Which energy efficient ARM platform to choose?

  • all clear. Of course I took the version with the 5.10 kernel - but Debian Buster via Petitboot also had 5.10. So far it runs stable with Armbian, even under stress.

    - Odroid HC4 - Armbian - OMV5.x - 2x WD Red 4TB (without Raid) formatted with btrfs -

  • Hello good people!

    Currently I have a Asus H87i-Plus mainboard with 4GB DDR3, an Intel i3 4130, a 60GB SSD for OMV 5 (and still Docker containers), an 1TB 2.5" HDD where I download to and 2x 3TB HDD where the Downloads and Media etc are stored.

    Due to high kWh prices ( 0.34€) here in Germany and an power consumption of ~35W in idle for the system which calculates to around 100€ in costs per year (just idleing), I thought to switch to a SBC system.

    I took a Raspberry Pi 4 with at least 4GB RAM or a Odroid N2+ in consideration and exchange the harddrives with one bigger HDD, like 10TB. (Maybe expanding in the future.)


    My internet connection is 500MBit down, 100MBit up and I use my NAS/Homeserver for Adguard, SabNZBd, Filestorage, Backup of 3 PCs, Nextcloud and I want to try out Plex and some picture software soon.


    The RPi 4 is out of stock everywhere, but you can buy it used for horrendous prices, like 150€ for the 4GB model.

    The Odroid N2+ is available at 100€, new.


    I thought about these two SBCs, because I don't want to "waste" my fast internet on a SBC with only 100MBit ethernet.


    What are your opinions about my intention and are there any hiccups I might face or didn't take in consideration?


    Thank you very much!

    • Offizieller Beitrag

    What are your opinions about my intention and are there any hiccups I might face or didn't take in consideration?

    They are both great boards. I only have an odroid-n2 (not a plus) and many RPi4s. I would guess the n2 uses a tiny bit more energy but still a very stable board for me. I think you would be happy with either.

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  • Websites, I read, mentioned that the more powerful Odroid N2+ uses less energy (power consumption: IDLE: 1,9 W / CPU stress test: 5,5 W / Turned off: 0,2 W) than the RPi 4. Can anybody confirm that?

    (I also thought about the Asrock J4125, but it's way overpriced at the moment.)


    I assume that both boards are powerful enough to handle the tasks, I mentioned, with ease. Right?

    • Offizieller Beitrag

    mentioned that the more powerful Odroid N2+ uses less energy than the RPi 4. Can anybody confirm that?

    It is going to be a single digit number either way. I guess the odroid n2+ has two big cores and four small cores that don't run at the same time. So, that probably makes sense.

    I assume that both boards are powerful enough to handle the tasks, I mentioned, with ease. Right?

    Yep, that is why I said you would be happy with either.

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  • Thank you again!

    I'm leaning towards the Odroid N2+...

    How are you running your Odroid N2?

    OMV directly as OS or Debian first and then OMV installed? ...on an microSD card or eMMC? How many HDDs/SSDs are connected? (If I'm allowed to ask.)

    • Offizieller Beitrag

    OMV directly as OS or Debian first and then OMV installed?

    Those are the same thing. OMV is just a package that runs on Debian. And there is no OMV image for any arm board. So, you install Armbian first and then run the install script.


    on an microSD card or eMMC?

    SD card.


    How many HDDs/SSDs are connected?

    I actually don't use it for OMV normally. I used it for a work from home desktop for a while. I just normally test OMV on it. So, I usually only have one hard drive connected.

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  • Okay, thank you one more time.

    After searching the web I found some other SBCs, for example versions of the NanoPi or RockPi.

    Does anybody have experience with these boards?

    My main goal is to exchange my current X86 setup with the most energy-efficient (low power consumption) and cheapest way possible without sacrificing too much performance regarding SMB transfers, download/upload and the docker containers, I mentioned before.

    (I know this sounds like "he wants everything for almost nothing", but I want to enter the world of SBCs and have no experience regarding them.)

