RPi will still have lower power consumption and is far more compact. And mechanically reliable.

I'm in the market to replace my aging Intel NUCs, but RPi is still cheaper.

nl 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I got a fanless Celeron N4020 4GB RAM 64G Storage new on Amazon for under $150 in Jan 2025, and it has been running home assistant ever since.

I don't think I could a RPi as cheaply once parts and power supply etc are taken into account.

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overfeed 2 hours ago | parent [-]

> I don't think I could a RPi as cheaply once parts and power supply etc are taken into account

The RPi Zero 2W costs $15 and runs HA just fine. One can splurge on a pricey case, microSD, and high-amp GAN charger, and still be under 50% of your spend. You don't have to buy the flagship RPi.

	▲	Dr4kn 4 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		500MB is just not enough RAM for a good HA experience. I would go with at least 2GB. If you have a few add-ons running I would go with 4 or more. If it's an option I would always go with an SSD for HA. It makes a big difference in usability. Writing often and a lot to SD cards, like HA does, kills them way too fast

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joe_mamba 8 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> And mechanically reliable.

What moving parts do competitors have to be less mechanically reliable?

In fact, a NUC or used laptop would be even more reliable since you can replace NVME storage and RAM sticks. If your RPI ram goes bad you're shit out of luck.

>RPi will still have lower power consumption and is far more compact.

Not that big of on an issue in most home user cases as a home server, emulator or PC replacement. For industrial users where space, power usage and heat is limited, definitely.

>I'm in the market to replace my aging Intel NUCs, but RPi is still cheaper.

Cheaper if you ignore much lower performance and versatility vs a X86_X64 NUC as a home server.

	▲	kalaksi 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		It feels like you think that the parent hasn't really considered their options and don't know what they really want. > Not that big of on an issue in most home user cases as a home server I don't know what "most home users" want, but I can understand wanting something more compact and efficient (also easier to keep cool in tighter or closed spaces), even at home. > Cheaper if you ignore much lower performance and versatility vs a X86_X64 NUC as a home server. Or maybe they noticed they don't need all the performance and versatility. Been there. It's plenty versatile and can run everything I need.

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noodlesUK 8 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I agree completely - the NUC segment has a gaping hole post 2023, and faster raspberry pis can probably fill a lot of it especially for small scale commercial stuff.

	▲	nirav72 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		>the NUC segment has a gaping hole post 2023 There are dozens and dozens of NUC style / form factor machines available these days. Especially cheap ones from China. Not sure what you mean by gaping hole post 2023. I'm running 3 of them with N97 and N150 Cpus. All bought within the last 18 months.

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zer00eyz 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Its not

Go price out a used 1l form factor PC.

After you buy a case, and a real disk, the pi, cost savings is gone.

Meanwhile you can pick up a used 8th gen intel 1L form factor for about 100 bucks. You can pick up one that will take a PICE card for 150ish bucks, with remote management.

The 8th gen or better intel has all sorts of extra features that may make it worth while (transcoding/video support).