Opto 22's Digital I/O Carrier Board for Raspberry Pi (OPTO-P1-40P) connects a Raspberry Pi to industrial-grade digital I/O racks and modules, so the Pi can switch electrical loads and sense field signals through its GPIO. Thinvent does not make a Raspberry Pi or an I/O carrier board. The closest Thinvent alternative is a compact Mini PC for embedded and industrial control work, and the Thinvent Treo Mini PC is the nearest match on form factor.
Opto 22 Raspberry Pi Digital I/O vs Thinvent Treo Mini PC
| Opto 22 Digital I/O System for Raspberry Pi (OPTO-P1-40P) | Thinvent Treo Mini PC, Intel Core Ultra 5 125U | Thinvent Treo Mini PC, Intel Celeron N5095A | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Raspberry Pi (model not confirmed) | Intel Core Ultra 5 125U | Intel Celeron N5095A |
| Cores/Threads | Not confirmed | 12 cores | 4 cores |
| RAM | Not confirmed | 32 GB DDR5 | 8 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | Not confirmed | 2 TB SSD | 2 TB SSD |
| Form Factor | Carrier board with I/O racks | Mini PC | Mini PC |
| Operating System | Raspberry Pi OS (Pi-supported software) | Windows 11 Pro (choice of Windows 11 IoT Value, Ubuntu Linux, Thinux Embedded Linux, Without OS, DOS) | Windows 11 Pro (choice of Windows 11 IoT, Ubuntu Linux, Thinux Embedded Linux, Without OS, DOS) |
| Digital I/O | Via Pi GPIO with G4 or SNAP I/O modules | Not included | Not included |
| Networking | Not confirmed | Dual 1000 Mbps Ethernet ports | 1000 Mbps Ethernet |
| Wireless | Not confirmed | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), dual band (or no Wi-Fi, per SKU) | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), dual band (or no Wi-Fi, per SKU) |
| Operating temperature | Not confirmed | 0°C to 40°C | 0°C to 40°C |
Key differences
-
The Thinvent Treo Mini PC with Intel Core Ultra 5 125U has up to 32 GB of DDR5 RAM and 12 cores, which suits compute-heavy workloads that the Pi-based setup is not designed for.
-
The Thinvent Treo Mini PC has 2 TB of SSD storage and dual Ethernet ports.
-
Both Thinvent Treo SKUs run Windows 11 Pro and can also be set up with Ubuntu Linux, Thinux Embedded Linux, or without an OS.
-
The Opto 22 solution is built around direct GPIO switching of real-world loads such as motors and pumps through industrial I/O modules. The Thinvent Treo Mini PC does not have a GPIO header or built-in digital I/O modules; it has RS485 as an option and USB and VGA/HDMI ports for connectivity.
-
Opto 22 recommends powering the rack from its own power supply for reliable operation of the Pi and attached hardware.
Which one should you choose?
Choose the Opto 22 Digital I/O System for Raspberry Pi if your project is built around a Raspberry Pi and needs industrial digital inputs and outputs wired to sensors and actuators. Choose a Thinvent Treo Mini PC if you need a compact x86 computer with more processing power, more memory, and a choice of Windows or Linux, and you will add your own I/O interface.
