That raspberry pi is one of the first generation ones, no wonder it feel under powered ! Seriously, i recommend trying a raspberry pi 4 (or 5 if you can tolerate the wait) because they are an order of magnitude better than the old one you have. However, like you, i don't think the optimal use case for a brand new raspberry pi is as a media center. I use mine for electronics projects, or just spinning up a quick linux install for trying out things. Any "full" sized computer will always outperform a pi as a media center, because for that use, size and GPIO pins don't matter as much as IO, ram and graphics performance. Have a good one !
Yea, that's a fair point. And the pricing he quotes sounds like pricing during the shortage (though Pi 4 and 5s with more RAM are getting up there in price). Still, prices of Pis are creeping up into the same price range as these mini PCs or a NUC mainboard. And unless I need the camera, have a strict pace constraint, or a strict power constraint, the Pi is no longer my first choice in large part due to the availability issues. And the ARM SBC ecosystem is just too fragmented, proprietary, and out of date to make it worth trying to find an alternative there. I wasted a bunch of time at the height of the shortage wading through that mess. Mini PCs were how I got things done during the shortage and right now, I don't see a compelling reason to change that. Perhaps if the Raspberry Pi Foundation can reliably meet the demand for their boards and find a way to make the price more attractive, my attitude will change.
If you're like me and living in the EU where you pay roughly 60ish euro cents per KWh - go for a N100-equipped mini PC as the "main" server (as in: the one that is ALWAYS on) - it draws 6 freaking watts, has 16 gigs of DDR5 and costs under 200... Litterally refunds itself through power bills.
@@superpou184 I love my pis, got 5 running all around the network, a few remote-tunneled here and there to help out friends and family. They are fantastic machines. But if you are looking for an actual low power server that can virtualize using proxmox LXCs and VMs and do many more things than a pi (transcoding being a biggie) - both because of brawl and architecture... Then you cannot go wrong with a N100-based machine. I mean my lil machine is running roughly 10 LXCs, 2 VMs (one being home assistant with ZigBee) and I'm barely making a dent in average CPU loads. Ever updated cord modules on a home assistant OS Pi4 ? Takes ages compared to what a simple VM can do on a N100 For context I was an early adopter of Arduino, I pushed them to their very limits as microcontrollers, heck my first domotic project was using radios and a genuine uno in a 3d printed case, it had a screen, menus,options and so on and so forth - I remember coding that thing for weeks fighting the memory limit, then as my thirst for more grew I moved to the pi, then I replaced my Arduinos with wifi enabled esp32s and ditched C for python for simple devices, then I converted an old laptop to proxmox... And so on and so forth - as I keep learning (and dear God there's so much to learn and so many ways to have things blow right into your face) I began to understand that there's no perfect machine. You simply use the right tools for the job - and if you want a proxmox server for whatever reason, be it hosting a Minecraft server for your friend's kids or building a full arr stack for the hell of it (not that I condone it), a Shinobi backup instance for your boss that is under fire for being too competent or rolling out LXCs/VMs bound to a subdomain for your geeky friends in need of a free VM or LXC that they can use at their leisure... Well ... Proxmox it is. It becomes one of the main pillars around which your other project depend. Heck, that old gaming laptop is still running, it runs windows 10 on the side with full GPU passthrough for my ex that is a full android user but sometimes needs a pc. She remotes in using parsec and gets whatever she needs to get done. Want to borrow my steam library titles?, just connect. Is it perfect? Nopitynopenopenope. But a 6watts 4TB (2T nvme SSD 2T SATA SSD) full solid state machine that keeps on impressing the hell out of you ... For that "cheap"? Using as much power as a pi? I mean the freaking thing is also my 3rd subnet's router. So no, I'd never disrespect a pi. I love all my pis. From the zero W to the 3A+s to the 4s ... But economically wise, if you are the kind of person that wants to do "all the things" without having to pay for an expensive licence - proxmox. I wish you all the best in your geeky journey. And I hope that you'll someday give these kinds of projects a try, because if you love pis and docker you're bound to love proxmox, VMs and LXCs :)
