I’m going to run generic server tasks (webhosting, Nextcloud, Home Assistant) but also use it as a torrent client, NAS and media center. It will sit close to the dumb TV and give it IPTV and file playback capabilities. I haven’t decided between a SBC or mini PC yet.
My requirements are:
- low idle power consumption (electricity is expensive here, I’m aiming for 5 W with the HDD spun down, able to idle without spinning the fan) so preferrably ARM
- reliability (I’m worried about SD cards in particular, maybe booting from NVMe/mSATA is better)
- connecting my 8TB SATA HDD
- Bluetooth+WiFi+100Mb/s Ethernet
- no dedicated GPU or NPU needed
- 1x FullHD video output (HDMI or even VGA, the TV is ancient)
- GPIO for IR receiver (IPTV should be accessible to tech-illiterate parents)
- budget of 100 € for the whole setup
- available in the Czech Republic (preferring local retailers or used market to Amazon or Aliexpress)
Raspberry Pi 4/5 seems compelling but the HDD needs a separate 12V source and USB adapter, making the setup a little unwieldy, plus people say RPi is overpriced. Mini PCs boot from reliable storage but lack GPIO so they need a USB infraport, and many don’t have SATA or wireless either so that adds more adapters. Or should I repurpose my old laptop, which would run at 10 W and need an adapter for IR but have wireless (and kind of a UPS) built in?
I think that there might be other SBCs (RPi competitors) suited for my use case but I haven’t been able to find a better deal than a used 60 € Raspberry Pi 4B/5 (+10 € fan box + 20 € high-endurance SD card + 2 € microHDMI adapter + I already have the power adapter) from the official site. Given that the 4B and 5 with 4GB RAM cost almost the same, I wonder if the power upgrade is worth it given that the 5’s idle power draw is higher, there is no A/V jack (I can solder though) and I only have the 3A power supply, requiring an extra 20 € to use its full CPU power.
There are small miniPCs that are designed to sip power. You may want to take a look.
Im not sure you will get 5 W for anything other than a pi but you can try!
Yeah but at that point I can just use the 10 year old laptop I have lying around, since size is not really a priority. I have installed Lubuntu on its HDD and it’s been so-so as an HTPC but I think it will be alright with a new small SATA SSD. It might need a lid + power button hack (using simple electronics wired to the corresponding connectors?) though because the BIOS has no “power on AC” option to get it back up after an outage.
Upgrading that laptop to an SSD is essential and will make it seem like a much newer machine. If space isnt a priority, just use the laptop with an SSD. It’s essentially the same as a mini-PC with a built-in monitor. You won’t have GPIO, but there has to be some sort of USB IR adapter out there.
The Pi5 is overpriced and requires what might as well be a proprietary power connector (5V5A USB is absurd) costing you even more. You’ll have less computing power at a higher cost with this option.
I have an official RPi 5V3A supply already, which can power the Pi 5 at lower clock speeds, which kinda defeats the point of buying it over the 4B, unless they are almost the same price (around 60 € used at the official store). I’ve been trying to contact someone selling a “barely used” 4B for 40 € but they haven’t responded yet.
You can probably just buy the SSD and use the laptop as the htpc/server and then use the savings to buy the used RPi to tinker with separately.
Yeah, that’s where it’s going now, the SSD arrives tomorrow. If the sale does not go through, I’ll keep the money or buy some microcontrollers instead.