What to do if the performance of a Raspi is not sufficient? An idea: Simply combine six pieces on one mainboard, for example for a home server.
DeskPi has designed a Mini-ITX mainboard that does not require a standard desktop processor and is instead compatible with the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (CM4). The highlight: not only one or two CM4 fit on the Super6C circuit board, but six. If you are lucky enough to have the right compute modules, you get simultaneous access to six Broadcom BCM2711 CPUs and up to 48 GB of RAM.
All in all, 24 Cortex-A72 cores are available for all kinds of tasks, for example in the home server you set up yourself. Since DeskPi uses the standard dimensions and drill holes of Mini-ITX mainboards, the Super6C fits in all possible PC cases. With nine fan connections (three times 12 volts, six times 5 volts) you can operate a mini turbine if you wish.
Ethernet switch handles the communication
A Gigabit Ethernet switch handles communication between the six processors and provides two external Gigabit ports. The two image outputs – one each HDMI 2.0 and HDMI 1.4 – are wired to the first CM4 slot. There are also two internal USB 2.0 ports, two USB 2.0 type A and one micro USB port per Raspi module, which can be used to access the internal eMMC flash memory.
For memory expansion, there is a micro SD card slot for each Raspi module on the back of the board and an M.2 connector that connects NVMe SSDs with a PCI Express 2.0 lane. A DC power supply with an output power of 100 watts is included with the Super6C.
DeskPi Super6C (3 images)
The six micro SD card slots and M.2 slots are on the back.
(Image: DeskPi)
$200 + modules
In the US, DeskPi sells the Super6C motherboard for $200 excluding taxes. The Amazon store GeekPi usually includes the DeskPi products in its own range, so that with a bit of luck those interested won’t have to import the board in the future.
Due to a lack of components, however, the Raspberry Pi Compute Modules are currently rare, which leads to exorbitant prices if you ever find a deliverable copy. Conrad currently states delivery times of several months.
