4 ms·

> Once an 8GB pi cost more than an i3 or i5 mini pc But the Pi probably costs less once you factor in energy costs, no?

duffyjp 3y ago
I tried measuring the wattage of my Pi Zero W when I got it but my Kill-A-Watt just registered 0 even when running stress -c 1. ;)
- dgacmu 3y ago
  You can measure it with an inline USB power meter. They generally run between half a watt idle and 2 watts depending on what you're doing (using a camera, Wi-Fi, and keeping the CPU busy) and if you've shut down things like the video output and LEDs to try to save power.
yjftsjthsd-h 3y ago
Depends on workload and the machine; some x86 machines are sufficiently low power that pis lose their advantage.
doublepg23 3y ago
X86 machines have had perfectly fine idle wattages for ages now. I’m not sure why people think an x86 machine is sucking 50W at all times or something.
- accrual 3y ago
  Anecdata: I have a netbook from around 2009 with an Atom processor. Default clock is 1.6 GHz but I ran it at 800 MHz. With an SSD inside, it sips power and ran 24/7 basic web services for years.
  - cptcobalt 3y ago
    no actual data here: no power (Watts) provided for the netbook to enable a fair comparison. It's great that it did not become ewaste, and a computer you have is better than one you don't have, but people likely shouldn't pick up old netbooks over something like a pi.
    - accrual 3y ago
      I agree. The machine is remote so I don't have it on hand, but I believe the stock AC adapter is rated for 40 watts according to a search online. However, I haven't recently plugged it into my Kill-A-Watt to see the actual draw, especially since I run it at half frequency. I'll bring it with me next time I'm out there for an upgrade to see what it actually pulls. :)
- piyh 3y ago
  It's because ATX PSU desktops have high idle whereas a laptop, embedded device, or ATX12VO doesn't. People mean different power delivery methods and bundle it all up under x86 vs ARM
esskay 3y ago
A lot of it depends on what you use it for, in my usecase I've kept the two Pi's I mentioned as they sip a tiny amount of power. The Lenovo Thinkcentre I've got sits idle at around 7w but it's running a fair few service I use for dev work throughout the day, and the Pi would struggle to cope. If you used one for something equivilent to a pihole then I think yes it would cost more over time, although we're likely talking many years of 24/7 runtime for it to then become more expensive, the low power x86 chips are a lot more efficient than they used to be.

I tried measuring the wattage of my Pi Zero W when I got it but my Kill-A-Watt just registered 0 even when running stress -c 1. ;)

dgacmu 3y ago
You can measure it with an inline USB power meter. They generally run between half a watt idle and 2 watts depending on what you're doing (using a camera, Wi-Fi, and keeping the CPU busy) and if you've shut down things like the video output and LEDs to try to save power.

yjftsjthsd-h 3y ago

Depends on workload and the machine; some x86 machines are sufficiently low power that pis lose their advantage.

doublepg23 3y ago

X86 machines have had perfectly fine idle wattages for ages now. I’m not sure why people think an x86 machine is sucking 50W at all times or something.

accrual 3y ago
Anecdata: I have a netbook from around 2009 with an Atom processor. Default clock is 1.6 GHz but I ran it at 800 MHz. With an SSD inside, it sips power and ran 24/7 basic web services for years.
- cptcobalt 3y ago
  no actual data here: no power (Watts) provided for the netbook to enable a fair comparison. It's great that it did not become ewaste, and a computer you have is better than one you don't have, but people likely shouldn't pick up old netbooks over something like a pi.
  - accrual 3y ago
    I agree. The machine is remote so I don't have it on hand, but I believe the stock AC adapter is rated for 40 watts according to a search online. However, I haven't recently plugged it into my Kill-A-Watt to see the actual draw, especially since I run it at half frequency. I'll bring it with me next time I'm out there for an upgrade to see what it actually pulls. :)
piyh 3y ago
It's because ATX PSU desktops have high idle whereas a laptop, embedded device, or ATX12VO doesn't. People mean different power delivery methods and bundle it all up under x86 vs ARM

esskay 3y ago

A lot of it depends on what you use it for, in my usecase I've kept the two Pi's I mentioned as they sip a tiny amount of power. The Lenovo Thinkcentre I've got sits idle at around 7w but it's running a fair few service I use for dev work throughout the day, and the Pi would struggle to cope. If you used one for something equivilent to a pihole then I think yes it would cost more over time, although we're likely talking many years of 24/7 runtime for it to then become more expensive, the low power x86 chips are a lot more efficient than they used to be.