Hot on the heels of the Raspberry Pi 5's success, Radxa has unveiled two intriguing new single-board computers (SBCs) designed for networking enthusiasts and compact computing tasks: the E24C and the E54C. These fanless, credit-card-sized devices stand out immediately with an impressive array of four Gigabit Ethernet ports, making them prime candidates for routers, firewalls, network monitoring, or lightweight servers where silent operation is key.
Key Features at a Glance:
- Fanless & Compact: Measuring just 85mm x 56mm (slightly larger than a Pi Zero), both boards operate silently without any moving parts, ideal for embedded applications or quiet environments.
- Quad Gigabit Ethernet: The star attraction. Four independent Gigabit Ethernet ports (using Realtek RTL8211F controllers) open up significant possibilities for networking projects.
- Rockchip Power: The E24C is driven by a Rockchip RK3328 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor, while the E54C steps up to the more powerful Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Cortex-A55 CPU. Both include a Mali GPU.
- Versatile Memory & Storage: Both models feature 4GB LPDDR4 RAM and offer storage via a microSD card slot and an M.2 2280 slot supporting SATA SSDs (E24C) or NVMe PCIe SSDs (E54C).
- Rich Connectivity: Includes USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports, HDMI output (micro-HDMI on E24C, standard HDMI on E54C), a 40-pin GPIO header for expansion, and 12V DC power input.
- Wi-Fi/BT (E54C Only): The higher-end E54C model includes onboard Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0.
Targeted Applications:
Radxa clearly aims these boards at networking and industrial use cases:
- Firewalls / Routers: Running pfSense, OPNsense, OpenWRT, or similar.
- Network Attached Storage (NAS): Especially the E54C with its NVMe support.
- VPN Appliances: Handling encrypted traffic efficiently.
- Thin Clients / Kiosks: Compact and silent.
- IoT Gateways: Aggregating data from multiple sources.
- Lightweight Home Servers: For services like Pi-hole, Home Assistant, or Docker containers.
For a deeper dive into the specifications, comparisons, and early impressions, check out the detailed coverage over at Liliputing: Radxa E24C and E54C are small, cheap, fanless PCs with four gigabit Ethernet ports and Rockchip processors.
Pricing and Availability:
Positioned as budget-friendly options, the Radxa E24C starts at just $49, while the more powerful E54C begins at $99 (both typically without storage or power supply). This aggressive pricing makes them highly competitive alternatives to boards like the Raspberry Pi 4/5, especially for projects demanding multiple network interfaces.
The Bottom Line:
The Radxa E24C and E54C fill a specific niche remarkably well. By packing four Gigabit Ethernet ports into a tiny, silent, and affordable package, Radxa offers compelling solutions for network-centric projects where traditional SBCs often require clunky USB adapters. While general computing performance won't break records, the E54C's RK3568 is capable, and the value proposition for networking tasks is strong. If you've been looking for a compact, silent board to handle routing, firewalling, or multi-homed services, these new Radxa offerings deserve serious consideration.
Looking to pick one up? The Radxa E24C and E54C are starting to become available through various channels.
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
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