RCS Platform Comparison

Here is a quick comparison to help people get started with the platform.

Some details have been omitted, this page is intended to give a high-level overview without too much clutter.

Purchasing overview:

• consider the single CPU board, Talos II Lite as your default option, it offers best performance for a single CPU with all four memory channels loaded
  • if you really need more than 22 CPU cores or more than 2 PCIe slots, consider the full Talos II but be conscious of extra PSU requirements
  • if you really need something compact and potentially portable, consider the Blackbird due to its MicroATX form factor but be aware that you are constrained to only 8 CPU cores (4 threads/core), only 2 memory channels and you need to be careful to choose a case the meets noise and cooling expectations for this board

Feature	Talos II	Talos II Lite	Blackbird	Condor
Production	Y	Y	Y	postponed
Reasons to buy	Most CPU cores, max RAM speed, need >2 PCIe slots**	Cheaper but still 22 cores	Cheapest, integrated peripherals, smaller size	-
Price (USD), please see online shop for latest prices	3,200	1,500	1,300	-
[FSF RYF]	Y	Y	?	?
Size	EATX	EATX	Micro ATX	ATX
CPU count	2	1	1	1
CPU max cores	22	22	8	?
Memory channels	4	4	2	8
Channels*Max memory speed (combined channels, MHz)	17,064 (8,532 per CPU)	8,532	4,800	?
PCIe 4.0 16x slots	3*	1	1	4?
PCIe 4.0 8x slots	2*	1	1	?
μPCIe slots	1	1	0	?
Video	VGA	VGA	HDMI	?
USB 3.0 ports	4	4	4	?
Storage	Optional 4x SAS/SATA	Optional 4x SAS/SATA	4x SATA	?

* on Talos II, only 2 PCIe slots are available with a single CPU and all slots are available when 2 CPUs are installed in the board
** although some of these boards only have two PCIe slots, you can easily expand them using PCIe risers (some cases have space for these) or using an OCuLink port expander.  Please share your questions and experiences in the forum.