4 ms·

What does SBC mean?

by ghostbrainalpha 6y ago

What does SBC mean?

kirill5pol 6y ago
Single-board computer, basically Raspberry Pi like devices.
- guenthert 6y ago
  Yeah, no idea how that term became so widespread. Every laptop, home computer and all-in-one computer and many PCs use exactly a single PCB. I've seen the more descriptive term "open frame computer" used by a local dealer. That might just be legalese though to get them out of any FCC responsibilities.
  - yellowapple 6y ago
    I feel like "SBC" has specific connotations of the board being sold standalone, which ain't really the case for (the vast majority of) laptops and desktops/AIOs.
  - cesarb 6y ago
    > Every laptop, home computer and all-in-one computer and many PCs use exactly a single PCB. That's only the case if the memory is soldered to the motherboard; otherwise, it's on a separate PCB. The storage also has to be soldered in (not M.2 or a traditional HD). The WiFi has to be on the motherboard too. And so on. The laptop I'm using to type this comment has at least five PCBs: the motherboard, two memory boards, a storage board, and a WiFi board. It might have more that I missed.
    - dingaling 6y ago
      But the memory, WiFi, networking etc are all separate circuit boards even in an SBC. The fact that they're soldered on doesn't change that fact. They arrive at the assembly line as separate components. It's a useful shorthand term but doesn't stand up to technical scrutiny.
      - imtringued 6y ago
        Do you consider every semiconductor on a PCB to be a different circuit board? Every raspberry Pi including those with memory, WiFI and networking only consist of a single PCB. You said circuit board which gives some leeway to creative interpretations where PCB is just a subset of circuit board and thus there are non PCB types of circuit boards. However, since the amount of circuit board like components on every Raspberry Pi is zero you must be talking about a definition of circuit board that is extremely uncommon. I tried to make this as painless as possible. My actual conclusion is that you haven't seen enough single board computers (SBCs) to know that SBC is a well defined category. Intel NUC? Not an SBC because the memory is not soldered on the mainboard. Intel atom mainboards? Not an SBC because the memory is not soldered on the mainboard. Raspberry PI? An SBC because everything is on the mainboard. Smartphone? Possibly, although they are just advertised as smartphones so nobody buys them for their SBCness. The emphasis is that you usually buy the board itself when you want an SBC.

What does SBC mean?

kirill5pol 6y ago

Single-board computer, basically Raspberry Pi like devices.

guenthert 6y ago
Yeah, no idea how that term became so widespread. Every laptop, home computer and all-in-one computer and many PCs use exactly a single PCB. I've seen the more descriptive term "open frame computer" used by a local dealer. That might just be legalese though to get them out of any FCC responsibilities.
- yellowapple 6y ago
  I feel like "SBC" has specific connotations of the board being sold standalone, which ain't really the case for (the vast majority of) laptops and desktops/AIOs.
- cesarb 6y ago
  > Every laptop, home computer and all-in-one computer and many PCs use exactly a single PCB. That's only the case if the memory is soldered to the motherboard; otherwise, it's on a separate PCB. The storage also has to be soldered in (not M.2 or a traditional HD). The WiFi has to be on the motherboard too. And so on. The laptop I'm using to type this comment has at least five PCBs: the motherboard, two memory boards, a storage board, and a WiFi board. It might have more that I missed.
  - dingaling 6y ago
    But the memory, WiFi, networking etc are all separate circuit boards even in an SBC. The fact that they're soldered on doesn't change that fact. They arrive at the assembly line as separate components. It's a useful shorthand term but doesn't stand up to technical scrutiny.
    - imtringued 6y ago
      Do you consider every semiconductor on a PCB to be a different circuit board? Every raspberry Pi including those with memory, WiFI and networking only consist of a single PCB. You said circuit board which gives some leeway to creative interpretations where PCB is just a subset of circuit board and thus there are non PCB types of circuit boards. However, since the amount of circuit board like components on every Raspberry Pi is zero you must be talking about a definition of circuit board that is extremely uncommon. I tried to make this as painless as possible. My actual conclusion is that you haven't seen enough single board computers (SBCs) to know that SBC is a well defined category. Intel NUC? Not an SBC because the memory is not soldered on the mainboard. Intel atom mainboards? Not an SBC because the memory is not soldered on the mainboard. Raspberry PI? An SBC because everything is on the mainboard. Smartphone? Possibly, although they are just advertised as smartphones so nobody buys them for their SBCness. The emphasis is that you usually buy the board itself when you want an SBC.