this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2023
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Realistically probably not getting one for less than $160CAD.
At that point, might as well just buy a used Dell optiplex or something. These boards are absurdly priced, and you'll never get it for MSRP.
Even with the added power consumption of the Dell you'll pull out ahead lol
I remember when the Raspberry Pi was the amazing $15 computer. Times have changed.
Amazing for what exactly? I remember them being unreliable, slow af and not really good for much other than collecting dust.
I mean sure the idea was cool, in principle, but they needed a serious upgrade in specs. Now they got it and everyone bitches bc it comes at a price?
The first models were rough on reliability, but they got a lot better around Model 2B and onward. SD cards with A1 or A2 rating help a lot.
I don't need any of those things tho. Mostly what I need is decent IO throughput which was unnecessarily constrained on earlier pis by poor design choices. The pi4 is the first to really shine in that regard.
I have a pi2 and I used it as a libreelec media center, and it was Ok in that capacity, but it's far too slow to transfer larger files regardless of how you do it (all relies on a slow usb interface).
Idk about everyone else but I was fine with the specs. A basic Linux machine that can hook up to the network and run simple python scripts was plenty for a ton of use cases. They didn't need to be desktop competitors. The market didn't need to be small form factor high performance machines, and I'd argue it wasn't.
I mean they've found enough use cases that the power increase was a much-requested upgrade.
For the simple python script uses you just mentioned, you can still pick up older pi boards for cheap or just get a pi zero/zero w.
It's still not a desktop competitor in general, but if someone wants a really cheap computer that's widely supported, at least it's a viable option now.
They still sell the old slow ones don't they? from the website: "Raspberry Pi 1 Model A+ will remain in production until at least January 2026" "Raspberry Pi 3 Model B will remain in production until at least January 2028" etc etc.
If you like pain, go get yourself a rpi1 lol. As for me, idk... I'm drawn more to VMs and containers which can run very well even on a 2011 tower pc (with few upgrades over the years).
Used Lenovo Thinkcentres are also a good option.