I don't understand why you would bother with this when you can pick up a second-hand Thinkpad for so cheap which brings a builtin UPS and far more performance, RAM, and IO options.
As someone who's grown tired of a flaky rpi connected to an external drive, is there a generation to shoot for in terms of low price to reasonable performance?
Turning the Raspberry Pi 4 into a Mini Server
41–50 of 135 posts
Re: Turning the Raspberry Pi 4 into a Mini Server
#42A lot of skepticism in this thread. I've got a pi4 4GB running Ubuntu server, acting as a SMB file server, Plex media server, Mopidy music server, Spotify Connect endpoint, video recorder for my two outdoor IP cameras, and a Minecraft server for my kids, all running simultaneously. And it's not breaking a sweat, not even getting close to full memory or CPU utilization. I do use a USB nvme SSD enclosure for storage to…
Re: Turning the Raspberry Pi 4 into a Mini Server
#43Re: Turning the Raspberry Pi 4 into a Mini Server
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
A Lenovo M92p is about 6x the price of a RPi, and the noise/form factor can't possibly be compared. If you really want to compare a 200$ desktop with a 40$ SoC then you should aim for stuff such as those mini PC's/thin clients from Asus, which nowadays even ship with Ryzen processors.
The $40 SoC isn't $40 after you the drive, power supply, enclosure, etc. There's a parts list in the article. I don't think the 4GB bare RPi is $40 anyway, it's higher. And a used Lenovo Tiny is easy to find for much less than $200. $100 shipped without an SSD, $140 with one. You're exaggerating both ends.
Parts from Ali:
Stackable plastic frame for 4 pis + basic heatsinks ~= 5$
MicroUSB PoE injector (removes the need for PSU) ~= 3.5$
Re: Turning the Raspberry Pi 4 into a Mini Server
#45This website is pretty cool, but I can't really find out what it is? Looks like it's a magazine? Is there any context, none of the articles have dates or an explanation about what it is/who makes it.
Re: Turning the Raspberry Pi 4 into a Mini Server
#46Raspberry pi is also ideal as a command and control server for IP gadgets running hacked firmwares such as cameras and doorknobs and ACs and stuff. It is better to run cameras on on a separate wifi channel/PHY to save bandwidth, store to local server, rsync over to off-site backup once a day. All of this can be done with Pi, ethernet cable and a cheap usb wifi interface.
Re: Turning the Raspberry Pi 4 into a Mini Server
#47I don't understand why you would bother with this when you can pick up a second-hand Thinkpad for so cheap which brings a builtin UPS and far more performance, RAM, and IO options.
I could have used a thinkpad with a usb DAC, but it would require more space, more power cable, ... It would provide a built in ups and screen, which I don’t need.
I think rpi are OK when the whole service it provides could be read only, with no local storage / state.
Re: Turning the Raspberry Pi 4 into a Mini Server
#48This website is pretty cool, but I can't really find out what it is? Looks like it's a magazine? Is there any context, none of the articles have dates or an explanation about what it is/who makes it.
I’m a big fan of his Casio F91W mods and his Pi Zero projects. His overall design/aesthetics are flawless too.
Re: Turning the Raspberry Pi 4 into a Mini Server
#49Used Lenovo Tiny M92p/M93p units make a nicer solution for this, to me. The enclosure is already there, and no janky USB storage to deal with.
It also uses much more power, most of ivy/sandy bridge low power desktop generally idles at more or less 15W, where the RPI 4 uses less than 4 watts.
Re: Turning the Raspberry Pi 4 into a Mini Server
#50An ARM based server almost sounds like an oxymoron.