4 ms·

If your alternative to RPis are used NUCs or laptops, than you lost me. I want reliable and quiet. I have RPis running for more than a decade everyday with not

If your alternative to RPis are used NUCs or laptops, than you lost me. I want reliable and quiet. I have RPis running for more than a decade everyday with not a single crash. In what conditions are those used PSU? Who knows. I'm also not a fan of bringing other people's dust and keyboard grease along.

afavour 4y ago
Many NUCs are whisper quiet and just as reliable as an RPi. Often more so given the number of folks that run everything in their RPi off an SD card without considering the lifespan of them. I didn’t replace my RPi with a NUC but I did get a Celeron powered mini PC. It’s basically silent and has been happily running Ubuntu under my desk for over a year now.
- tambourine_man 4y ago
  If new, sure, but then you're in for a lot more money than the Pi. If it's used, I'm not interested.
  - afavour 4y ago
    My mini PC was $150. Definitely more than a RPi but not insane.
  - unethical_ban 4y ago
    Used = value. But if you want new and still cheap, there are mini PCs with SoC style pentiums, barebines around $200, $20/8gb ram and 20/256gb nvme. And they can often have 2.5gb Ethernet these days.
Delphiza 4y ago
"NUC"s can be fanless PCs. The fanless part makes them quiet. There are no moving parts to make a noise.
- meepmorp 4y ago
  I still miss the sound spinning disks, sometimes; it let me know the computer was thinking hard.
mhandley 4y ago
I've got a mix of boxes ranging from Raspberry Pis to NUCs to many-core Xeons. They each have their roles - for example, a NUC acts as a DVR for security cameras, and I want it separate from other stuff. But I agree that RPIs can be very good for basic stuff. I've had one running as a print server for an indestructable old laser printer for 9 years now with no issues whatsoever. It's outlived two older Mac Minis I used before the NUC.
sangnoir 4y ago
> I want reliable and quiet. I have RPis running for more than a decade everyday with not a single crash. I had the original Model B running continuously for 8+ years until the USB contacts rusted-out due to high humidity. The prices in the article are absurd: why would I choose a $260 SFF PC vs a $5 RPi Zero W I got 5 years ago? The comparison may make sense for new purchases with the ongoing shortage.

afavour 4y ago

Many NUCs are whisper quiet and just as reliable as an RPi. Often more so given the number of folks that run everything in their RPi off an SD card without considering the lifespan of them. I didn’t replace my RPi with a NUC but I did get a Celeron powered mini PC. It’s basically silent and has been happily running Ubuntu under my desk for over a year now.

tambourine_man 4y ago
If new, sure, but then you're in for a lot more money than the Pi. If it's used, I'm not interested.
- afavour 4y ago
  My mini PC was $150. Definitely more than a RPi but not insane.
- unethical_ban 4y ago
  Used = value. But if you want new and still cheap, there are mini PCs with SoC style pentiums, barebines around $200, $20/8gb ram and 20/256gb nvme. And they can often have 2.5gb Ethernet these days.

Delphiza 4y ago

"NUC"s can be fanless PCs. The fanless part makes them quiet. There are no moving parts to make a noise.

meepmorp 4y ago
I still miss the sound spinning disks, sometimes; it let me know the computer was thinking hard.

mhandley 4y ago

I've got a mix of boxes ranging from Raspberry Pis to NUCs to many-core Xeons. They each have their roles - for example, a NUC acts as a DVR for security cameras, and I want it separate from other stuff. But I agree that RPIs can be very good for basic stuff. I've had one running as a print server for an indestructable old laser printer for 9 years now with no issues whatsoever. It's outlived two older Mac Minis I used before the NUC.

sangnoir 4y ago

> I want reliable and quiet. I have RPis running for more than a decade everyday with not a single crash. I had the original Model B running continuously for 8+ years until the USB contacts rusted-out due to high humidity. The prices in the article are absurd: why would I choose a $260 SFF PC vs a $5 RPi Zero W I got 5 years ago? The comparison may make sense for new purchases with the ongoing shortage.