Turing RK1 SOM – Pricier yet Superior Raspberry Pi Alternative

Turing Machines, a maker of cluster computers has recently launched its anticipated Turing RK1 system-on-module (SOM). Equipped with a robust Rockchip RK3588 Arm processor and a 6 TOPS NPU, this module, priced at $130, presents itself as an alternative to the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4.

Turing has been making mini-ITX boards for Raspberry Pi and Jetson modules for years now, but last year they announced their own SOM: the Turing RK1. They also launched the Turing Pi 2 cluster board on Kickstarter, raising over 2 million dollars in the process.

The Turing RK1 is built with Rockchip RK3588 SOC that houses four Arm Cortex-A76 high-performance cores running at 2.4GHz, and four Cortex-A55 low-powred cores running at 1.8GHz. It also has a Mali-G610 graphics processor with 6 TOPS NPUs. There is 15GB eMMC storage as standard and support for an 8K encoder and decoder.

Talking about performance, the Rockchip RK3588 is about four times better than the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4. The CM4 has a Broadcom BCM2711, which is much less potent than the RK3588.

When compared to the Jetson Orin NX, the performance of the RK3588 is far better, based on Geekbench 5 scores. However, the Jetson Orin NX is superior in AI tasks with its 70 to 100 TOPS, while the RK3588 has only 6 TOPS.

The Turing RK1 is a versatile module compatible with the Turing Pi 2 cluster board as well as boards designed for Jetson Nano and NX modules, thanks to their shared standard connector. This means you can substitute the RK1 for the Jetson Nano in its official developer kit. The module runs on Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS with the Linux 5.15 LTS kernel. Additionally, it supports a 6 TOPS NPU using the RKNN toolkit v2. Comprehensive documentation is provided, offering detailed specs and instructions.

Turing RK1 Compute Module Specifications

• SOC is the Rockchip RK3588.
• Features an octa-core CPU with 4x Arm Cortex-A76 (2.4 GHz) and 4x Arm Cortex-A55 (1.8 GHz).
• GPU is the Arm Mali-G610 MP4, supporting various graphic standards.
• VPU supports multiple video formats, including 8K, and encodes 8K H.265/H.264 and JPEG.
• NPU is 6 TOPS for generic AI tasks.
• It comes with 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB LPDDR4 Memory configurations.
• Internal storage is 32GB eMMC 5.1 flash.
• It uses a standard 260-pin SO-DIMM, compatible with Jetson designs.
• It has support for SD 3.0 interface.
• Has Support for HDMI 2.1 (up to 8Kp60), DisplayPort 1.4, and MIPI DSI.
• Offers multiple MIPI CSI connections for cameras.
• For Audio, it Uses 2x I2S ports for sound.
• It supports a Gigabit Ethernet connection.
• In terms of USB ports, it has 2x USB 3.0 and 2x USB 2.0 ports.
• PCIe Features include PCIe Gen 3.0 slot.
• It measures 69.6 x 45 mm in size.
• Operating Temperature is -20°C to 70°C and can be stored between -40°C to 85°C

The Turing RK1 is up for pre-order and you have to pay $130 for 8GB RAM, $170 for 16GB, and $260 for 32 GB. For an extra $10, you can get a heatsink with an integrated fan. Shipping for this incredible module starts on October 27.

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