Is This a Good Raspberry Pi Deal

• 

  boomramada on 27/02/2023 - 23:44

  For that, get a old dell pc.

  • 

    R4 on 28/02/2023 - 00:10

    Sure, I get that but I like the idea of trying a RP - is this a good option?

    • 

      AustriaBargain on 28/02/2023 - 00:15

      +1

      Better option might be a Pi with a metal heatsink case, so you can keep the size small to tuck it into small spaces.

    • 

      boomramada on 28/02/2023 - 11:13

      +1

      Looking for a cheap computer to muck around/experiment with

      I'm not sure with your intention, you could just as get a pi zero, or install a VM in your pc/laptop? but this is not a PC as such.

• 

  AustriaBargain on 27/02/2023 - 23:46

  +1

  If that's all you want to do and you have just one smart TV, you should just not connect the TV to the internet and buy an Apple TV or similar device from a corporation that doesn't sell your data to anyone.

• 

  Chandler on 28/02/2023 - 08:19

  +4

  The Pi 400 is designed to be portable - take your "keyboard" with you, plug in power, mouse & monitor and your computer is setup.

  Depending on what "mucking around/experimenting" you want to do, the Pi 400 could serve you well. The Pi 400 is a Pi 4 in a keyboard, so if you don't want/need the keyboard, consider the Pi 4 instead.

  Price wise, that deal is likely a reasonable price - Pi's have been suffering from supply limitations for a while, and their pricing is reflective of this. That deal is ridiculously expensive if compared to pre-pandemic/inflation, but most things are these days…

  As others have already noted but, you could be better served by a used/refurbished Tiny / Mini / Micro desktop (or bigger, if space allows). Whilst the Pi's are great introductory pieces of kit, being lower-powered and ARM is a limitation; the latter being less of an issue as time marches on, but at present there's still just too many applications or too much documentation around that is still solely based around x86. I personally changed my home "server' from a Pi 3B to a refurbished HP Mini desktop, and now have a VM cluster server (Proxmox) to play with.

  • 

    pjetson on 28/02/2023 - 08:35

    +2

    That deal is ridiculously expensive if compared to pre-pandemic/inflation

    I think that the cheapest local price I saw for the Pi 400 complete kit when it became available in Australia was about $153, so $160 doesn't seem too "ridiculously expensive".

  • 

    whatwasherproblem on 28/02/2023 - 10:49

    +1

    but at present there's still just too many applications or too much documentation around that is still solely based around x86.

    Absolutely. As a Pi lover, this fact is what stops me dead using it for more 'everyday' uses. There just isn't the same amount of software available for arm64 that there is for x86. I think there have been about four occasions so far where I've wanted a program on the Pi but the only package assumes x86. Sure, the source is usually available, but "just compile everything from source on this different architecture and fix cryptic compiler errors over and over" is the unfun kind of tinkering, so at that point the Pi goes back into the drawer for another 10 months.

    They're great for the more fun variant of tinkering, and peripheral electronics and Python stuff, though. Which is the typical Pi use-case I suppose.

• 

  ESEMCE on 28/02/2023 - 09:50

  +2

  Specifically for a PiHole?

  A PiZero has all the power you need.
  I run it on my original Model B Pi.