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General discussionAdvice for small PC(46 posts)(46 posts)
(46 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted November 18, 2016
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clarry: I prefer to keep my servers running 24/7, and if I have to shutdown, I usually have a bunch of stuff running on it that I want to close & save before I do. So over ssh, yes. But if I know I have no unsaved stuff, I could just press the power button.
For me the use for that gogrepo/p2p small PC would be only occasional (e.g. I may run gogrepo maybe 1-2 times a month to keep my local GOG collection up to date, and some p2p client then if a need rises (normally not)), so for me it wouldn't make sense to keep them powered up all the time, even if they used low power.
Post edited November 18, 2016 by timppu
Posted November 18, 2016
Hey OP, whether you go for a mini PC or a laptop 4GB ram is a must. Websites are ridiculously demanding these days.
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timppu: snip
My first thought was a KVM switch but I can't tell you if there are any compatible with the pi or not. Might be worth a look though.
Post edited November 18, 2016 by ashwald
Posted November 18, 2016
yes 4 gig ram windows 10 = 2 gig ram anything else so don't go under 4
Posted November 18, 2016
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timppu: - Some sort of keyboard and mouse.

- USB hard drive, possibly even two. If only one, then it has to support bigger HDDs, e.g. 4 terabytes.
Well, the minimum Pi has like 1-2 USB slots, but that's why i suggested a powered USB hub, since you can then attach like 8 using one of the USB ports, then use one of the ports for power on the Pi (sorta circular redundant :P)

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snowkatt: though personally i would also go for a laptop for that money easier more streamlined self contained
decent screen and better specs
While that sounds good, if you have any issues it affects the entire system. A pi is better more if you happen to already have the hardware. So if you have a spare monitor/TV and keyboard/mouse, then you don't need a fully integrated system.

Although if you wanted to use it on the go, well that's another story.

Personally i'm a little OCD about wanting to be efficient, either with code, or energy, or compression, etc. That means i'd be far more inclined to play music from my Pi rather than having my big gaming rig running just to play music in the background. This seems to give me issues though.

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mechmouse: Once set up you don't need a monitor, just connect to it via a SSH shell.
Well then there's always that...

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ussnorway: hey start at $200 Aud refub
Actually that reminds me. There's a computer shop i walk by sometimes and they have $50 rebuilt slightly older computers that they call Ubuntu systems (naturally because they put Ubuntu on it), 4Gig, 32/64 bit systems, and probably 300Gb.

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ashwald: Hey OP, whether you go for a mini PC or a laptop 4GB ram is a must. Websites are ridiculously demanding these days.
Hence i enjoy using older browsers and turning off most of the scripting nowadays, since when Firefox pushes 2Gigs it starts getting sluggish, but that's with FF v15 and with like 40 tabs open...

Although if someone ported the zRam driver we might do slightly better...
Posted November 19, 2016
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SweatyGremlins: little PCs?
Just get a smart phone...


(scnr).
Posted November 19, 2016
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toxicTom: Just get a smart phone...

(scnr).
Because not having a mouse or keyboard improves the experience?

Or having a tiny screen (although some of the larger ones are almost tablets now... so might as well say get a tablet...)
Posted November 19, 2016
lets not lose sight of what the OP actually wants people
he wants something
cheap
simple
and easy to use
and while the pi is cheap its not easy to use
nor is everybody technically minded or do they want to tinker with their hardware sometimes they just want something that just works
Posted November 19, 2016
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snowkatt: lets not lose sight of what the OP actually wants people
he wants something
cheap
simple
and easy to use
and while the pi is cheap its not easy to use
nor is everybody technically minded or do they want to tinker with their hardware sometimes they just want something that just works
Hmmm once you get the SD card prepared it's fairly easy to use, hooking it up isn't much more of a chore than a normal PC. I mean it will be slower since it's locked at 800Mhz - 1.2Ghz, and it's cheap. If you have no experience with Linux based systems then it could take a little while to get used to...

Actually at places you get the Pi you can buy a SD card for $10 that's pre-loaded with an OS so that takes most of the work away.

Personally I still recommend the Pi for simple tasks, and basic browsing/email/simple things. More complex or you wanted to play games on it, then better not do the Pi. It's a fun little system, but it's limited video (composite or HDMI) is a slight annoyance, has no internal clock or battery, and otherwise is fairly simple.

Ultimately it's what he is comfortable with, and if he's willing to spend a little time asking questions to get around the OS should he actually need to (the Window managers anymore are really decent so you almost never have to go to the commandline).
Posted November 19, 2016
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toxicTom: Just get a smart phone...

(scnr).
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rtcvb32: Or having a tiny screen (although some of the larger ones are almost tablets now... so might as well say get a tablet...)
For what it's worth, screen mirroring on the phone gives you a honking big screen if the screen itself supports it. But yeah, not ideal for heavy use. Pretty cool for checking out your photo gallery, tho, and maybe for mobile games.
Posted November 19, 2016
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HereForTheBeer: For what it's worth, screen mirroring on the phone gives you a honking big screen if the screen itself supports it. But yeah, not ideal for heavy use. Pretty cool for checking out your photo gallery, tho, and maybe for mobile games.
Also if you pre-generate the images from PDF files for books, it actually is really decent for Ebook reading... Course I'm talking for like Pathfinder and those with HUGE PDF files that take time to generate, while real ebooks are pure text, which is fine too.

