5 ms·

You have 3 choices: 1. Raspberry Pi 2. X86 System 3. Barely functioning SOCs with no mainline support and major software issues until eternity.

by dtx1 3y ago

imtringued 3y ago
Yeah. Just go with x86. If you like adventures go with the Raspberry Pi. If all you need is the cheapest CPU, then enjoy messing around with obsolete kernels I guess.
- dividedbyzero 3y ago
  I believe the Pi is also pretty much the only sensible choice for GPIO support on Linux.
dividedbyzero 3y ago
There are so many subtly different smallish x86 systems though that finding one that's cheap, power-efficient, fast, extensible, reasonably quiet and well supported on Linux is pretty difficult. At least to me.
- dboreham 3y ago
  I have a bunch of these systems from the past few years related to my work building self-hosted decentralized systems. Most recent is this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVLS7ZHP https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVLS7ZHP and so far it's working well. I'm running Ubuntu 22 and I have the stock internal SSD plus an externally attached 2T M.2 NVMe drive (via USB3.2 and this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RVC6F9Y https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RVC6F9Y).
glimshe 3y ago
x86 has the best cost/benefit nowadays, especially for server/desktop applications. Just a random example from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/KAMRUI-Computer-Computers-Business-Recreation/dp/B0C6CYZL4J https://www.amazon.com/KAMRUI-Computer-Computers-Business-Re...
kkielhofner 3y ago
> 2. X86 System A lot of the small/mini/micro form-factor systems (even ~five year old used corporate machines) are almost always the (significantly) better option at the price point. I bought a used Dell SFF system a couple of weeks ago for $119 that runs circles around the Pi in every way (16GB RAM, NVMe, real I/O, real USB, PCIe, six core i5, etc) while idling at 9 watts, which makes little difference in operating cost even in locales with the most expensive electricity in the world - especially as the Pi continues to be more power hungry and often requires a fan. The SFF system is even upgradable to 64GB of DDR4 and has a full length x16 PCIe slot and an additional x4 slot. This machine does everything in my house, even functioning as a 2.5gb router which is already something the Raspberry Pi could never do. Add on a dozen docker containers, a VM or two, and the gap only widens. I did upgrade the RAM for $40 but the systems it replaced more than make it come out ahead on power and cost. You can still resell a Pi 4 for ~$70. Perhaps most important - availability. There is no shortage of these systems on eBay and elsewhere (or new), there never has been and there likely never will be. For many years the Raspberry Pi was a good default "go-to" for many applications but x86_64 has come a long way and at this point I struggle to come up with all but a few bespoke use cases for the Raspberry Pi.
- minton 3y ago
  Dell SFF Systems I’ve looked at are huge. They are like 3-4x the size of a Pi 5. Is there a specific model that is more comparable in size to the Pi?
  - sonic45132 3y ago
    Dell calls them micro. Like 5090 micro. HP and Lenovo also have them, calling them mini and tiny respectively. They are about a litre in volume. However they give up the pcie slots for the size.
  - kkielhofner 3y ago
    It's a fair point but I guess I can't wrap my head around it. Within a square foot you get at least 10x the capability and expansion of a Pi.I'm probably limited by my own perspective and bias but I can't understand someone not being able to find a square foot for a device that can replace any number of things, in my case even my router. Inch for inch they can't be matched but I suppose if you really only have a few inches a Pi is your best bet. I'm just glad I'm not in that situation. I did reference the "mini/micro" variants which are significantly smaller - with the sacrifice being loss of PCIe which when it comes to x16 + x4 slots there really isn't any way to get around. Mine can also take two 2.5" SATA drives depending on how you feel about that.
megous 3y ago
4. Educating yourself and not spreading horseshit.
jacquesm 3y ago
For three: look into second hand Chromeboxes.

You have 3 choices: 1. Raspberry Pi 2. X86 System 3. Barely functioning SOCs with no mainline support and major software issues until eternity.

by dtx1 3y ago

You have 3 choices: 1. Raspberry Pi 2. X86 System 3. Barely functioning SOCs with no mainline support and major software issues until eternity.

imtringued 3y ago

Yeah. Just go with x86. If you like adventures go with the Raspberry Pi. If all you need is the cheapest CPU, then enjoy messing around with obsolete kernels I guess.

dividedbyzero 3y ago
I believe the Pi is also pretty much the only sensible choice for GPIO support on Linux.

dividedbyzero 3y ago

There are so many subtly different smallish x86 systems though that finding one that's cheap, power-efficient, fast, extensible, reasonably quiet and well supported on Linux is pretty difficult. At least to me.

dboreham 3y ago
I have a bunch of these systems from the past few years related to my work building self-hosted decentralized systems. Most recent is this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVLS7ZHP https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVLS7ZHP and so far it's working well. I'm running Ubuntu 22 and I have the stock internal SSD plus an externally attached 2T M.2 NVMe drive (via USB3.2 and this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RVC6F9Y https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RVC6F9Y).

glimshe 3y ago

x86 has the best cost/benefit nowadays, especially for server/desktop applications. Just a random example from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/KAMRUI-Computer-Computers-Business-Recreation/dp/B0C6CYZL4J https://www.amazon.com/KAMRUI-Computer-Computers-Business-Re...

kkielhofner 3y ago

> 2. X86 System A lot of the small/mini/micro form-factor systems (even ~five year old used corporate machines) are almost always the (significantly) better option at the price point. I bought a used Dell SFF system a couple of weeks ago for $119 that runs circles around the Pi in every way (16GB RAM, NVMe, real I/O, real USB, PCIe, six core i5, etc) while idling at 9 watts, which makes little difference in operating cost even in locales with the most expensive electricity in the world - especially as the Pi continues to be more power hungry and often requires a fan. The SFF system is even upgradable to 64GB of DDR4 and has a full length x16 PCIe slot and an additional x4 slot. This machine does everything in my house, even functioning as a 2.5gb router which is already something the Raspberry Pi could never do. Add on a dozen docker containers, a VM or two, and the gap only widens. I did upgrade the RAM for $40 but the systems it replaced more than make it come out ahead on power and cost. You can still resell a Pi 4 for ~$70. Perhaps most important - availability. There is no shortage of these systems on eBay and elsewhere (or new), there never has been and there likely never will be. For many years the Raspberry Pi was a good default "go-to" for many applications but x86_64 has come a long way and at this point I struggle to come up with all but a few bespoke use cases for the Raspberry Pi.

minton 3y ago
Dell SFF Systems I’ve looked at are huge. They are like 3-4x the size of a Pi 5. Is there a specific model that is more comparable in size to the Pi?
- sonic45132 3y ago
  Dell calls them micro. Like 5090 micro. HP and Lenovo also have them, calling them mini and tiny respectively. They are about a litre in volume. However they give up the pcie slots for the size.
- kkielhofner 3y ago
  It's a fair point but I guess I can't wrap my head around it. Within a square foot you get at least 10x the capability and expansion of a Pi.I'm probably limited by my own perspective and bias but I can't understand someone not being able to find a square foot for a device that can replace any number of things, in my case even my router. Inch for inch they can't be matched but I suppose if you really only have a few inches a Pi is your best bet. I'm just glad I'm not in that situation. I did reference the "mini/micro" variants which are significantly smaller - with the sacrifice being loss of PCIe which when it comes to x16 + x4 slots there really isn't any way to get around. Mine can also take two 2.5" SATA drives depending on how you feel about that.

megous 3y ago

4. Educating yourself and not spreading horseshit.

jacquesm 3y ago

For three: look into second hand Chromeboxes.