Computers are pretty similar these days, and the lines between productivity machines and gaming machines are blurring considerably. Of course, there are productivity machines built for very specific purposes, but for the most part, a gaming PC is pretty much what everyone needs, no matter what type of task they're doing.
However, there is one unique class of computer that is still changing and evolving, and that is the world of single-board computers, or SBCs. These are computers built on a single circuit board that integrate core components like the CPU, memory, I/O, and more onto a single board. These are typically used for DIY or educational projects, but there are plenty of other reasons to get one too. These are some of the most interesting ones out there right now!
6 Anbernic RG35XXSP
SBC gaming is a lot of fun
The Anbernic RG35XXSP may not look like a traditional SBC, but it certainly is. It's a clamshell gaming handheld that mimics the Game Boy Advance SP, an H700 SoC with four 64-bit Cortex-A53 cores, a Mali G31 GPU, and 1GB of DDR4 RAM. It has pretty good battery life, great performance, a nice screen, and good controls. It also runs Linux, and you can easily install custom firmware on it.
There are many SBC gaming handhelds out there, but this is one of many that managed to hook me. Others include the Miyoo Mini+ and the Anbernic RG35XX, but if you just want to start gaming on an SBC, there are a huge selection.
5 Pinball Zero
Unconventional, but technically still an SBC
The Flipper Zero isn't what you'd expect from an SBC as such, but it has many of the same features and falls into the SBC category in my opinion. You can flash custom firmware and connect GPIO devices, which greatly expands its capabilities.
It's a great tool for testing your cybersecurity and you can use it to try to break into things like your Wi-Fi networks, clone NFC tags, and more. It's a fantastic tool in any hacker's arsenal and I love how much it can do.
4 Raspberry Pi Zero 2W
Cheap and small
The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W is a tiny SBC that's great for beginners. It can run the GUI-based Raspberry Pi operating system and costs just $20. It's not the most powerful SBC and will be brought to its knees pretty easily, but it's an interesting and inexpensive way to get started while building something really useful out of it. You can even hook up something like a camera to it.
3 Milk-V Duo S
RISC-V and Arm in one package
SBCs come in many weird and wonderful forms, and the Milk-V Duo S is definitely a fun one. It has an Arm SoC and a RISC-V SoC on board, and you can switch between them with a physical switch on the board itself. You can even connect a camera to it for motion detection and more, and it's a great way to get acquainted with the RISC-V architecture for the first time.
When we tested it, the only downside was that the Arm software didn't work at the time. However, you can still try RISC-V, which is pretty exciting since it's a new architecture.
2 ArmSoM RK3588 AI Module7
A decent NPU in a Jetson Nano compatible SBC
Source: ArmSoM
There is also a lot of exciting going on in the field of artificial intelligence, and the ArmSoM RK3588 AI Module7 aims to capitalize on this. It features a Rockchip RK3588 with up to 2.4 GHz clock speed, a 6 TOPS NPU, and supports up to 32 GB of memory. It is compatible with Nvidia's Jetson Nano interface with PCIe support, perfect for edge computing, AI, and more. It also supports standard AI libraries such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, and MxNET, as well as deploying LLMs via RKLLM.
It's a pretty powerful SBC, but it's an SBC nonetheless. You really have to know what you're doing to unlock its full potential, but there's a lot of exciting things happening in this space.
1 Libre Computer AML S805x AC
Older but still good
This is a significantly older SBC than the rest on this list, but still a good option. It's cheap and a great entry-level SBC with some great features. It can boot from a USB stick and decode H.265, H.264, and VP9 while being powered by an Amlogic S805X SoC. Although the documentation can be lacking because it's been out for a few years, you can find people who have had problems with it before and will solve them for you instead of waiting for others to figure them out while the product is new. It can even run Android!
If you want something more modern, Libre Computer has other options, like the Libre Computer Alta AML-A311D-CC AI, which came out late last year.