5 Raspberry Pi Alternatives to Build Your Own Small Computer

onebuck · 09-21-2017, 02:29 PM

Hi,

Some of you may already know about these SBC but for those that don't then; 5 Raspberry Pi Alternatives to Build Your Own Small Computer

Quote:

A single board computer (SBC) is a complete computer built on a single circuit board. These tiny PCs were designed to be low cost and energy efficient. As such, SBCs proved to be popular with hobbyists, DIY enthusiasts and educational institutions.

Upon the release of the Raspberry Pi, SBCs gained far greater attention. The Raspberry Pi was initially designed to teach basic computer science. The first-generation Raspberry Pi was released in 2012 and quickly surpassed expectations. It has since gone on to become the best-selling British computer of all time with over eleven million units sold.
Despite its popularity, the Raspberry Pi family of computers are not the only SBCs on the market. In fact there are a number of manufacturers making SBCs at lower price points and with more powerful hardware. If you’re looking for a Raspberry Pi alternative, consider the SBCs below.

Hope this helps.
Have fun & enjoy!

ondoho · 09-22-2017, 01:01 PM

here's another one:
https://www.pine64.org/
i own a pinebook since one month, and am satisfied.

Mill J · 09-22-2017, 02:31 PM

I'm satisfied with my Raspberry Pi 3, but competition and options are always nice to have.

business_kid · 09-23-2017, 10:50 AM

There was something crowd funded called a Pine64. It wasn't straightforward in the booting department, because it comes up 32 bit and needs to 'change gear' into 64 bit, but a Debian was built for it anyhow. It runs off an sdcard, iirc. A bit short on the I/O but there is IDC headers, and 2xUSB. My (Mac geek) son sprung for it in the crowdfunding stage, decided against going at it when he got it, and threw it at me. Some day . . .

ondoho · 09-23-2017, 05:17 PM

^ if i may.
it is also possible to install the os to the internal emmc, which i'm running from now.
i tried 3 OS's - Q4OS (windows-like done right!), pine64's own pinebook ubuntu mate edition, and armbian's pinebook edition (based on ubuntu 16.04).
i'm running the latter now and am totally happy with it.
see one of my blog posts.

a little ot, pine64 is trying to offer "userfriendliness" via their installer (electron, say no more), but really one can just dd the images to an sdcard, and install from that.
i think it should also be possible to install a linux made for the pine64 board - that would vastly increase the number of distros on offer.