Hey, I'm glad UA-cam recommended your channel! Looks like you're doing some great things, so I look forward to seeing where it goes. I'd agree with everyone else though: A 2012 Raspberry Pi B vs a 2015 mini PC isn't a fair comparison. We SHOULD expect a 3+GHz quad-core CPU to far out perform the 800MHz single-core CPU on the Pi. The Pi 5 - if you can find them - is a much better comparison with a 2.4GHz quad-core processor. Even though the Pi 5 is closer, you still need to consider your use case along with other factors. If space is an issue, the Pi is better. If you want to run multiple VMs, the mini-PC is better. But lets look power cost too... Assuming the US national average of $0.12 per kWh, the HP G2 will cost between $6 and $30/yr to run 24/7. The Pi5 will cost between $1 and $6. Not that either is much, but definitely something to consider for something you don't plan to shutdown. Overall, I think your idea is pretty sound, just needs to be updated a bit. I also recycle old PCs for my "home lab". My NAS is a 15ish year old PC. Router and Docker servers are SFF PCs with 2nd gen i5's that I got for about $30 each. And a couple "newer" (6th/7th gen) PCs for other uses. However, Octoprint is running on a Pi4. Fits the task extremely well! Small and out of the way. Keep up the great videos!
That is positively ancient. I started using orangepi when the shortage hit. I've got an orangepi nano that is running my 3d printers. That mini PC isnt exactly up to date either. You can get much more power in that price range since you complain about power.
the highest ive seen for a model 4 was 75 before tax well in usd as i dont know wher you are locared but there was a time ive considered geting one of those hp elite desks myself
Thanks, I will make some more videos on these. I used Brasero on my linux system to rip the dvd games to iso files. I iwill do video on that too. I use a command line tool to rip the cdrom games to .bin .cue files.
That raspberry pi is one of the first generation ones, no wonder it feel under powered !
Seriously, i recommend trying a raspberry pi 4 (or 5 if you can tolerate the wait) because they are an order of magnitude better than the old one you have.
However, like you, i don't think the optimal use case for a brand new raspberry pi is as a media center. I use mine for electronics projects, or just spinning up a quick linux install for trying out things. Any "full" sized computer will always outperform a pi as a media center, because for that use, size and GPIO pins don't matter as much as IO, ram and graphics performance.
Have a good one !
Yea, that's a fair point. And the pricing he quotes sounds like pricing during the shortage (though Pi 4 and 5s with more RAM are getting up there in price). Still, prices of Pis are creeping up into the same price range as these mini PCs or a NUC mainboard. And unless I need the camera, have a strict pace constraint, or a strict power constraint, the Pi is no longer my first choice in large part due to the availability issues.
And the ARM SBC ecosystem is just too fragmented, proprietary, and out of date to make it worth trying to find an alternative there. I wasted a bunch of time at the height of the shortage wading through that mess.
Mini PCs were how I got things done during the shortage and right now, I don't see a compelling reason to change that. Perhaps if the Raspberry Pi Foundation can reliably meet the demand for their boards and find a way to make the price more attractive, my attitude will change.
If you're like me and living in the EU where you pay roughly 60ish euro cents per KWh - go for a N100-equipped mini PC as the "main" server (as in: the one that is ALWAYS on) - it draws 6 freaking watts, has 16 gigs of DDR5 and costs under 200... Litterally refunds itself through power bills.
the raspberry pi 5 draws 4W on idle too.
@@superpou184 I love my pis, got 5 running all around the network, a few remote-tunneled here and there to help out friends and family. They are fantastic machines.
