HACKER Q&A
📣 shlip

Raspberry Pi 3B Equivalent?


With recent annoucements projecting rpi supplies pre-pandemic availability levels for Q2 2023, what is an available equivalent for a RPI 3B ? What I mean by equivalent is similar size, similar power needs (5V,15W) and similar price (~48€ with VAT), and of course similar hardware or at least those specs;

  * 1.2ish Ghz multi-core CPU
  * GPU with 1080p decoding capabilities
  * HDMI output
  * 1 GB memory
  * integrated Wifi
Bonus points if a recent debian install medium is available for it.

Typical load is GUIless video playback with cvlc, and running a webservice in the background.

So far I've looked at banana pi, odroid, le potato, etc. but I'm wondering if someone has hands-on experience with a specific SBC model that can act as an almost drop-in replacement ?

EDIT: I've realised since asking that the RPI 3A+, which might be a little easier to find in stock, does what I need also, albeit with only 512MB memory. I'd still like to here suggestions though !


  👤 5bolts Accepted Answer ✓
look up old thin clients. (lots of youtube content about this too) for example:Dell DX0D Wyse 5010 Thin Client w/ Stand & Charger 16GB SSD 4GB 1.40 GHz [wifi]

i got 2 of those for 80 dollars. work fine in linux. even videos about converting them to be USB powered too, if thats a thing you think you'll need.


👤 mobilio
Intel NUC or thin clients. Here is one of best resource about them https://www.parkytowers.me.uk/thin/

But if you're looking for ARM CPU then Orange Pi or some related to RK3399


👤 GentleChop
https://pine64.com/product-category/single-board-computers/

Stock is occasionally an issue but worth looking in to.