ODROID HC4

Overview

The ODROID HC4 (Home Cloud 4) is a purpose-built NAS appliance from Hardkernel sharing the same Amlogic S905X3 quad-core Cortex-A55 SoC and 4GB DDR4 RAM as the C4, but in a case-friendly form factor optimized for storage. Two SATA ports connect directly to the SoC via PCIe, enabling full-speed access to two 2.5" or 3.5" SATA drives without the bandwidth limitations of a USB bridge.

The HC4 omits the display outputs of its sibling boards, focusing resources on storage and networking. Gigabit Ethernet and a USB 3.0 port handle data transfer, while SPI flash provides reliable boot storage. An optional OLED display can be added to show system status. The board includes PCIe-attached SATA rather than USB-to-SATA, which is a significant advantage for NAS performance and reliability.

Armbian provides well-maintained minimal and IoT images for the HC4, making it an excellent platform for OpenMediaVault, Nextcloud, and other self-hosted storage solutions. Note that the stock Petitboot bootloader must be replaced with Armbian's mainline u-boot before installation. Power is supplied via a 12V DC barrel jack.