4 DIY computer boards more powerful than the Raspberry Pi 5

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Finding a more powerful single board computer (SBC) that can beat the Raspberry Pi 5 isn’t that difficult these days. Despite the AI-induced pricing crisis that threatens to stall the SBC market as it prepares for its next big leap, there are still plenty available if you’re ready to take the plunge.

However, as we all know (this is a general factor), you will see a slight oddity in pricing. Some of these, while more powerful, might actually be a bit below the price of the Raspberry Pi 5 at the moment. If you notice something like this, it might be best not to wait until a deal is reached, as prices are expected to continue rising through 2027 and potentially beyond.

There are many other alternatives that are not as powerful. But today, let’s take a look at some DIY SBCs that will outperform a Raspberry Pi 5 in terms of performance.

Radxa’s main Raspberry Pi family of competitors, the Rock 5C, is the latest iteration to take on and beat the Pi in terms of performance. The 5C clearly beats the Pi 5 in synthetic benchmarks like Geekbench, where it offers around a 100 point difference in single-core performance, depending on the operating system. For multi-core, the Rock 5C’s chip roughly outperforms the Pi 5 by a few hundred points, again, depending on the operating system.

Just like a Raspberry Pi, the Radxa Rock 5C has many accessories that Radxa sells separately. These include cameras, power over Ethernet adapters and even additional storage via eMMC modules. Getting Pi-native HATs, accessories that extend the SBC, to work on the Radxa kit is a bit hit and miss in some places, so selling them directly.

Radxa’s Rock 5 range is quite varied, depending on your needs. The Rock 5B+ is packed with ports that aren’t available on the smaller 5C, and there’s even the ITX+ version if you want it in a traditional PC case.

Here’s another Pi 5 sized SBC with its own story. Launched in 2014, Orange Pi is another company offering various small PCs in different form factors, and it has become a mainstay in the Pi alternative scene. The Orange Pi 5 Max is its latest addition, and while its single-core performance is almost identical to the faster Raspberry Pi 5, it beats its main competitor by over 85% in multi-core scenarios, meaning it will be much better at running multiple programs at the same time.

It can be equipped with up to 16GB of RAM and sports a 2.5GB Ethernet port, so using it as a media server will provide legitimately faster speeds if routed correctly. There is also Wi-Fi 6E for fast wireless internet and a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for running LLMs. Overall, while it might not be the most impressive compared to everything detailed here, it’s still better equipped than a Pi 5. Orange Pi has its three camera ports, as well as GPIO pins for connectivity.

Closer to the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 than the classic Pi 5, this RAM-shaped SBC uses a carrier board to access the inputs and outputs. In Geekbench testing, the LattePanda Mu proves its prowess over the Pi 5, thanks in large part to the Intel N100, which is a significantly more powerful x86 processor. The Mu beats the Pi 5 Model B by 68% in single-core performance and 125% in multi-core.

Also similar to the Compute Module 5, this is a huge improvement in options over the Pi 5. Even if you lose things like the GPIO pins on some carrier boards, being able to swap out the Mu to fit your project is still a godsend. With the N100 on board the Mu being x86, you won’t be jumping any hurdles when it comes to software support, as you might end up doing with the ARM-based Pi 5. It will also run Windows 11, but it’s probably best to look at versions with 16GB of RAM if that’s your goal (or opt for the more expensive and more powerful N305 version).

The manufacturer DFRobot even sells graphics card holders, which will allow you to use either an Nvidia RTX 3060 or an Intel Arc A380. Combining the Mu with the Intel card would make for a great discrete media server using Plex or Jellyfin. With a discrete video playback backup card, transcoding can be much faster if the software needs to convert on the fly for playback.

Roughly the same size as the Raspberry Pi 5 but much faster, the Radxa Dragon Q6A board is backed by a Qualcomm QCS6490 system-on-chip (SoC), achieving scores that beat the Pi 5 by 57% in single-core and 108% in multi-core performance. Qualcomm’s chip is aimed at industrial applications and will provide enough overhead to run surprising software.

The 8GB model with Linux installed is more than capable of running some video editing software, like Kdenlive, and playing and editing 1080p footage relatively easily. The trailcurrentopensource YouTube channel demonstrates running a large language model (LLM) using the built-in NPU, as well as 3D modeling software Blender. This is a significantly more powerful device that will easily integrate into self-hosted projects.

Unfortunately, this is a card that has fallen victim to RAM price inflation. In the ExplainingComputers video covering the Dragon Q6A in January 2026, the 8GB model was priced at $79.50. It’s now $219.99 on Amazon as of this writing. At this price, even the Q6A’s impressive performance might not be worth it for your project.

The article was written drawing on the author’s experience reviewing and working with PCs and laptops in a professional capacity, as well as third-party information from around the web. This included gathering information from independent reviews, customer questions and reviews, and other coverage involving single-board computers.

A wide range of devices were considered and we chose to prioritize performance as a metric over anything else. We also ignored conversations about prices, apart from highlighting them where they were interesting; otherwise, the recommendations would be very thin. Some more powerful single-board PCs were considered, like the Framework Desktop motherboard, but ultimately the scope was limited to that of the Pi 5 line. The devices chosen had to meet the bar of surpassing the Pi 5 in benchmark scores, sourced from databases like Geekbench and independent testing.