Re: Raspberry Pi5 versus other cheap Intel based boxes for general computing

On 03/04/2024 06:21, Jan Panteltje wrote:

 What somone learned when he replaced a cheap Pi 5 PC with a no-name Amazon mini desktop
  https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/what-i-learned-when-i-replaced-my-cheap-pi-5-pc-with-a-no-name-amazon-mini-desktop/
 All that said, I post this from a Pi4 8GB, it is sometimes really slow,
but I like and use the GPIO port.

I was quite surprised how sprightly my Pi 5 was. I opted for 8GB more expensive entirely passive cooling so that it can be used as an entertainment streaming system when not being used for other things.
(whole thing cost about £120 and is the size of a bar of soap)
In part I got it for the portability and free Mathematica license that comes with it. I haven't found the Debian environment too tiresome despite being a Windows user with a smidgeon of Ubuntu and Android.
I reckon its performance single tasking isn't far off the venerable i7-3770 from a decade or so back (and still pretty capable today).
I was tempted by an N100 based toy PC at Xmas but managed to resist.
--
Martin Brown