Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

iTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more

The Milk-V Meles is a compact, Raspberry Pi 4-like RISC-V single-board computer, but its current official specifications list four C910 CPU cores running at up to 1.85 GHz—not 2 GHz. The 2 GHz figure appeared in launch-era coverage. The Meles pairs a T-Head TH1520 SoC with 8 GB or 16 GB of memory and a wide range of ports, but its form factor does not make it a Raspberry Pi software or performance equivalent.

What the Meles is—and what “2 GHz” means

Milk-V describes the Meles as a credit-card-sized single-board computer based on the TH1520. The current Milk-V product page and its version 1.0 documentation specify four RISC-V 64GCV C910 cores running at up to 1.85 GHz. A launch-era Hackster report used “2GHz” in its description, but that is not the clock rate shown in the current official specifications.

“Raspberry Pi 4-style” is best understood as a reference to the board’s compact layout and general class of device. Hackster noted the Meles’s full-size HDMI connector, compared with the Pi 4’s two micro-HDMI connectors. That physical comparison does not establish compatibility with Raspberry Pi software, equal performance, or an equivalent support ecosystem.

What’s actually slowing this PC down?

Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Milk-V Meles specifications

The figures below are manufacturer specifications, not independent measurements. The CPU clock is specified as “up to” 1.85 GHz; actual behavior in a particular workload is not established by the listed specifications.

#1 Best Overall
Kocoo Milk-V Mars RISC-V Single Board Computer Startfive JH7110 (8GB RAM,Only Board)
  • Milk-V Mars is a high-performance RISC-V Single Board Computer (SBC) the size of a credit card, built on the StarFive JH7110. Up to 8GB LPDDR4 RAM.SoC StarFive JH7110, 64bit SoC with RV64GC, up to 1.5GHz
  • This RISC-V Single Board Computer provides 3 boot options through which you can expand more storage space.1x eMMC Slot ,1x Micro SD Slot , 1x SPI Flash for bootloader
  • Complete online documentation is provided to make it easy for you to use it and open the door to risc-v. check: http(s:)//milkv.io/docs/mars/overview
  • Milk-V Mars is similar to the Raspberry Pi version, it has USB3.0 x3 , USB2.0 X1 a total of 4 USB ports. It has HDMI 2.0 with up to 4K support and an RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet port.
  • This RISC-V SBC compatible with Raspberry Pi 40PIN GPIO, and support POE function through POE expansion board.
Category Meles specification
SoC and CPU T-Head TH1520; four RISC-V 64GCV C910 cores, up to 1.85 GHz
Memory 8 GB or 16 GB LPDDR4X at 4266 MT/s
Storage eMMC slot and microSD slot
Display HDMI 2.0, up to 4K at 60 fps; four-lane MIPI DSI with touchscreen support
Camera One four-lane and one two-lane MIPI CSI input
USB Four USB 3.0 host ports; USB 2.0 Type-C device port
Networking 10/100/1000 Mbps RJ45 Ethernet, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.2
GPIO and audio 40-pin GPIO with UART, I2C, SPI, I2S, ADC, and GPIO functions; HDMI audio, I2S, and 3.5 mm audio output
Power and size Type-C input: 5 V / 4 A; 85 × 56 mm

AI, media, and graphics capabilities

Milk-V documentation lists a 4 TOPS INT8 NPU and support for TensorFlow, ONNX, and Caffe. It also lists video decoding up to 4K at 75 fps and encoding up to 4K at 40 fps. These are vendor capability claims; they do not show that a particular application will reach those rates or that every codec, software stack, or workload will use the hardware equally well.

The same documentation lists OpenGL ES 3.0, 3.1, and 3.2; OpenCL 1.1, 1.2, and 2.0; and Vulkan 1.1 and 1.2 for the SoC. These interface and API listings do not by themselves establish the status or maturity of a driver in a specific operating-system image.

Rank #2
KLAYERS ESP32-C6 Mini Dev Board Type B, 5~36V, RISC-V,no Header
  • Equipped with a high-performance 32-bit RISC-V processor up to 160 MHz and a low-power 32-bit RISC-V processor up to 20 MHz..
  • Built-in 320KB ROM, 512KB HP SRAM, 16KB LP SRAM, and 8MB Flash memory for efficient data handling.
  • Supports 5–36V wide voltage power supply, ideal for industrial and demanding environments.
  • Castellated module design allows direct soldering to carrier boards for secure and stable integration.
  • Onboard USB Type-C port with 22× GPIO pins for flexible peripheral configuration and expansion.

Operating-system support is a separate question

A September 29, 2026 Linux kernel mailing-list result describes a proposed patch series titled “riscv: dts: thead: Add Milk-V Meles support.” Its indexed description says the series would add board compatibility and device-tree support, including UART0, eMMC, microSD, Gigabit Ethernet, a PWM fan, GPIO names, AP6256 Wi-Fi over SDIO, and HDMI. The proposal is a development signal, not proof that the changes have merged or shipped in a released kernel. The patch result is available at the Linux kernel mailing-list archive.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

For a buyer or developer, check the specific operating-system image and kernel you intend to use, and verify that the peripherals you need are supported in that release. Hardware interfaces listed on a product page do not guarantee plug-and-play support across Linux distributions or Raspberry Pi-oriented projects.

