The NanoPi NEO2 is a small ARM single-board computer from FriendlyElec. It uses a quad-core Allwinner H5 processor (ARM Cortex-A53) with 512 MB of DDR3 RAM, one Gigabit Ethernet port and one USB host port. The closest Thinvent product is the Thinvent Micro 6 Pro Mini PC. It is also an ARM mini PC with a quad-core processor, but it has 4 GB of RAM, 32 GB of storage and a Fast Ethernet port.
NanoPi NEO2 vs Thinvent Micro 6 Pro Mini PC
| NanoPi NEO2 | Thinvent Micro 6 Pro Mini PC | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Allwinner H5 (ARM Cortex-A53) | Amlogic S905X3 (ARM Cortex A55) |
| Cores | 4 | 4 |
| RAM | 512 MB DDR3 | 4 GB |
| Storage | microSD slot (for system boot and storage) | 32 GB eMMC |
| Form Factor | Single-board computer | Mini PC |
| Operating System | Ubuntu Core, Armbian | Thinux™ Embedded Linux |
| Ethernet | 1 port, 10/100/1000 Mbps | 1 port, 100 Mbps |
| Cooling | Not confirmed | Fanless passive cooling |
| Wireless | Not confirmed | Wi-Fi, dual antenna, dual band |
| Display Output | Not confirmed | 1 HDMI |
Key differences
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The Thinvent Micro 6 Pro has 4 GB of RAM, which is eight times the NanoPi NEO2's 512 MB.
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The Thinvent Micro 6 Pro includes 32 GB of eMMC storage. The NanoPi NEO2 uses a microSD card for storage.
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The Thinvent Micro 6 Pro is a fanless mini PC in an aluminium housing, with an HDMI output, a speaker output, one USB 3.0 port and one USB 2.0 port.
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The Thinvent Micro 6 Pro has dual-antenna Wi-Fi. We could not confirm the NanoPi NEO2's wireless options.
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The NanoPi NEO2 has a Gigabit Ethernet port. The Thinvent Micro 6 Pro has a 100 Mbps Ethernet port.
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The NanoPi NEO2 is a bare board with a GPIO header, which suits electronics projects and hobbyist builds.
Which one should you choose?
Choose the NanoPi NEO2 if you need a very small board with Gigabit Ethernet for embedded and maker projects. Choose the Thinvent Micro 6 Pro if you need more memory, built-in storage, a display output and a sealed, fanless housing for a compact Linux system.
