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I have a couple of Pi's on the network. I tried to replace an older, home-built Linux file server with a Pi 4: stock Raspbian, a 5 TB USB drive, no display. It

I have a couple of Pi's on the network. I tried to replace an older, home-built Linux file server with a Pi 4: stock Raspbian, a 5 TB USB drive, no display. It was very slow; finally I replaced it with a $250 refurbished Dell from Ebay; threw Debian on it, and never looked back. Pi is a fun toy for some purposes but at this point I don't see it being useful as anything but a wireguard gateway (eventually).

wccrawford 4y ago
At it's original price, it's quite useful for small projects such as controlling a CNC (laser, 3d printer, router, etc) or a retro game console, etc. When you scale beyond that, even a cluster of them can't match a really cheap mini desktop computer. At current prices, you're definitely better off with the mini desktop. I wanted to add a Pi to my other 3d printer recently, and can't find one laying around, so I went to buy a $15 R Pi 0W2... It's $115 on Amazon and sold out everywhere else. For slightly more, I can get a 3 or 4. For slightly more yet, I'm in mini PC territory. The software can run on Linux, but it's designed for a Pi and the instructions say you're on your own. Ugh.