But if you are looking for an actual low power server that can virtualize using proxmox LXCs and VMs and do many more things than a pi (transcoding being a biggie) - both because of brawl and architecture... Then you cannot go wrong with a N100-based machine. I mean my lil machine is running roughly 10 LXCs, 2 VMs (one being home assistant with ZigBee) and I'm barely making a dent in average CPU loads. Ever updated cord modules on a home assistant OS Pi4 ? Takes ages compared to what a simple VM can do on a N100
For context I was an early adopter of Arduino, I pushed them to their very limits as microcontrollers, heck my first domotic project was using radios and a genuine uno in a 3d printed case, it had a screen, menus,options and so on and so forth - I remember coding that thing for weeks fighting the memory limit, then as my thirst for more grew I moved to the pi, then I replaced my Arduinos with wifi enabled esp32s and ditched C for python for simple devices, then I converted an old laptop to proxmox... And so on and so forth - as I keep learning (and dear God there's so much to learn and so many ways to have things blow right into your face) I began to understand that there's no perfect machine.
You simply use the right tools for the job - and if you want a proxmox server for whatever reason, be it hosting a Minecraft server for your friend's kids or building a full arr stack for the hell of it (not that I condone it), a Shinobi backup instance for your boss that is under fire for being too competent or rolling out LXCs/VMs bound to a subdomain for your geeky friends in need of a free VM or LXC that they can use at their leisure... Well ... Proxmox it is. It becomes one of the main pillars around which your other project depend. Heck, that old gaming laptop is still running, it runs windows 10 on the side with full GPU passthrough for my ex that is a full android user but sometimes needs a pc. She remotes in using parsec and gets whatever she needs to get done. Want to borrow my steam library titles?, just connect.
Is it perfect? Nopitynopenopenope. But a 6watts 4TB (2T nvme SSD 2T SATA SSD) full solid state machine that keeps on impressing the hell out of you ... For that "cheap"? Using as much power as a pi? I mean the freaking thing is also my 3rd subnet's router.
So no, I'd never disrespect a pi. I love all my pis. From the zero W to the 3A+s to the 4s ... But economically wise, if you are the kind of person that wants to do "all the things" without having to pay for an expensive licence - proxmox.
I wish you all the best in your geeky journey. And I hope that you'll someday give these kinds of projects a try, because if you love pis and docker you're bound to love proxmox, VMs and LXCs :)
Hey, I'm glad UA-cam recommended your channel! Looks like you're doing some great things, so I look forward to seeing where it goes.
I'd agree with everyone else though: A 2012 Raspberry Pi B vs a 2015 mini PC isn't a fair comparison. We SHOULD expect a 3+GHz quad-core CPU to far out perform the 800MHz single-core CPU on the Pi. The Pi 5 - if you can find them - is a much better comparison with a 2.4GHz quad-core processor.
Even though the Pi 5 is closer, you still need to consider your use case along with other factors. If space is an issue, the Pi is better. If you want to run multiple VMs, the mini-PC is better.
But lets look power cost too... Assuming the US national average of $0.12 per kWh, the HP G2 will cost between $6 and $30/yr to run 24/7. The Pi5 will cost between $1 and $6. Not that either is much, but definitely something to consider for something you don't plan to shutdown.
Overall, I think your idea is pretty sound, just needs to be updated a bit. I also recycle old PCs for my "home lab". My NAS is a 15ish year old PC. Router and Docker servers are SFF PCs with 2nd gen i5's that I got for about $30 each. And a couple "newer" (6th/7th gen) PCs for other uses. However, Octoprint is running on a Pi4. Fits the task extremely well! Small and out of the way.
Keep up the great videos!
That is positively ancient. I started using orangepi when the shortage hit. I've got an orangepi nano that is running my 3d printers.
That mini PC isnt exactly up to date either.
You can get much more power in that price range since you complain about power.
the highest ive seen for a model 4 was 75 before tax well in usd as i dont know wher you are locared but there was a time ive considered geting one of those hp elite desks myself
Better buy a mic instead of these
Look forward to more videos on these pcs.
What did you use to rip the PS2 games?
Thanks, I will make some more videos on these. I used
Brasero on my linux system to rip the dvd games to iso files. I iwill do video on that too. I use a command line tool to rip the cdrom games to .bin .cue files.
you dont have io control on the pi. even the raspi model B can do things a PC cant. buying a raspi for running linux or a emulator is stupid.