Banana Pi BPI-M7
Price range: 339,60 € through 522,00 € INCL. VAT
- High-performance board for AI vision, fast NVMe server and 8K display
- Octa-core Rockchip RK3588, 6 TOPS NPU, up to 16 GB LPDDR4x
- Dual 2.5 GbE Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6, M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4, 92 x 62 mm
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- Description
- Additional information
Description
Banana Pi BPI-M7: octa-core RK3588 board with 6 TOPS NPU in Pico-ITX format
The Banana Pi BPI-M7 packs the power of the Rockchip RK3588 into a 92 x 62 mm board: eight cores (four Cortex-A76 at 2.4 GHz and four Cortex-A55 at 1.8 GHz), Mali-G610 GPU, 6 TOPS NPU, two 2.5 Gbit/s Ethernet ports, Wi-Fi 6 and an M.2 NVMe slot in PCIe 3.0 x4. It is a platform for AI vision, fast home servers, 8K displays or a powerful ARM Linux workstation.
Highlights
- RK3588 built on 8 nm : four A76 cores for performance, four A55 for efficiency.
- 6 TOPS NPU (INT8) on three cores, compatible with TensorFlow, PyTorch, ONNX, TFLite and Android NN.
- M.2 M key PCIe 3.0 x4 : NVMe SSDs from 2230 to 2280.
- Dual 2.5 Gbit/s Ethernet for a fast router, NAS or firewall.
- Three displays : HDMI 2.1 up to 8K60, USB-C DisplayPort 1.4 up to 8K30, MIPI DSI up to 4K60.
- 8K60 video decoding H.265/VP9 and 8K30 encoding.
Technical specifications
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| SoC | Rockchip RK3588, 4 x Cortex-A76 at 2.4 GHz + 4 x Cortex-A55 at 1.8 GHz |
| GPU | Mali-G610 MP4, OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 2.2, Vulkan 1.1 |
| NPU | 6 TOPS INT8, mixed INT4 / INT8 / INT16 computing |
| Available versions | 8 GB LPDDR4x + 64 GB eMMC, or 16 GB LPDDR4x + 128 GB eMMC |
| Storage | eMMC, microSD, M.2 M key PCIe 3.0 x4 (2230 to 2280) |
| Network | 2 x 2.5 Gbit/s Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 (AP6275P) |
| Video | HDMI 2.1 8K60, DisplayPort 1.4 over USB-C 8K30, MIPI DSI 4K60 |
| Cameras | 2 x 2-lane MIPI CSI, 48 MP ISP |
| USB | USB 3.0 Type-A, USB-C 3.1 (DisplayPort / OTG), USB 2.0 |
| GPIO | 40-pin Raspberry Pi compatible (UART, SPI, I2C, I2S, PWM, ADC) |
| Miscellaneous | 5 V fan connector, RTC battery, Power, Reset, Maskrom buttons |
| Power supply | USB-C Power Delivery 2.0: 9 V, 12 V or 15 V at 2 A |
| Dimensions / temperature | 92 x 62 mm, 0 to 80 °C |
Which one should you choose?
| Model | Processor | IA | Network | Fast storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BPI-M7 | RK3588, 8 cores | 6 TOPS NPU | 2 x 2.5 GbE, Wi-Fi 6 | NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 |
| Raspberry Pi 5 8GB | BCM2712, 4 x Cortex-A76 at 2.4 GHz | Via AI HAT | 1 GbE, Wi-Fi 5 | PCIe 2.0 x1 via M.2 HAT |
| BPI-F3 | SpacemiT K1, 8 RISC-V cores | 2 TOPS | 2 x 1 GbE, Wi-Fi | M.2 PCIe 2.1 x2 |
| BPI-M5 | S905X3, 4 x Cortex-A55 | No | 1 GbE | USB 3.0 |
The BPI-M7 is the most powerful board in this selection, with native NPU and NVMe x4. The Raspberry Pi 5 keeps the edge in software ecosystem and documentation; the BPI-F3 appeals to those who want to explore RISC-V.
Compatibility and pitfalls
- USB-C Power Delivery power supply required (9, 12 or 15 V): a 5 V-only power supply is not enough.
- Cooling : the RK3588 runs hot under load; use a heat-dissipating case or the 5 V fan connector.
- Operating systems : official Android 12, Debian 11 and Buildroot; Armbian, Ubuntu 20.04 / 22.04 as third-party images. Raspberry Pi OS does not work.
- Raspberry Pi HATs : compatible 40-pin pinout, but drivers specific to Raspberry Pi OS are not guaranteed.
- Soldered memory : choose the 8 GB or 16 GB version according to your needs, it cannot be expanded.
Recommended accessories
- The metal case for BPI-M7, designed for this board.
- L'official Raspberry Pi USB-C 45 W power supply : its Power Delivery profiles 9 V / 5 A, 12 V / 3.75 A and 15 V / 3 A cover the needs of the M7.
- A M.2 2242 NVMe SSD, a size accepted by the M.2 slot of the BPI-M7.
- A CAT6 RJ45 Ethernet cable, suitable for 2.5 Gbit/s over short distances.
Uses and projects
- AI vision : object detection on two MIPI cameras with the NPU.
- NAS and home server : NVMe x4 SSD and two 2.5 GbE ports.
- 8K digital signage or multi-display.
- ARM Linux workstation that stays responsive with 16 GB of memory.
To choose your SSD, read how to choose your NVMe SSD, and discover the whole range on the Banana Pi page.
Frequently asked questions
Which power supply for the Banana Pi M7?
A USB-C Power Delivery 2.0 power supply delivering 9, 12 or 15 V at 2 A. A 5 V-only power supply is not enough.
How much RAM should I choose?
8 GB for a server or Linux workstation, 16 GB for AI, virtualisation or many containers. The memory is soldered.
Which SSDs are compatible?
M.2 M key NVMe SSDs from 2230 to 2280, in PCIe 3.0 x4 according to Banana Pi.
Does the BPI-M7 have Wi-Fi?
Yes, built-in Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 via the AP6275P module.
Which operating systems can I install?
Official Android 12, Debian 11 and Buildroot; Armbian and Ubuntu as third-party images.
BPI-M7 or Raspberry Pi 5?
The M7 offers an NPU, two 2.5 GbE ports and native NVMe x4. The Raspberry Pi 5 offers a much larger ecosystem and documentation.
The BPI-M7 is the compact RK3588 board for embedded AI and fast servers. At MonRaspberry, you buy official, tested products, shipped from our stock based in France within 24/48 h after payment is received, with free pickup point delivery on orders from €200, returns within 14 days (with return authorization) and payment by Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
Additional information
| Version | 8GB Ram + 64GB eMMC, 16GB Ram + 128GB eMMC |
|---|
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