    • Offizieller Beitrag

    Does anybody have experience with these boards?

    I have lots of boards including the NanoPiM4 with sata hat. It is a great board. Same cpu as odroid-n2

    My main goal is to exchange my current X86 setup with the most energy-efficient (low power consumption) and cheapest way possible without sacrificing too much performance regarding SMB transfers, download/upload and the docker containers, I mentioned before.

    Most arm processors are going to use single digit watts. And there aren't a lot of cpus out there. Many boards use the same cpu. The RPi4 and nanopim4 are my top recommendations. The only reason I would recommend the nano pim4 over the odroid-n2+ is the sata hat is real sata - no usb involved.

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    • Offizieller Beitrag

    I have a HC2 which can house one 3.5" drive. But it seems it is discontinued by Hardkernel.

    I think the HC4 was meant to replace it. The HC4 is another good system is you want two disks easily added.

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    • Offizieller Beitrag

    Probably, but the mounting of the two drives looks a bit awkward. On the other hand, when I got my HC2 there were no screws included, so I just added the drive and did not screw it. And as it is not causing any issues, I did not bother to find some suitable screws. I am just careful when handling the case with the drive.

    • Offizieller Beitrag

    the mounting of the two drives looks a bit awkward

    Actually they are quite stable. They just plugin and gravity holds them there. No tools or carrier needed.

    omv 7.1.0-2 sandworm | 64 bit | 6.8 proxmox kernel

    plugins :: omvextrasorg 7.0 | kvm 7.0.13 | compose 7.2 | k8s 7.1.0-3 | cputemp 7.0.1 | mergerfs 7.0.5 | scripts 7.0.2


    omv-extras.org plugins source code and issue tracker - github - changelogs


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    • Offizieller Beitrag

    According to Friendly Elec the M4 is discontinued and the M4V2 is temporarily stopped production. With the sata hat you will need a 12V power supply to run the sata drives and the M4V2. There is a 12V plug on the sata hat. The heat sink is also an advisable addition.

  • According to Friendly Elec the M4 is discontinued and the M4V2 is temporarily stopped production. With the sata hat you will need a 12V power supply to run the sata drives and the M4V2. There is a 12V plug on the sata hat. The heat sink is also an advisable addition.

    Thank you for the picture!

    What kind of psu are you using? Do you have a picture from above, how the cables from the psu attach the board/hat?

    How much is the power consumption with the 3 HDDs?


    EDIT: Should have clicked on the link in your signature to see more details. ;)

    • Offizieller Beitrag

    PeteyBling i used this Mean Well power supply. I cut up this cable to solder up a cable for the 12V connectIon. The plug on the top of the sata hat is a four pin square molex. Here’s a pic of the top of the hat: https://www.friendlyarm.com/im…escription/M4v2_en_09.jpg

    The square plug center front is the 12 V supply that powers everything, board and hard drives. The four pan in-line plug right behind the sata ports is what powers the hard drives.

  • Those are the same thing. OMV is just a package that runs on Debian. And there is no OMV image for any arm board. So, you install Armbian first and then run the install script.

    This is probably a very nooby question, but can OMV package run on a rpi with ubuntu server for arm 64bit? (Also, will it run on rpi os lite 64 bit?)

    • Offizieller Beitrag

    Ubuntu - no

    RPi OS Lite - yes

  • I just have gotten the chance to buy a used

    Rock Pi 4B v1.3 with 8GB RAM

    + 2x32GB eEMMC modules

    + USB adapter for these modules

    + Acrylic case with aluminium heatsink

    + SSD / NVME pcb with connector

    + ConBee II Zigbee USB Gateway

    for ~90€.

    The seller said, that with v1.3 you cannot directly boot from SSD, but is that a big disadvantage for me? Most likely I will run the OS from microSD anyway.

    What do you think about this offer?


    A NanoPi M4V2 is nowhere to be found and plain Raspberry 4s are around 150€ used. The Odroid HC has limited expandability, so this wouldn't be my first choice.

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