Banana Pi M3 vs. the LeMaker HiKey

The Raspberry Pi 3 (RPi3) is an able platform for multimedia and games, but faster alternatives exist if you're looking for real power. We decided to take a look at a pair of high-performing eight-core single-board systems: the Banana Pi M3 from Sinovoip and the LeMaker HiKey.

The basic specifications are easy enough to see (Table 1), but a comparison of this sort has some pitfalls, so we started them up and ran some tests. Sinovoip and LeMaker have been at odds since 2015 as they compete for market dominance. The good news is that the consumer stands to benefit from this rivalry in the form of better prices, service, and software.

The All-Inclusive Board

The Banana Pi M3 [1] is the latest model in the classic Banana Pi series (Figure 1). The M3 comes with the Allwinner A83T CPU, which has eight ARM Cortex A7 cores, each with a maximum clock rate of 2GHz. The working memory adds up to 2GB. An 8GB eMMC module serves as bulk storage. Alternatively, the operating system and data can be on a microSD card. The computer also has Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, DSI, CSI, a SATA interface, two USB ports, a microphone, and much more. In spite of its extensive functionality, the board on the Banana Pi M3 is no larger than a Rasp Pi board.

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