Raspberry Pi 5 vs Radxa X4

The Radxa X4 uses an Intel N100, so you get x86 compatibility. Windows runs natively, and you don't need to hunt down ARM-specific builds of software. It has 2.5GbE networking and a proper M.2 2230 slot for NVMe (PCIe Gen3 x4), which means storage and network speeds blow past what the Pi 5 can do.

The downside? Power draw. The X4 needs more juice and better cooling to avoid throttling. It uses an RP2040 to handle GPIO, which works, but the Pi 5 is still the safer choice if you're doing anything with HATs or low-level hardware projects as you can't access the GPIO directly, it has to go through the USB connection. The X4 makes sense if you need x86 compatibility or want a high-speed network node. The Pi 5 makes sense if you want something that sips power and has the full community behind it.