away by including two 60-pin headers instead of the Pi's 40-pin GPIO connection. The first is a 60-pin PCI-E expansion header, while the second shapes up as a "low speed" header.
The Elite is built around a Rockchip RK3399 system-on-chip, which includes a dual-core ARM Cortex-A72 processor and a quad-core Cortex-A53 processor, as well as quad-core Mali graphics. Support comes from a generous 4 GB of LPDDR4 RAM. There are three USB 2.0 Type A ports on the sides, but Libre has also treated this Renegade to two USB-C ports with DisplayPort.
Elsewhere, there's HDMI 2.0 and Gigabit Ethernet, an embedded DisplayPort interface, eMMC interface, a real-time clock with battery backup and an IR receiver. And both Display Serial, Camera Serial and combined DS/CS interfaces feature. No wireless connectivity mentioned in the given specs though. The Elite can run on Linux or Android operating systems, from a microSD card pushed into the unit's slot.
As of writing, there's no pricing information available, other than confirmation that the mini-computer will be launching on Indiegogo ahead of general availability in August. Don't expect the Elite to be in the same price bracket as a Pi though, those Rockchip brains are sure to add a premium.
Source: Libre Computer