Rank #3
KLAYERS ESP32-P4 Dev Board, with Dual-Core & Single-Core RISC-V Processors, Featuring MIPI-CSI/DSI, USB OTG, SDIO, and Audio I/O for Advanced HMI Applications​, with Pre-soldered Pins
  • At its core is a powerful MCU featuring both dual-core and single-core 32-bit RISC-V processors, supported by a robust memory hierarchy including 128KB HP ROM, 768KB HP L2MEM, and 32KB LP Static Ram for efficient multitasking.
  • Engineered for complex applications, it integrates a dedicated JPEG codec, Pixel Processing Accelerator (PPA), Image Signal Processor (ISP), and an H.264 video encoder, delivering exceptional image and voice processing capabilities.
  • The solution comes with substantial memory resources, featuring 32MB of PStatic Ram stacked within the chip package and 32MB of external Nor Flash, ensuring smooth operation for data-intensive tasks.
  • A wide array of critical interfaces is readily available, including MIPI-CSI and MIPI-DSI for cameras/displays, USB 2.0 OTG, an SDIO 3.0 card slot, and microphone/speaker terminals, offering great connectivity flexibility.
  • Robust security is ensured through hardware-enforced features like secure boot, flash encryption, cryptographic accelerators, a true random number generator, and hardware access protection for secure permission management.

Power, storage, and buying context

Milk-V specifies Type-C power input at 5 V / 4 A. A setup should account for that stated input requirement rather than assuming any USB-C supply is suitable. The board provides both eMMC and microSD storage interfaces, but the specifications do not establish that storage media are included.

Pricing and inventory are time-sensitive. Hackster reported a launch-era price of $99 for the 8 GB model and said the board had yet to go on sale at that time; the report did not give a 16 GB price. Those details are historical, not current prices or evidence of present availability. Milk-V lists official agents on its product page, but that listing does not confirm their current stock or pricing.

Rank #4
Sipeed LicheeRV Nano RISC-V Development Board, WiFi 6 Ethernet AI Vision RISCV Sensor, 1TOPS NPU 1GHz RISC-V C906 CPU, 2Gbit DDR3 RAM 100M RJ45 Port, Support Linux Debian (GC4653 Camera x1)
  • LicheeRV Nano is a mini-sized RISC-V development board, equipped with the SG2002 processor, large core 1GHZ (RISC-V/ARM optional), small core 700MHZ RISC-V, 256MB DDR3 memory, built-in 1Tops NPU, support BF16; 25~300M 8051 low-power core.
  • LicheeRV Nano RISC-V development board has rich interfaces such as MIPI-CSI, MIPI-DSI, SDIO, ETH, USB, SPI, UART, I2C, etc., which can be expanded to a variety of applications. Support TF card / SD NAND two-choice boot (SD NAND pad is under the TF card slot).
  • LicheeRV Nano RISC-V Single Board Computer Onboard video interface: Video output: 2 lane MIPI DSI output, standard 31pin interface, support 6pin capacitive touch screen. Video input: 4 lane MIPI CSI input, 22Pin interface, supports split dual-channel CSI.
  • LicheeRV Nano RISC-V Single Board Computer onboard audio interface: Audio output: Onboard PA amplifier, can directly connect speakers within 1W on the pin header. Audio input: Onboard analog silicon microphone, can directly receive sound.
  • LicheeRV Nano RISC-V Single Board Computer supports wireless connection: W/WE version supports 2.4G/5.8G dual-band WiFi6 and BLE5.4, wired connection: E version supports 100M RJ45 connector.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

Who should consider the Meles?

The Meles is worth investigating if a project specifically benefits from a RISC-V platform, its memory options, or its combination of USB, networking, display, camera, and GPIO interfaces. It is not a drop-in Raspberry Pi 4 substitute on the evidence available here: the CPU architecture differs, and neither software compatibility nor comparative performance is established. Before choosing it, match the board’s interfaces and power input to the project, then confirm support in the exact software image and kernel you plan to run.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
Best Value
Ruitutedianzi CH32V307 Evaluation Board RISC-V MCU Onboard Wch-Link CH32V307VCT6 CH32V307V-EVT-R1 WCH
  • Networking - 10 Mbps Ethernet: USB - 1x USB 2.0 Type-C port (480 Mbps), 1x USB 2.0 Type-C port (: 12 Mbps)
  • Expansion: MCU I/O expansion headers with 8x UART interfaces, and more, for headers
  • MCU - WCH CH32V307VCT6 32-bit RISC-V microcontroller @ 144 MHz as described above
  • Debugging: SDI & UART header to download and debug CH32V307 firmware

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.