Read the statement by Michael Teeuw here.
SBC boards that work well besides Raspberry pi 3, 4 or 5
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I am looking for a SBC that is more affordable than the Raspberry Pi’s are right now. Was looking at the Orange Pi but they are not much cheaper.
Slow learner. But trying anyways.
MM is on Raspberry Pi 4B w/8gb ram loaded on a 128gb nvme drive.
Running Trixie and the latest MM version. -
@plainbroke the mini pcs seem to be better if you don’t need gpio support
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@plainbroke I’ve been using this make and model SBC for a few years now:
Le Potato AML-S905X-CC
Add the heat sink made for it. It might also need a little muffin fan, depending on the type of modules you’ll be running and how hard the CPU will be working. But that can be added later if you find it’s needed.
I think a few of the GPIO pins are in a little different order than the Raspberry Pi’s, but the rest of the board seems to match the footprint of the Raspberry Pi. I’m running Armbian Linux that I downloaded from the Libre website.
I started using this model during the pandemic when the R-Pi was not readily available and expensive when you could find one.
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@thartley I have an Odroid xu4 and a Jetson nano. But they are older now, new ones are more expensive
I also have a few chrome boxes, that can run some Linux, and MagicMirror too. But they are short on disk space so have to be careful what you install, but they have 4k hdmi.
You can also run Ubuntu on old Intel Mac minis. Not a powerhouse, no gpio, but run MagicMirror just fine
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@plainbroke search mini pc
Here is a product on Amazon
https://a.co/d/8GDWFsX -
@sdetweil
Ah, I actully have one of those, I was given.
Supposedly didn’t work just had a failed ssd in it.
replaced that and loaded win 11, works fine.
Maybe I should set it up to run some form of linux.
I think I will, thanks for the Idea… -
@plainbroke then backup your MagicMirror config w my scripts,
Install MagicMirror the restore w my scripts. Easy move -
@plainbroke I have been looking into expanding my horizons but I have a question that have not really seen discussed.
When I think PC, I think machine that you (the owner) is going to do multiple tasks with whether that is play high end games on at one end of the spectrum and a cheap laptop you can take traveling, check email, do some powerpoints on and do business related word processing stuff which is kind of where Windows roots lie.Flip side is Pi’s and Pi-like devices that in my case is running things like Pi-hole, MM, Raspberry Shake (earthquake detection, GPIO stuff but all are 1 SBC doing one thing.
Do people do multi-tasking on SBC’s in general? Since this question is about Home Assistant, are people using Mini-PC’s and running HA and browing the internet, email, and light duty stuff that one would do on a middle of the road PC or laptop
Why should I by a Nuc instead of a base model Pi5 or other Linux based SBC to Run HA.I’ve been eyeballing a LattePanda IOTA but I also already have a PC that doesn’t complain when I run Fusion or GIMP.
I have priced some of these mini-PC’s and they can get quite pricey -
@ankonaskiff17 you are doing multi tasking anytime you run more than one thing. Doesn’t have to be user input kind of thing(web browsing)
pi w MagicMirror and something else is the same as mini
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@ankonaskiff17
I too am a single use per Pi person. 1 runs MM but with pages and 48 modules running on it. Pi4 8gb. 1 that is the homes DHCP server Pi4 2gb then I have one that is my DNS in house server Pi4 4gb 1 pizero running a backup dns the DHCP, DNS are all 3 on battery backup… I have a Pi3 that runs a photo show program that runs my pictures of My sons family I need to load a bunch new pictures. I also have a dedicated to my DEX Calendar LePotato. it is too slow for most anything else.
All serve their purpose very well. The Pi5 4gb to 16gb version to me is a slower PC than I use personally. But they are more than capable to run pretty much all the software you referenced… Would be cheaper than a mini / NUC.The mini aka fan less PC was a freebie. So I fixed it and run windows 11 on it but hardly ever actually use it. My laptop is my primary pc for use.
My Older windows 10 PC runs a LOT of my home related programs like cameras and laser engraver. It is my link to my 2 tb shared drive…I am an amateur at networking but I have a lot of fun playing with it all.
@sdetweil
Have you played with Zorin-OS-18 yet? That is what I have been thinking of loading on the mini PC. -
@plainbroke I have not the latest Zorin. But tried the prior releases in a vm.
Different ui, but same oh otherwise
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@sdetweil
Just played with Zorin, It is faster by far than windows 11.
I think in time I could make it a daily useful OS.
We will see in time.
Caved, and bought a Pi4 4gb to play with these different modules… -
I feel like I am a fairly non-standard person when it comes to SBCs/mini PCs/cheap platforms, but I have run MM on a variety of hardware without issues (other than common things like issues with SD cards, OSes, etc).
It might also be useful to ask the inverse question: has anyone run across any SBCs that do NOT work with MM? For example, I believe that it will not run on the original Pi, and I think it takes heroic efforts to run MM on the Pi Zero I cannot recall if I ever tried to run MM on my Pi 2. Apart from those, I am not aware of any specific SBCs it will not run on.
I have to say, a traditional Pi 3/4/5 is a good choice for power-limited or space-limited installs. For me, I often get cheap or free old laptops with broken screens, decade-old mini PCs, etc. I take an old laptop, plug it into an old monitor, and set it on a shelf (with the laptop attached to the back of the monitor). A bit of trim around the monitor to make it look a little like a picture frame, and it passes muster. Or, an old thin client that cannot run modern windows can often be found with a behind-monitor mount (like they have at banks and such).
Still, it would be good to have people mention if they have had success with alternatives. Knowing that the LePotato, 35% cheaper than a Pi 4, works is great for example. If I ever wanted to build an MM for a family member, buying a new SBC would probably be a safer choice than what I do for my own stuff…
(I enjoy the beautiful pictures of people who get 50-inch televisions and wood frames with proper 1-way mirror glass, but my projects tend to have a budget of “how many coins did I find in the couch?”)
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@joey
Had not thought about using laptop with dead screen to run MM or other OS on.
I have one I could work with, to try out different OS’s. -
I read these replies a while back and I want to re-ask the question but with more detailed specs. I looked at @sdetweil comments about mini-PC’s and while Amazon is not necessarily reflective of what is out in the market, the mini-PC’s advertised on Amazon using the search term mini-PC are pretty pricy.
I don’t know enough about Linux to know whether this business with Wayland was or is a Raspberry Pi thing or a Linux thing but it did make me wonder whether using just Pi OS AND Pi SBC’s can be a trap.I can buy Pi 4’s that will run MM all day long for around $50.00 or thereabouts but are there other brand SBC’s out there that will run MM or can install a desktop environment OS.
MM’s make popular gifts that can be tailored to a specific user.
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@plainbroke – Just out of curiosity, what picture display program do you use?
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