Alternatively I've put mine with music on and let the screen turn off, headphones and it's basically a Walkman.

Truthfully, phones and tablets are horrible for anything actually complex.
Posted November 19, 2016
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snowkatt: lets not lose sight of what the OP actually wants people
he wants something
cheap
simple
and easy to use
and while the pi is cheap its not easy to use
nor is everybody technically minded or do they want to tinker with their hardware sometimes they just want something that just works
What tinkering? and what's your definition of "just works"? seriously; if you can keep a Windows machine running for three months without malware, you can use a Raspberry Pi--and the hardest part is the *software* (yes, the one that comes preinstalled on the $10 SD card), since the hardware itself is more like putting together a couple Lego blocks.

You sure you aren't confusing the RPi with Arduino boards? many "non-techies" get the two mixed up, but they're as different to each other as a smartphone and the LED panel of a microwave.
Posted November 19, 2016
For a good cheap pc, check newegg. They have specials all the time. One recently was an i5 with 16gb of ram and 2gb of hd space for around 250. Microsoft refurbished I believe. But thats alot of power and space for that kind of money. With a good gpu in it, its basically a gaming rig.

I want to stress here. That I build pcs. And any premade pc is a bad idea. Be it dell, alienware ect. Just dont do it. The only one that is good imo is Origin pcs, which are insane power, and insane prices. But NOBODY else makes an actually GOOD gaming laptop. They will have i7 6700hq at 2.6ghz, while origin packs desktop components into a laptop for actual gaming.

But newegg does have some fantastic deals on pcs from asus, microsoft ect on and off. Its november so black friday stuff is insane. They have an LG 23inch 1080p 5ms GTG monitor for 99. Cant be beat.
Post edited November 19, 2016 by Magic_Of_Light
Posted November 19, 2016
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Draek: You sure you aren't confusing the RPi with Arduino boards? many "non-techies" get the two mixed up, but they're as different to each other as a smartphone and the LED panel of a microwave.
He could be, the Arduino looks more complicated. While the Pi does have a couple expansion slots, it more or less is ready to run once you stick the SD card in and power it up. You could tinker with the pi, or not, which is one reason I fell in love with it when I first saw it (Much like DLang).

Although for the Pi, I'd recommend you get a $7 enclosure (made for the PI and it's A&B models) and which protects the board, making it safe to stick in your pocket and take it on the go.
Posted November 19, 2016
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rtcvb32: ...
I checked some RasPi prices here in Finland, and they are a bit more expensive than I thought (and got the impression from this discussion).

https://vadelmapii.com/

A RasPi 3 starter's kit costs 80€, and on top of that I'd want at least an enclosure (+19€), probably some kind of monitor, keyboard and a mouse (I guess I could use my HDTV as a "monitor" with HDMI)...

It all adds up, going above 100€ and towards 200€, and I am starting to think I'd rather buy some cheapo, maybe even used/refurbished laptop for such simple tasks. I already have such old Linux laptop, but since its internal 2.5" PATA HDD got broken, I've had to boot it from an external USB hard drive, which may be flaky sometimes (sometimes it may have lost connection to that external USB hard drive, which is of course quite bad when the OS itself is running from that external HDD...).
Post edited November 19, 2016 by timppu
Posted November 19, 2016
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timppu: A RasPi 3 starter's kit costs 80€, and on top of that I'd want at least an enclosure (+19€), probably some kind of monitor, keyboard and a mouse (I guess I could use my HDTV as a "monitor" with HDMI)...
Hmmm... The starter kit includes:
* Raspberry Pi 3 Model B - Tietokone
* 8GB Noobs-muistikortti käyttöjärjestelmällä
* HDMI-kaapeli 1m
* Micro USB-laturi 2.1A 5V
Pi, SD card, 1 Meter HDMI cable, and a micro USB adapter for power. If you have a micro USB, and a HDMI cable, then you probably don't need to order the starter kit, and the 8Gb SD card is sorta up to you.

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timppu: It all adds up, going above 100€ and towards 200€, and I am starting to think I'd rather buy some cheapo, maybe even used/refurbished laptop for such simple tasks.
At that point you may as well. If you have all the components already except the Pi & Enclosure, then it'd say go for those instead; Although the price between the minimum Pi and the basic is only 14€, so that's sorta up to you. (75-99€)


You can do without an enclosure, but having an exposed board and stuff doesn't suit right with me. Then again you could slap it in a cardboard box and cut a few holes in it and leave it out of the way (or make one out of spare wood, and secure it down). There's no power button so best if you have it all plugged into a power switch.

But if a laptop would just do you better, then go for the laptop. I love the idea, cheapness and compactness of the Pi, but I know it's not the solution for everything.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionAdvice for small PC(46 posts)(46 posts)
(46 posts)