Read the statement by Michael Teeuw here.
stronger Raspberry Pi 3 Alternatives
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@Damian I don’t think it really matters. I just prefer Linux … Just easier for me.
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@cowboysdude said in stronger Raspberry Pi 3 Alternatives:
@Damian I don’t think it really matters. I just prefer Linux … Just easier for me.
Thank you. Really looking forward to seeing the difference in power with MM.
fyi… I was going to build an itx like you mentioned in here, but seen a mint condition Lenovo Q180 going for a song on ebay, so bought it, and it is perfect for my next MM. 2.13 GHz 4GB ram 500GB HDD.
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Makes a HUGE difference :) You’ll love it.
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Here is another option:
ASRock N3150DC-ITX Mini-ITX Motherboard - if you can find one.
SoC – Intel Celeron N3150 quad core processor @ up to 2.08 GHz with Intel HD Graphics Gen8 @ up to 640 MHz – 6W TDP
There are some other Celeron SoC boards that take 19v DC power. The Asus Q1900DC-ITX uses the J1900.
Look for “Thin Mini-ITX” normally that means the DC in.
-Earle
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@cowboysdude How is the miniATX for heat generation and dissipation when your mirror is hanging up against the wall? Do you need to use a fan on the cpu or gpu? My Pi3 already runs in the high 60’s Celcius without a fan (I’m not using face recognition, or this would likely be much worse)… I’d be concerned that the extra power and limited airflow would generate a significant amount of heat, and adding a fan would result in an annoying whirring sound – ideally I’d want the mirror to operate silently.
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@j.e.f.f right now I don’t have it all together so I can’t really answer that question. BUT it has crossed my mind… so I’m going to run a fan off of the motherboard and run it to the top of the ‘frame’ to get rid of the heat. If you buy a high quality fan the noise shouldn’t be a problem…
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@cowboysdude When you have it all put together, let us know what the noise from the fan is like.
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@j.e.f.f Will do!
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@j.e.f.f said in stronger Raspberry Pi 3 Alternatives:
let us know what the noise from the fan is like.
My experience with the fan.
My thoughts about using a fan:
In my case, if there is any form of ambient sound in the room, I don’t hear the fan at all. If the window is open, if the tv or radio is on, anything at all then I can’t hear the fan. I listened for it when I first installed it.
When do I hear it? At night, when the windows are closed, tv is off, and the house is absolutely silent. The mirror is not in my bedroom, although that wouldn’t matter. My wife’s snoring can mask the sound of a 747 on liftoff.
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Well here’s step 1 for my big mirror… I wanted something stronger then a PI so here is my mini-itx in its new home… Cooling is NOT an issue… it’s about 13" square and about 3 inches tall :) Easy to put out of the way … NOW to build a frame for the ‘display’… Coming soon!

HERE is how it all stays cool…this fan is totally SILENT… LOVE IT!
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835220067 -
@cowboysdude said in stronger Raspberry Pi 3 Alternatives:
Easy to put out of the way … NOW to build a frame for the ‘display’
Great idea! Now hurry the hell up with the frame! :^)
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@Mykle1 I’m working on it
COMING SOON -
@cowboysdude is the idea that the mini atx sits beside the mirror as opposed to being built? Say on a console table with just an HDMI cable running to the screen?
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@j.e.f.f No it will be underneath as I’m building into a type of desk/cabinet
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All, I have got the Libre Computer now. Trying my best to get the mirror up. Ran in to a small hitch. There is no chromedriver for arm64 yet. They are working on it and there is a PR but it has not yet gone completely through it seems. I’ll see if I can figure it out some how anyway. :)
I’ll come back to this thread as soon as I gotten MM up and running.
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@Snille
I’ve gotten it working a Pine Rock64 (arm64 also).Downloaded electron-v1.7.5-linux-arm64.zip listed under electron’s PR
One thing to note: when downloading from the link, the site’s cert has expired.
From terminal:
// Since the cert for the site has expired (but is safe) wget --no-check-certificate https://www.hamidx9.ir/dl/electron_arm64/electron-v1.7.5-linux-arm64.zip // Important make sure to unzip to your electron path unzip electron-v1.7.5-linux-arm64.zip ~/MagicMirror/node_modules/electron/dist/Once done just started as usual (npm start).
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@stacywebb Thank you! I’ll try it out as soon as I got some time. Have you compared with a Pi3?
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I haven’t done any benchmarking as of yet. Once I do, I’ll post the results.
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@stacywebb said in stronger Raspberry Pi 3 Alternatives:
I haven’t done any benchmarking as of yet. Once I do, I’ll post the results.
If you could do some comparisons using nmon between a Pi3 and the Rock64 I’d really be interested in the results, as they pertain to this topic.
https://forum.magicmirror.builders/topic/4684/electron-cpu-usageOtherwise, I’m looking forward to your results on the Rock64.
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https://youtu.be/FjbzKfeHB_8?t=8m10s
As i understood, u were able to use GPIO commands the same way u do on a raspberry. Seems to be a nice option
Benchmarks at 08:10
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