Single-Board Computers

The  Raspberry Pi – who popularized this style of computer – currently sell three versions of their board: 3B+ , 4 , and 5 .  Other options include: similar vendors such as Banana Pi , Orange Pi and Pine Board ; the completely open hardware Libre Board ; the Asus TinkerBoard and the Texas Instruments Beagle Board . 

 

 

 

 

 Sell 

 Cost 

 $50 – $200 

 

 

 

 

 Single-board computers work well for small servers, but can struggle under heavy usage.  While cost-effective, they are also examples er, but these computers can run for months without needing to be restarted. 

 

 Great for hosting a small server where you run services only for yourself. 

 

 Home Server 

 

 Use a  Raspberry Pi 4 for Home Assistant to manage your smart devices and Grocy to keep track of your kitchen inventory. 

 

 

 Personal Cloud 

 

 The  Raspberry Pi 5 and a USB 3.0 Hard Drive can be a personal OwnCloud server for your calendar, contacts and files.  Add Collabora to edit documents, slideshows and spreadsheets directly in your browser. 

 

 

 Personal Wiki 

 

 Use the  Libre Computer Solitude for hosting your own  BookStack to keep track of your personal knowledge. 

 

 Your experiences may vary. Always make sure to test for stability when installing new services. 

 This class of commodity computers use ARM processors that are part of a system-on-a-chip. They are extremely power efficient with performance specifics being dependent on the model you purchase.  Generally, they are powered using a USB connector and a high-quality cable. 

 By default, many come with an Ethernet port, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, HDMI and 3.5mm audio output.  These board also come with a GPIO port which offers programmable pins for HAT add-ons and project development. 

 

 

 

 Minimum Specifications 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Developer_board 

 

 

 Processor 

 

 1.5GHz 

 Quad-Core 

 ARM system-on-a-chip 

 

 

 

 

 

 Memory 

 

 

 Memory 

 

 8GB or higher  

 DDR4 

 

 

 

 

 

 View_in_ar 

 

 

 Graphics 

 

 Integrated Graphics 

 Shared Memory 

 

 

 

 

 

 Hard_drive 

 

 

 Storage 

 

 32GB Class 10 SDXC 

 

 

 

 

 

 Lan 

 

 

 Connectivity 

 

 1GBit Ethernet 

 BlueTooth 

 USB 3.0 

 GPIO 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Where To Buy 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Language 

 

 

 Online 

 

 AdaFruit 

 LoveRpi 

 CanaKit 

 SparkFun 

 AmeriDroid 

 MicroCenter 

 Official Raspberry Pi distributors