what sbc do you reccomend?

I have an RPi2 and an RPi3 both are always on. You need to buy a stable and high quality power supply (5V, at about 3A) and that's all.
like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/5V-3A-USB-A...item1a27d81404

Originally Posted by ondoho additionally i'd like to ask those that are using a SBC as a server: is it suitable for 24/7 operation? maybe some models more than others? does one have to pay special attention to the power supply in that case (since that is also ON 24/7)? (i hope i'm not derailing this thread; i think my questions are on topic)

suitable 24/7
buy an original power supply; it's enough

There's a GE brand 10' extension cord with 2x 2.4A usb ports and 2x plug ports that I use to power my sbc's. Costs about $10 at walmart. Useful to have that little bit of extra reach on the vacuum / steam cleaner too. Or just to clamp to the side of a book shelf for those of us too lazy to bend over to plug something in.

My bananapi m3 acts as my wifi dongle via ethernet switch so it's always on. My RPi B I only turn on when I need to print something (in theory, haven't actually set it up like that yet). The printer is on a usb to parallel port adapter, so in a pinch I just plug that into the main machine, versus just turning on the printer if it were properly networked. I was supposed to be moving that printer away for more local space, but lazy, plus lack the non-local space to put it.

Originally Posted by pan64 I have an RPi2 and an RPi3 both are always on. You need to buy a stable and high quality power supply (5V, at about 3A) and that's all. like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/5V-3A-USB-A...item1a27d81404

nice to see it's just a sturdy standard charger.
that switch is surely superfluous?

i'd love for fatmac to get back on his desktop experience with raspi3b.
since i don't own a tv set, both my desktop and laptop double as entertainment machines.
video playback is crucial for me - and i've been having issues with it on another SBC (pinebook).

Originally Posted by ondoho that switch is surely superfluous?

You need to calculate the current you need, for example an external wifi dongle or HDD will require more current.

Originally Posted by ondoho i'd love for fatmac to get back on his desktop experience with raspi3b. since i don't own a tv set, both my desktop and laptop double as entertainment machines. video playback is crucial for me - and i've been having issues with it on another SBC (pinebook).

I only watched Youtube vids, because my other forums post them up, so I have no idea if it will run graphic intensive programs, but the main chip in a RPi3B is supposedly a graphics chip, so I'm guessing it would be OK, (some people seem to play games on them without trouble).

Originally Posted by fatmac I only watched Youtube vids

thanks for getting back.

it doesn't really matter where the video comes from; would you mind testing (next time you use the machine) if you can ramp the playback up to full HD (the cog in youtube's video player) and it's still stutter-free?

[ or maybe even download a few different fromats with youtube-dl or so? ]

PS:
according to thread title, here's my review of the pinebook:
http://dt.iki.fi/pinebook/

Here's some info about media centres on Raspberry Pi - check out the rest of the forums too.
https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/v...?f=35&start=25

I don't have any full HD tv, & my 11.6" monitor is 1366x768 max, (and my other monitors are less).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dizRywc1N9U was played perfectly (on kodi), 1080p

^ thanks to both.
i should have mentioned that screen size or resolution doesn't matter so much for me; thanks for mentioning it.